Three Fingers – Bobs Spur, Wednesday, September 24 2008. Map: U21
Trampers: Paul Exeter (reporter), Rosemary Jeffery, Alison Greer, Vic Bullock, John Marshall, Thelma Tasman-Smith, Manfred Hausler, Jeanne van den Hout, John Gray, Robyn Smith, Liz Stringer, Penny and Arthur Mead, Kelvin Shaw, Peter Slagter
We headed south down Highway 50, out through Kereru to Gull Road in the Mangleton Valley, to climb Three Fingers Spur and come down Bobs Spur.
The weather was iffy, wind-wise, but we decided to go for it and not be beaten by the blast yet again (it was the third time we had attempted this walk). Thelma, John Marshall and Vic did their own thing for the day, while the rest of us went across the farm paddocks and started up the old track, which is not in great shape. The track is not a DOC one, but is maintained by hunters and trampers.
We had a rest at the first trig, with really great views of Frying Pan Flat and further afield, then went through a patch of bush and came across a well-maintained hunter’s bivvy. It had an electric light bulb hooked up to run off a battery.
From there, it was onwards and upwards to the trig at 1172m, where we regrouped, with the wind blowing strongly. We did not go to the top, but sidled round, heading southwards, making our way across the tussock tops, dodging a few tarns and boggy areas until we found the track that took us across to Bobs Spur.
We lunched in the bush out of the wind, with the trees swaying madly and the ground moving beneath us. After lunch, we traced our way further across and started to come down the spur, which has not been cut for a long time.
It was on and off the track continually, but we knew that we needed to follow the top of the ridge down. It got worse the further we went, with a lot of grazes and much loss of blood.
Eventually we found the scree slopes, which are slowly getting new plant growth. Some of us had a great run down, but most took their time. We all met up at the farm boundary fence, having bushbashed our way to it, then walked out through the pine plantation (without disturbing the deer in the paddocks). It was a very successful day – with much-needed showers to follow at home.
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