Hi,
Just wondering how long it takes people to get to Roaring Stag Hut/Lodge from the Putara roadend in the Tararua's?
I can find lots of indicators for how long to Herepai, but none for Roaring Stag.
Cheers
Hi @Scottie,
My 11 year old daughter and I cruised the track between Putara roadend and Roaring Stag in 3 hours last Easter. Some fitter people at the hut had done the walk in about 2 hours.
Similar here. The only time I've recorded the time it was 2h 45m, and that was with a group who weren't the fastest and nor were we in a hurry.
If you fancy yourself as quick and don't stop much then you could probably assume faster-than-that. Purely from the map contours (500m climb then ~4.5km mostly-gradual drop) I'd guess roughly 2 hours would be a quicker but doable-if-you're-fit time with a big pack.
Its in that region Last time I went there was a week after the big snowstorm. Still snow on the porch. Made the mistake of leaving my boots socks and gaiters on the porch. Following morning Socks and gaiters could be held horizontally until they were warmed on a campstove and the boots were no fun before they thawed on my feet which took a long time walking in snow.
About 2 hours non stop last time I went in with a weekend pack
@geeves: "Following morning Socks and gaiters could be held horizontally until they were warmed on a campstove and the boots were no fun before they thawed on my feet which took a long time walking in snow."
November's Uncle Jacko column proposes boiling some extra water at breakfast, and pouring a it into your morning boots to warm them up. That's not something I'd ever thought of before.
Didnt go out to the boots till after we were ready to leave all packed up etc so didnt think about the boots. Not sure If I want to put my feet in boots full of boiling water though. My feet walk pretty hot at the best of times.
In hindsight the best course of action would of been dunk the lot in the Rumahunga river. That would of thawed them out pretty quick but not exactly done any favours for my feet in the meantime
Icy boots hurt like nothing you can imagine for about 10 minutes then nothing for the next hour until the numbness goes
Thanks for the timeframes guys, that's a big help.
I'm about average speed on the flats, but not very quick on the uphills. i.e I'm not very fit
First trip to Herepai hut was 2hrs 50mins from the road end, and it was about 2 hrs to the roaring stag/Herepai fork, so I think @nzbazza's estimate of 3 hours will be about right.
Once again thanks guys.
