Trip Details
Location: Arthurs Pass, South Island
Track / Route: Carroll Hut Track - Kelly Range
Adventure Type: Overnight mission
Distance: 10.5km
Duration: 2 Days
Huts / Campsites: Camping on the Kelly Range
Who went: Solo
Sometimes everything just lines up for a perfect adventure in the mountains. You get that great weather forecast that lines up with your days off. You have a trip planned and are looking forward to it. You are feeling fit and ready. You have planned and packed. It feels like nothing could go wrong.
And then you get sick.
A silly cold. Enough to knock you down for a few days and drain your energy levels.
But that perfect forecast is still there on your days off.
That annoying cold has started to disappear although it still lingers. You decide to just go anyway, What's the worst that could happen?
This was my experience on a recent trip to the mountains. The forecast for the past few weeks had been amazing but I hadn’t been able to take advantage of it. Now that I finally could I had gotten sick. I didn’t want it to stop me from seizing this opportunity so I dialed back my trip intentions a bit and headed to the mountains.
I had never explored the Kelly Range in Arthurs Pass before. I had been up there once on Christmas eve but it had been pitch black and bucketing down. This seemed like a good chance to check it out.
Frost covered the ground on the Carroll Hut Track.
The main route onto the Kelly Range is via the Carroll Hut track. The track is steep, climbing 760m in only a few kilometres. Even though I was still sick I made excellent time up on to the tops, reaching the 10 bunk Carroll Hut in under 1 hour. The DOC sign says 3 hours to reach this point. Happy with my time although not without some coughing and spluttering. I cruised past Carroll hut towards Kelly Saddle and the Kelly Range proper.
Carroll Hut.
I wasn’t joking when I said the weather was perfect. It was a beautiful autumn day, not too hot and not too cold. I had a gorgeous bluebird sky above me and no wind at all, I was super stoked to be out in the mountains! I always feel more alive when I am out and this was no different. I hiked/jogged with my ultralight fastpacking set up past a few tarns and potential camp locations. I was making good time and knew of a large cluster of tarns further along the range, now seemed like as good of an opportunity as ever to check them out. On a good day the Kelly Range offers stunning views down into the Taipo river which flows into the Taramakua. On my right was the Bald Range, I’ll have to come back and check it out some day, and I could also make out Mount Barron to my left.
The beautiful tarns along the Kelly Range.
As I crested over a ridge my breath was taken away. Laid out before were 3 picturesque tarns surrounded by beautiful mountains and valleys. This was going to be my campsite for the night. Wanting to take in as much of the view as possible, I set up my camp on the side of the hill above the tarns. This afforded me an amazing panorama of the Taipo and Taramaku rivers and the surrounding mountains. It was going to be an excellent night.
My campsite for the night.
I was carrying a pretty ultralight/minimal set up on this trip. This is the same gear that I use for my fastpacking missions where I want to cover big days in the mountains. I am able to fit everything I need into my 22 litre Black Diamond Distance pack. With my campsite selected I got busy setting up my tarp shelter. Although the days were getting shorter I still had a few hours of light left which I got to enjoy sitting and soaking in the beautiful landscape. As the sun started to drop below the horizon I got my delicious dinner of Real Meals Mexi Nachos prepared and got settled in for the night. A breeze did pick up a little bit but my tarp kept me nice and protected.
A beautiful sunset.
The temperature dropped overnight and I woke up in the morning to find the ground crunching and ice in my water bottles. Still in the darkness, I set about making myself a hot chocolate to enjoy while waiting for the sun to come up. This was a good test for my ultralight sleeping set up and gave me a good idea as to the temperatures I can reliably take it down to. My cold also didn’t seem to get any worse from my night out which I was pleased about. With the sun came another gorgeous day and I yearned to be able to go deeper into the mountains to spend another night. It was not to be as I knew I had work the next day and it would be a very hungry night given that I only had a couple of muesli bars left in my pack.
The Black Diamond Distance 22, packed and ready for the walk out.
After shaking the ice off my tarp shelter and stamping some warmth back into my feet I made sure I had left no trace at my campsite and headed off back the same way that I had come. I welcomed the sun on my face as it enveloped the ridge I was traversing and enjoyed a lovely hike back down the steep track to my icy, frozen car. Although not the biggest adventure I was super stoked to have been able to get out for a trip despite my cold.
A frozen tarn.
Gear Notes
Black Diamond Distance 22
My absolute favourite pack that just keeps going. I have used this bag all over the world and it suits my needs perfectly as an ultralight fastpacking bag. I love the vest style harness on it which allows my quick access to snacks, water and other items aswell as providing a very comfy carry when I want to move fast in the mountains.
Exped Ultra Pillow
Although I like to go very ultralight on my trips, a pillow makes a huge difference to my sleep. The Exped Ultra pillow is very light (50g) and cradles my head very comfortably especially when I am sleeping on my side.
