Crow Hut Experience

[ by Tushar Phatak ]

Hello Guys!

I want to share my experience with my tramp along the Arthur's Pass National Park. I believe that most of you guys must be still reeling with the lockdown 2, so I just thought sharing my experience will alleviate some of your “stuck in the rut” situations.

So, this tramp was organized by the amazing “ Lincoln University Tramping Club” led by Myles Macintosh on 29th July 2020.

We were 7 guys all excited to get our feet moving, more eager since it was the first tramp for most guys post lockdown 1.

We started our journey from the start point of Lincoln University at about 7:30 am. The journey to Arthur’s pass parking spot is about 2 hrs. drive from Lincoln University. Along the way, we did stop for a nice pie break at the Sheffield Pie Shop. After spending good 10min, we restarted our journey towards the Arthur’s pass national park. We reached there about 9:30 am at the park. After sorting out camping gear ,we set out on a 10.3 km journey towards Crow Hut. The Journey is about 6 – 7 hrs. walk one way, as we glanced upon a Waimakariri river which was dry on the outside, however there were under streams beneath the rocks. For most part, the journey is a straight walk along the loose river rocks however as we proceed towards crow river, one would have to cross some scree slopes, bush edges, grassy Waimakariri flats and some Beech Forests along with several river streams crossing, which is an unique experience. Then after walking 3hrs, we stopped besides the river stream to have a quick lunch to boost our energy, After taking several scenic shots and some candid photos, we started walking again this, time navigating our way through the crow river. We were welcomed by some gradual graded hills, further towards the end of the journey up to the crow hut. There are several scree slopes along the way, which makes the journey even more exciting with the natural slide. As we were ascending towards the Hut, we were looking towards the avalanche peaks at a far distance, views are something to die for. Along the way we also had fun setting up traps for possums and stoats, surprisingly the dead animals were not smelly nor bug infested, which made our job bit easier! We reached Crow Hut about 4:30 pm. Once we reached the Hut, we relaxed and had some amazing banter with other fellow travellers over dinner and played some cool card games and called it a night. Crow Hut is relatively large hut which can easily sleep 10 people on bunk bed. Some of us slept with a mat and sleeping bag, while few adventurous ones slept tented outside with sandflies giving them company and cold weather!!

Next morning, we were all charged up after good night sleep. The plan was to get up a bit early at around 8:30 AM and look out for some more possum traps nearby and find them. Nice treasure hunt! I must say :).

So, we started walking towards the Avalanche Peak, which is about 15min walk from the Hut. There we were greeted by chirpy “ Kea who were posing for our shots. After spending good 1 hr. over the scree slopes, we started our journey back from Crow Hut at about 10 AM.

We reached the base point at about 4:00 pm and having accomplished the trek successfully, we rested for a bit, after unloading our packs into car, we started our journey back home!!

It was an amazing journey, and quite challenging but met some really cool people. It is a must trek for people who want to explore Alpine at its best. Recommended to visit during July, to have amazing experience with the snow peaks!

P.S. For more experienced climbers and adventurous type, Climbing avalanche peak through Arthur’s Pass Village route, will test your physical and mental ability as there are unmarked poles. More information is available on Doc Website.