County Stream Hut
(County Hut looking up to Smyth Saddle: Photo Warren Chinn 2005)
Maintenance Status
County Hut has been designated as minimal maintenance. The access track
to it from the Waitaha valley while not officially maintained, has been recut and marked by
permolat volunteers in 2007 and 2011. The 2007 effort was negated by some severe
snow and wind damage in 2008, but was tidied up again in 2011. The track is in in pretty good shape currently,
although the terrain it crosses is
rugged and challenging, particularly in the upper valley where there are large boulders and alpine scrub
to negotiate.
Location
Waitaha catchment. Map BW18. Grid Ref:
E1425190/ N5219383. Altitude
995m. County Hut is located in the head
of the County Stream, a superb, rugged, remote
high-country setting that backs onto the
pristine alpine snowfields and glaciers
of the Mt. Evans massif. The Hut is located on a terrace on the TR of the
Stream just below the Bloomfield Creek confluence where the vegetation is a mix of
alpine scrub and open tussock. Visits to
the Hut have been historically low, 2-3 per year, and dropped further as tracks deteriorated and overgrew
after DOC stopped maintaining them in 1994. The Hut is currently getting around one visit per year,
which will hopefully lift a bit once word gets out that the track has been recut. County Hut is a semi-regular
fly-in destination and base for climbers doing the Red Lion and/ or Mt. Evans.
Access
The Waitaha is a wild and rough valley and has always provided reasonable challenges for
the hunter or tramper.
The NZFS created a good network huts and tracks
in the 1960's and 70's, and while some low-level maintenance was done by DOC from the mid 1980's
to 1994, it wasn't sufficient to stop the County track deteriorating significantly.
DOC officially removed the upper Waitaha valley from its
maintenance schedule in 2004.
Permolat volunteers recut the track from Moonbeam Hut in 2011 and it is in currently in
reasonably good shape.
From Moonbeam the main valley
track traverses the river terrace on the
TL of the Waitaha for around 20 minutes. The forest here is a mix of mature
Halls Totara, pahautea, rata, quintinia and kamhai.
The track drops down a steep bank from the terrace to the riverbed just before Dorothy Creek.
It re-enters the bush just after Alexander Creek and sidles along the bush faces from here to the Top
Waitaha turnoff.
There is a reasonable dry
rock just before the turnoff, after which the County track continues up-valley
marked
with a mix of permolat
and cruise tape. It climb-sidles up and around into the County at a lower altitude than is marked
on the Topo map.
The track rises in a series of steps before dropping into
the County riverbed at some huge boulders opposite O'Reilly Creek. It heads up
a flood channel here for 100m, then re-enters the scrub for another 15 minutes before
sidling back into the riverbed at old blown-out side creek (around E1424379/ N5220880).
From here it is mostly river travel with plenty of large boulders to negotiate. There are two short tracked detours
on this section. During winter when flows are low, progress can be sped up by crossing and recrossing the river.
As it warms up however, snow and glacier melt increases the river level considerably and you will probably
be forced to stay on the TL.
Fording the County directly opposite the track up to the Hut is not always straightforward due
to the highly variable river levels. The
track entrance is 200m downstream from the Bloomfield Confluenceis and is marked with white
permolat crosses on a mountain holly, directly opposite a cairn on the TL.
On occasions it may be necessary to ford above the Bloomfield
confluence and come back downstream. Someone has reportedly cut a second track to the Hut that
starts 100m up
Bloomfield Creek. Allow 4-6 hours from Moonbeam Hut to County Hut currently.
There is a great fine weather tops route to the County from Moonbeam
via the Clearview Spur tops track. This
was recut
and marked in
2007 and is reportedly still in good condition.
The track starts directly behind Moonbeam Hut, goes along the terrace on
the TR of Moonbeam Torrent, then up the narrow ridge
that separates the Torrent and Dorothy Creek. It track drops into the head of Dorothy Creek
in the alpine scrub zone. Dorothy Creek is a dry rocky gut by this stage.
The creekbed provides access through scattered scrub to the open tussock faces
below Clearview Spur. From here it is an easy climb eastward
onto a flat area on the Spur just above point 1690m. There are great views of
Mt. Evans and the Red Lion from here.
Drop from the Spur into the County down the faces
between Canary Creek and the next side creek down. A
band of scrub near the bottom can be avoided by dropping into Canary Creek
itself for the last few hundred metres. Allow 4-5 hours from Moonbeam to County Hut.
County Hut has an ostentatious wooden helicopter
platform which was built during the NZFS dynasty.
Type
County is a standard six-bunk NZFS
tops design built in the early 1970's. There is no fire or woodburner. It is lined, has a roof-fed
water tank, and a toilet.
Condition
County Hut is in very good condition currently. Repainting
and maintenance work was carried out in 2003 and a new watertank
installed. The downpipe that feeds water from the spouting has broken off and needs repairing. We put some holes
in the lid of the tank in 2011 so some water can drip in, and set an aluminium bucket under the
downpipe hole. The hut piles are
in good shape. Moisture has gotten in and buckled the ply
at the lower end of the skylight, although this may just be condensation. Water is being blown under the door
and the floorboards are starting to rot in places here. A small hole has also developed. The paint is starting to flake
in places on the iron cladding and roof. The wooden windowsills and frames are flaking quite badly and need repainting.
Routes
Most of the routes in this area are
alpine route and suitable gear needs to be
carried.
The Smyth Saddle route to the Wanganui River is a
reasonably popular crossing for more experienced trampers and alpinists. The County Stream upstream of the Hut is reasonable
travel when river levels are low with is a small gorge not far up
from the Bloomfield
Confluence. A ford to TL is required partway up to avoid a fairly nasty scrub bash. Access to Smyth
Saddle is via a prominent diagonally running creek that enters the County at E1426840/ N5217273.
Head up the creek to around the 1450m contour, then climb out up a gut on the TL onto the flat area on
the crest of the Range.
From here follow the 1600m contour in a SW direction around to a prominent Spur that drops
down to the
Smyth/ Bradshaw confluence. From the
flat bench at the 1230m mark on this spur drop dirictly South down into the Smyth.
It is very rough, scrubby and bouldery travel from here down to the Wanganui River. The TR
of the Smyth is easier
lower down if you are able to ford. Allow a full day from County
Hut to Smyth Hut.
It is possible to get from
County Hut along the Smyth Range to Kiwi Flat Hut via Headlong Spur. Drop
down into the County
and head up Canary Creek a short distance until it is possible to get through the
alpine scrub and onto the steep ridge between the Canary and the next catchment downstream.
Climb from here up onto Clearview Spur. There is a steep exposed section on Clearview Spur
between points 1690m and 1945m. Mts. Neville and Barry have
patches of permanent snow and some small glacial remnants that may require an ice axe
when downclimbing.
The track
down Headlong Spur was designated as fully maintain in DOC's 2004 Review, but it looks now
like they are going to drop it from their schedule because of Government funding cuts.
There is a section at the top of the track which is pretty vague and some permolat
was added here in 2012. The middle section is more open and easy to travel, but on the lower bush faces,
false leads and deer tracks confound things somewhat. It connects with the main vally track at the
end of a terraced section 1/2 an hour
upriver from Kiwi Flat Hut. Allow a full day for the crossing.
It would be possible to get to the County from Scamper
Torrent along the Smyth Range in a long day. The Range
West of Mts. Neville and Barry is flat and very easy going. From Mt. Durward, drop/ sidle
in a WNW direction
across the sloping benches above the TR upper forks of Scamper Torrent.
Cross the left fork above a small waterfall, then drop down
the flattish spur separating the fork and the main basin, to just opposite the Hut.
There are a few snow poles lower down on
this route.
There are some high-level routes from the County over the Bloomfield Range to
Top Waitaha Hut.
Access to Mt. Bloomfield can be gained via a steep rib between the two
main branches of Bloomfield Creek. From the summit of
Bloomfield you can drop directly into the Top waitaha basin down the NW ridge.
There is one steep, fairly nasty
exposed section on this route for which a rope would be a good backup.
The ridge leads down into the
mid-section of Reid Creek and from here you can make your
way down the tussock terraces on the TL to
Top Waitaha Hut.
An longer but safer route
involves traversing Mt. Bloomfield and dropping down the large open side
creek that enters the lower end of the basin just opposite Drain Off Creek.
There are a number
of alpine crossings to the Whitcombe and Evans
valleys from the County that require mountaineering
skills and equipment. McKenzie
Col at the head of the County provides a route into
the upper Wilkinson River and Whitcombe valley, which has
seasonal crevasse and permanent rockfall danger. Getting down the
Wilkinson to Wilkinson
Hut in the Whitcombe is also a mish. The Bevernage Rock Bivs on the TR of Seddon Creek
require an alpine scrub-bash to get to, and are are tricky
to cross over to from the TL. The bivs are
a pair of disappointing low, shallow overhangs, hardly worth
marking on the map. The largest would take two people at a squeeze. There is a boulder cascade
immediately below the the bivs which is rough travel with alpine scrub between the boulders.
There is another cascade
in the Wilkinson below the Seddon Creek confluence which even more gnarly.
The Wilkinson at this point is fast flowing and opaque with slippery rocks, and is not an easy or safe
crossing. Levels can rise considerably over the day with snow and ice melt. Crossing may be more of an option
in winter when flows are very low due to precipitation being locked up in snow and ice, but generally parties are advised to
stay on the TL.
Further down the Wilkinson it is possible to sidle up onto the regenerating shingle fan of
Walcott Creek. There is quite a good
rock biv futher up the Creek under a gigantic (and very obvious) hotel-sized boulder. Rather
than dropping back into the Wilkinson here,
continue across the fan and down along the foot of the hill, following the deer trails on the river terraces down to the
Whitcombe
confluence. This is much easier than grovelling along the slippery boulders along the Wilkinson's river edges.
From here down the TL of the Whitcombe to Wilkinson Hut is around an hour. Three detours into the bush are required to
get around various obstacles. The bush is dense in all cases with a fair bit of bush lawyer.
Artist Dome is a relatively easy
scramble form County Hut via the rib between the two main branches of
Bloomfield Creek mentioned in the Top Waitaha route, or the ridge on the TL of the
Bloomfield.
Repairs needed
The downpipe to the water tank needs fixing. Some sealing work around
the skylight may be required. A flashing on the door to
stop the water getting under it would be a good idea. Over the longer term some floor repairs may
be needed around the door. The Hut could do with repainting.
Provisions on Site
Five billies, two wash basins, two aluminium buckets,
one kero heater (no fuel), a hand brush and shovel, a broom, a kero cooker,
10 pots of paint, a box of large galvanised nails, a shovel and spare handle,
a slasher (blunt) and spare handle, an axe and spare handle, a replete wall-mounted first aid cabinet,
a crow bar, a bag of cement (probably hard by now), a food bin, a tilley lamp minus generator pipe and glass, and
an egg beater.
