Lake Morgan Hut
(Lake Morgan Hut looking up to the Lake Morgan Tops: Photo Andrew Buglass 2007)
Maintenance Status
Lake Morgan Hut and the
Bryan O'Lynn tops track providing access from the Haupiri valley will be fully maintained.
Location
Crooked catchment:
Grid Reference
E1494222/ N5275780.
Map BU21.
1090m altitude.
Lake Morgan Hut is located 140 vertical metres below Lake Morgan
on a spur on the TR of the outlet creek.
The Lake Morgan tops feed the Morgan, Crooked and
Haupiri river catchments are generally easy travel,
liberally sprinkled with tarns and good
campsites, and accessable from a number of points. The Hut has been placed slightly below
the original hut site (the remains still visible), which was on the crest
of the range next to a tarn. The new Hut would be
more difficult to locate in poor visibility, but is certainly more sheltered.
Lake Morgan, a stunning and serene alpine gem with plenty of good camping spots, is
a half-hour climb up from the Hut.
Access
The Brian O'Lynn tops track starts on the TL of the Haupiri River just before O'Shanessey
Creek.
Access from the North bank requires a ford of the Haupiri River.
For those approaching
from Heaphy Road on the South bank, permission is required from the Glorivale Christian
Community to cross their land.
The tops track climbs
around 1000m in altitude through beech forest onto Brian O'Lynn. From here
continue along the main ridge to spot height
1251m, then in a SE direction down to a couple of scrubby saddles between the
headwaters of
O'Shanessey and Evans creeks. Traverse Mt. O'Shanessey, dropping down its SW
spur to the Lake Morgan tops and Hut. It pays to carry a bit of water on this route
as there isn't a great deal up there. Allow 6+ hours for the journey, although
some folk clearly manage manage it in less.
There is reportedly very little remaining of an old track on the spur on the
TR of O'Shanessey Creek. The route is described in the Lake Morgan hutbook
as a pretty mean scrub-bash.
Access from Crooked valley is via a tops track
on the TR starting about 200m downstream from
Top Crooked Hut. It
was recut in 2009 and its entrance can be found
around E1492748/ N5271293 on the edge of a
grassy area just over a small stream running against the bush edge.
The track climbs
steeply all the way to the tops, emerging in a patch of
large, jumbled rocks bordering a tussock bench. The top entrance is cairned and the cairns
continue along the bench
in a NE direction, gradually petering out. From here climb the tussock
faces directly up onto the main range. The crest of the range is reasonably flat, easy going
along to spot height
1489m above Lake Morgan. Drop down the NW ridge of this peak to the low point between
it and spot height 1422m. An obvious rocky gut leads from here down to Lake Morgan.
Follow the Lake edge around and drop down the TR of the
outlet creek past a small set of waterfalls, then cross to a flat bench with
tarns on the TL. Lake Morgan Hut is visible from here in clear conditions. Head
back down into the creek,
cross to the TR again, and sidle around the 1120m contour line to the Hut.
Allow 4-6 hours from Top Crooked
Hut to Lake Morgan Hut.
Type
Lake Morgan is a standard 6-bunk NZFS tops design (no fire or wood stove) built
in the 1970's.
It has mattresses and a roof-fed watertank. There is no toilet.
Condition
Lake Morgan is in very good condition. Some painting and resealing
work was done in the summer of 2003/ 4 and a roof fed watertank was installed in 2008.
Routes
There is a route to Lake Morgan from Cone Creek Hut in the Haupiri.
A tops track leads
from Cone Creek Hut into the head basin of the first side creek down from the Hut.
It emerges at its top end on the bush edge in the vicinity of
where the creek forks. Tops travel from
here up and over to Lake Morgan is straightforward in good visibility. Some folk have found
it difficult to locate the start of this track when dropping over from the Lake Morgan Side.
Allow 3-4 hours
for this route.
A relatively popular route out from Lake Morgan is via the tops
on the TR of the Morgan River down to the Crooked road
end. This is often done as part of a circuit of the Crooked valley. The tops
are pleasant, easy travel with plenty of tarns and good campsites.
From Lake Morgan Hut
head up towards Mt. O'Shanessey. At around the
1280m mark drop off the ridge and sidle across O'Shanessey's SW face,
across a scree, and back
up onto the main range between O'Shanessey and spot height 1375m
(there is a nice sized tarn just beneath the low point in the ridge).
It's easy travel along the range to spot height 1231m at the far end.
From here drop down a NW-running spur to a bench with open tussock patches.
A band of alpine
scrub needs to be crossed, but isn't too bad if you stick to the ridge.
The bench runs in a NE direction to the top of a broad spur on the
TL of a large creek feeding the Evans River.
Follow the open patches on the bench down to around the 1040m contour, then
veer North and bush-bash down the not-too-well defined spur. At around the 820m mark
head NW down the spur's faces to the old Rotomanu Kopara Road. A compass or GPS is
recommended this section. Allow 5-6 hours from Lake Morgan Hut to the Road end.
A few parties have accessed the Lake Morgan tops
via a the spur directly opposite Jacko Flat Hut.
It looks OK on the map, but the reports in the Lake Morgan hutbook
mention an extensive alpine scrub band and bluffs from
the 700-1100m mark, rough travel in other words. It would probably be
quicker carry on up the Crooked valley from Jacko flat and use
the Top Crooked tops track for access.
The Morgan Tops can be also accessed from the head basin of the Crooked
River. Just follow the River up and climb out onto the main range from the basin.
Again, the tops track is probably the quicker option.
Repairs needed
A new toilet would be a good idea.
Provisions on site
There is a heap of timber under the Hut. Provisions inside comprise
an aluminium bucket, a hand basin,
an old NZFS first aid kit, a broom and spare handle, a shovel, 4 billies and a small
camp oven.