Top Crooked Hut
(Top Crooked Hut: Photo Andrew Buglass 2007)
Maintenance Status
Top Crooked Hut is designated as minimal maintenance.
Although DOC recut the track from Jacko Flat Hut to Top Crooked in March 2009,
its continued maintenance is not a certainty, nor is it likely to be a high priority. Prior to the
latest maintenance the tracked sections had been in an uncut and overgrown state for some years.
On a positive note the track up to Jacko Flat Hut from the Crooked
roadend will be fully maintained. The main valley tracks in the Crooked and the access track to
the Lake Morgan tops from the upper Crooked aren't currently marked on the topo maps.
Location
Crooked catchment. Map BU21. Grid Ref: E1492802/ N5271190.
575m altitude. Top Crooked Hut is located on a low river terrace in the head of the Crooked valley.
The Army shifted it up from the river flat immediately below its current site a
few years back, probably due to an encroaching shingle fan a short distance upriver.
The the forest in the head of the Crooked is predominantly rata/ kamahi and the peaks of the Kaimata Range
and the Lake Morgan
tops rise above. It is a scenic and rugged spot with great remote ambience. Visits to the
Hut are infrequent, and mostly comprise groups doing the Lake Morgan tops circuit.
Access
The track to Top Crooked from Jacko Flat Hut is
a very straightforward affair. A track goes up the TL of the valley through mostly open beech forest.
There are a couple of short riverbed sections mid-valley and also for the last stretch to the Hut.
On the lower riverbed section of riverbed DOC have disked a route up one of the river channels.
This will be OK at normal flows, but in flood would require a slow bash on the TL.
Care is required on the upper short section also.
The Crooked tracks were recut in 2009 and should still be in good condition.
Allow 2-2.5 hours from Jacko Flat Hut to Top Crooked Hut, or 8-10 hours from the Crooked roadend.
There is plenty of open riverbed in the vicinity of the Hut for helicopter access.
Type
Top Crooked is a basic, unmodified NZFS four-bunk design with open fire, built in the 1960's.
It is lined with
tar paper. There is a toilet. The water supply is from the River.
Condition
The Hut is in good condition currently. DOC painted and resealed it and did
some basic maintenance in 2004. 2-3 of the outside piles may need replacing in the long-term and
the outside door bolt now doesn't close properly and needs replacing. A recent party found the door
open when they arrived and rigged a temporary fix.
Routes
Access to the Lake Morgan Tops and Lake Morgan Hut is via
a track that starts a short distance downriver from the Hut. This was recut in 2009 and is in good condition currently.
Its entrance is on the TR of the Crooked at the edge of a
grassy area, just over a small stream that runs in against the bush edge (around E1492748/ N5271293).
It climbs steeply up the bush faces
to the tops, emerging at a band
of jumbled rocks on the tussock line, around E1492748/ N5271293. DOC has placed several markers and
waratahs at the bush line with the highest one at about the 1200m contour. Head from here
up the tussock faces onto
the crest of the range. Travel is easy and reasonably level all the way along
to point
1489m above Lake Morgan. Drop down the NW ridge of point 1489m
to the saddle between it and point 1422m, down an obvious rocky gut to the Lake. It is a beautiful,
serene spot with good campsites. Continue around the Lake and down the TR of the
outlet creek past a small set of waterfalls. Once below these cross over to a flat bench
with
tarns on the TL the creek. Lake Morgan Hut is visible from here in fine conditions.
Drop in a NE direction, recross to the TR of the outlet creek, and sidle
around the 1120m contour line to the Hut which is
located on a
bench above the steep-sided gorge through which the creek drops into the Morgan River.
Good visibility
or GPS is neccessary to locate the Hut which is sited below the crest of the range.
Allow 4-6 hours for the journey
from Top Crooked Hut to Lake Morgan Hut.
Access to the Morgan tops is also possible from the head basin of the upper TR branch
of the Crooked River. Climb from here up the tussock slopes onto the main range.
There are other tops routes in and out of the upper Crooked from the
Haupiri and Taramakau catchments, which require reasonably high
levels of skill and fitness. There is mention in the Top Crooked hutbook of an ancient,
unfollowable track up Tom's Creek in
the Taramakau. On the older maps a track is marked up the spur behind Top Crooked Hut
onto the
Kaimata Range. No information is on hand currently on its condition or useability, but it is probably very overgrown.
Repairs Needed
The door bolt needs replacing. 2-3 of the outside piles may need replacing in the longer term.
Provisions on site
Five billies, an axe, a broom, an aluminium bucket, an axe handle, a broom handle, an aluminium
wash basin, and a couple of old NZFS food bins.
