Jacko Flat Hut
The start of the second gorge.
Location
Crooked River catchment. Map BU20. Grid Ref: E1487860/ N5270715 (BU20 879 707). Altitude 415m. Jacko Flat Hut is located on the TL of the Crooked River at the top end of Jacko Flat. The bush covered slopes around the Flat rise rapidly to sheer rock on the northern faces of Mt Alexander. There are two gorgy sections in the lower Crooked valley and the terrain is very rough underfoot in quite a few places. Upstream of Jacko Flat the River is a mix of rougher terrain and reasonably gentle river flats. The Crooked has always been a fairly low-use valley, with visitor numbers declining further in the 1990s and 2000s due to overgrowing tracks. Jacko Flat Hut averages around 10 parties a year currently with increased interest in recent times from those doing a circuit around the Lake Morgan tops. Visitors to the hut regularly report hearing kiwi close by and there are whio in the vicinity.
Maintenance Status
Jacko Flat Hut was designated as fully maintain by the Department of Conservation's in 2003, however only minimal input occurred after that. That all changed in 2024 when a major overhaul took place in May. The access track from the Crooked roadend also designated as fully maintain had had little done on it since 2015 and although DOC recut the upper valley route from Jacko Flat to Top Crooked Hut in 2019, it left the lower valley for some reason. By 2023 the track was overgrowing in a lot of places and becoming difficult to follow. Permolat approached DOC Greymouth about this and were told there were insufficient operational funds at that time to do anything, but that they were open to having volunteer input. Local kayakers had already done a bit of preliminary work around the first gorge, and between February and April 2024, our folk went in and recut the rest of the route.
Access
Crooked Valley access is up the old Rotomanu-Kopara Road, now just a farm track, which turns off Bell Hill Road just after Puzzle Creek. A key for the padlocked gate may be obtained from the first farmhouse on the left when heading back towards Rotomanu, otherwise, it's a couple of kms walk to the track start by the old bridge site at the Crooked River. The track climb/ sidles around the first gorge with the going undulating and boggy initially. After around an hour it drops back to the river where there is a short section of boulder travel. The track then re-enters the bush for a longish and quite rough sidle with lots of ups and downs through gullies and creeks catchments, hitting the riverbed again just before the Morgan River confluence. An uncharacteristically flat section of track across a bend in the river leads to a short stretch of boulders at the start of the second gorge.
The track re-enters the bush here. climbs, and then sidles up and down through steep, uneven, rocky terrain, with one short riverbed section. The track exits at the bottom end of Jacko Flat (E1487967/ N5271367) where the main channel of the Crooked cuts in against the riverbank. The ford is OK at normal flows but would be tricky or dangerous otherwise, Cross here and make a beeline straight up the river flats to just below Jacks Creek (unnamed on the NZ Topomap). There is a much easier ford back to the TL here and the last bit of track to the hut, which starts 50m up the Creek. Jacko Flat Hut is in a grassy clearing surrounded by small hardwoods, 20 metres from the river. A fit person travelling at a good clip can expect to get up to the hut from the roadend in five, however 6+ would be more realistic for those less familiar with the valley or with rough unformed tracks.
The clearing next to the Hut has plenty of space for a helicopter to get in.
Crooked River catchment. Map BU20. Grid Ref: E1487860/ N5270715 (BU20 879 707). Altitude 415m. Jacko Flat Hut is located on the TL of the Crooked River at the top end of Jacko Flat. The bush covered slopes around the Flat rise rapidly to sheer rock on the northern faces of Mt Alexander. There are two gorgy sections in the lower Crooked valley and the terrain is very rough underfoot in quite a few places. Upstream of Jacko Flat the River is a mix of rougher terrain and reasonably gentle river flats. The Crooked has always been a fairly low-use valley, with visitor numbers declining further in the 1990s and 2000s due to overgrowing tracks. Jacko Flat Hut averages around 10 parties a year currently with increased interest in recent times from those doing a circuit around the Lake Morgan tops. Visitors to the hut regularly report hearing kiwi close by and there are whio in the vicinity.
Maintenance Status
Jacko Flat Hut was designated as fully maintain by the Department of Conservation's in 2003, however only minimal input occurred after that. That all changed in 2024 when a major overhaul took place in May. The access track from the Crooked roadend also designated as fully maintain had had little done on it since 2015 and although DOC recut the upper valley route from Jacko Flat to Top Crooked Hut in 2019, it left the lower valley for some reason. By 2023 the track was overgrowing in a lot of places and becoming difficult to follow. Permolat approached DOC Greymouth about this and were told there were insufficient operational funds at that time to do anything, but that they were open to having volunteer input. Local kayakers had already done a bit of preliminary work around the first gorge, and between February and April 2024, our folk went in and recut the rest of the route.
Access
Crooked Valley access is up the old Rotomanu-Kopara Road, now just a farm track, which turns off Bell Hill Road just after Puzzle Creek. A key for the padlocked gate may be obtained from the first farmhouse on the left when heading back towards Rotomanu, otherwise, it's a couple of kms walk to the track start by the old bridge site at the Crooked River. The track climb/ sidles around the first gorge with the going undulating and boggy initially. After around an hour it drops back to the river where there is a short section of boulder travel. The track then re-enters the bush for a longish and quite rough sidle with lots of ups and downs through gullies and creeks catchments, hitting the riverbed again just before the Morgan River confluence. An uncharacteristically flat section of track across a bend in the river leads to a short stretch of boulders at the start of the second gorge.
The track re-enters the bush here. climbs, and then sidles up and down through steep, uneven, rocky terrain, with one short riverbed section. The track exits at the bottom end of Jacko Flat (E1487967/ N5271367) where the main channel of the Crooked cuts in against the riverbank. The ford is OK at normal flows but would be tricky or dangerous otherwise, Cross here and make a beeline straight up the river flats to just below Jacks Creek (unnamed on the NZ Topomap). There is a much easier ford back to the TL here and the last bit of track to the hut, which starts 50m up the Creek. Jacko Flat Hut is in a grassy clearing surrounded by small hardwoods, 20 metres from the river. A fit person travelling at a good clip can expect to get up to the hut from the roadend in five, however 6+ would be more realistic for those less familiar with the valley or with rough unformed tracks.
The clearing next to the Hut has plenty of space for a helicopter to get in.
Jacko interior '24 - Photo Casey Rhodes
Type
Jacko Flat is a standard New Zealand Forest Service S70 six-bunk design with an open fireplace built in the 1960's. The interior walls and ceiling were lined at some point and one of the door cupboards removed to create more space. There is a wooden plaque on the wall incised with "NZFS Hall of Fame" and the names; Arnie E, Alf H, Grant D, John S, Duncan H. & Nimrod 1977 and Blair G, Ritchie & Parker S. 1979. Some idiots have recently added their names at the bottom and ruined the artefact. There is a long drop toilet and water is from the river.
Condition
Jacko Flat should be in good shape for quite a few years to come after the work done by DOC in 2024. The last maintenance prior to this had been in 2015 when a new door, fireplace surround, and hearth were installed, the chimney patched, the louvres repaired, and the hut painted. The 2024 crew comprising Ben Pigott, Casey Rhodes, Matt Ainge and Mike Detlaff replaced the piles and bearers, the roof and ridging (including replacement of lead-head nails with tech screws), some rotten tongue and groove around the hearth, and any buckled inner lining. The floor was sanded and varnished, and the exterior and interior of the hut repainted. A stainless-steel bench was added along with a standing fire grate, new mattress covers, shelving, and coat hooks. The chimney had its external base re-concreted and a new doorstep was poured. The toilet was straightened and had its floor repaired. A woodshed was built, and the hut site cleared. The mattresses can get quite mouldy due to the site not getting much sun in winter and in summer mosquitos can be a bit of a pest. There are no window screens and they probably come down the chimney as well.
Routes
The track from Jacko Flat to Top Crooked Hut was last cut in 2019. It passes through fairly open beech forest initially, hits the river and then climbs up and around a small gorge. After this it alternates between bush face and riverbed sections, climbing gradually towards the headwaters. Top Crooked Hut is up a short (20m) side track from the clearing beside the river at the end of the track (where the hut used to be sited before being moved higher in 1991). The hut is visible from the riverbed on a low terrace on the TL. The track was still in pretty good shape in September 22. Allow around 2.5 - 3 hours to Top Crooked Hut from Jacko Flat Hut.
An old NZFS track up Jack's Creek onto the Alexander Range probably no longer exists in any useful form, although it is rumoured that the occasional bit of permolat can still be found. It is necessary now to follow the Creek and there are a couple of waterfalls that need skirting in the lower and mid sections. The upper Creek is reportedly an unpleasant scrub-bash. An entry in the Jacko Flat hutbook describes a trip down from the Alexander Range tarns taking seven hours, although the party concerned had plenty of stops.
The spur directly opposite Jacko Flat Hut has been used on occasions to access the Lake Morgan tops and Lake Morgan Hut It looks OK on the map but has been described in the Lake Morgan hutbook as having an extensive and difficult alpine scrub band with bluffs from 700-1100m. It is probably quicker and less hassle to continue up the main valley track and use the maintained tops track opposite Top Crooked Hut.
Repairs needed.
Shouldn't be any at the moment.
Provisions On Site
There are three billies, a pot, a large camp oven, an aluminium wash basin, a large plastic water container, a stainless-steel bucket, an old NZFS food drum (please don't use it as a rubbish bin), two bench seats, some rat poison, a small container with large staples, a fish slice, an axe, two next to useless bow saws, a broom with a broken handle, a hearth brush and shovel. Under the bunks are 10, 125 x 125mm x 0.9 metre treated piles. There are odds and sods of timber under the Hut.
Jacko Flat is a standard New Zealand Forest Service S70 six-bunk design with an open fireplace built in the 1960's. The interior walls and ceiling were lined at some point and one of the door cupboards removed to create more space. There is a wooden plaque on the wall incised with "NZFS Hall of Fame" and the names; Arnie E, Alf H, Grant D, John S, Duncan H. & Nimrod 1977 and Blair G, Ritchie & Parker S. 1979. Some idiots have recently added their names at the bottom and ruined the artefact. There is a long drop toilet and water is from the river.
Condition
Jacko Flat should be in good shape for quite a few years to come after the work done by DOC in 2024. The last maintenance prior to this had been in 2015 when a new door, fireplace surround, and hearth were installed, the chimney patched, the louvres repaired, and the hut painted. The 2024 crew comprising Ben Pigott, Casey Rhodes, Matt Ainge and Mike Detlaff replaced the piles and bearers, the roof and ridging (including replacement of lead-head nails with tech screws), some rotten tongue and groove around the hearth, and any buckled inner lining. The floor was sanded and varnished, and the exterior and interior of the hut repainted. A stainless-steel bench was added along with a standing fire grate, new mattress covers, shelving, and coat hooks. The chimney had its external base re-concreted and a new doorstep was poured. The toilet was straightened and had its floor repaired. A woodshed was built, and the hut site cleared. The mattresses can get quite mouldy due to the site not getting much sun in winter and in summer mosquitos can be a bit of a pest. There are no window screens and they probably come down the chimney as well.
Routes
The track from Jacko Flat to Top Crooked Hut was last cut in 2019. It passes through fairly open beech forest initially, hits the river and then climbs up and around a small gorge. After this it alternates between bush face and riverbed sections, climbing gradually towards the headwaters. Top Crooked Hut is up a short (20m) side track from the clearing beside the river at the end of the track (where the hut used to be sited before being moved higher in 1991). The hut is visible from the riverbed on a low terrace on the TL. The track was still in pretty good shape in September 22. Allow around 2.5 - 3 hours to Top Crooked Hut from Jacko Flat Hut.
An old NZFS track up Jack's Creek onto the Alexander Range probably no longer exists in any useful form, although it is rumoured that the occasional bit of permolat can still be found. It is necessary now to follow the Creek and there are a couple of waterfalls that need skirting in the lower and mid sections. The upper Creek is reportedly an unpleasant scrub-bash. An entry in the Jacko Flat hutbook describes a trip down from the Alexander Range tarns taking seven hours, although the party concerned had plenty of stops.
The spur directly opposite Jacko Flat Hut has been used on occasions to access the Lake Morgan tops and Lake Morgan Hut It looks OK on the map but has been described in the Lake Morgan hutbook as having an extensive and difficult alpine scrub band with bluffs from 700-1100m. It is probably quicker and less hassle to continue up the main valley track and use the maintained tops track opposite Top Crooked Hut.
Repairs needed.
Shouldn't be any at the moment.
Provisions On Site
There are three billies, a pot, a large camp oven, an aluminium wash basin, a large plastic water container, a stainless-steel bucket, an old NZFS food drum (please don't use it as a rubbish bin), two bench seats, some rat poison, a small container with large staples, a fish slice, an axe, two next to useless bow saws, a broom with a broken handle, a hearth brush and shovel. Under the bunks are 10, 125 x 125mm x 0.9 metre treated piles. There are odds and sods of timber under the Hut.
