19 November
With an inclement weather forecast the call made from our other HTC wanderers to postpone the memorial trip up the J until ANZAC Day. However, Mum and I had time off work and a keen dog in tow, so with raincoats at the ready we set off from Makahu saddle carpark at 0830 AM on Sun 19 Nov in mild conditions with low cloud sitting on the tops, headed for Kaweka J.
The usual zig zag up to the conjunction of the spurs was over before we knew it, as was the climb to Dominee where we chose not to linger given the forecast was for incoming worsening conditions.
An impressive field of mountain buttercups greeted us as we hit the tarns, and our raincoats were appreciated for the NW gusts and damp low cloud. In the temporary windbreak of the hill just before the cairn we unwrapped the wreath made by Nannie, before making our way over to secure and place it to the plaque at 1030 AM , in-case a future trip up did not pan out for the club as a whole.
Views to the central plateau were clouded in and glancing down to hawkes bay looked drizzly, so as the winds were becoming chilly on our hands and legs, we remembered those who had gone before us, and then were thankful for the wind assist, as we made short work of dropping the altitude back down the ridge. We had a wee morning tea break, aka sent Nannie a quick pic from the Dominee junction, before our final descent saw us back to the empty car park at 1145 AM.
Given that the last few times we’ve been up the J we’d start walking from the quarry due to road works, therefore we felt we were cutting this trip very short, being afforded good road conditions to drive all the way in now. All the same, a nice leg stretch had by all, including the dog.
Samara E & Kathy E