Griffin Creek Hut Work-days

Mon-Wed, 15-17 January 2024

The planned Back Country Trust maintenance work on Yeats Ridge Hut had to be postponed, last minute, because of a narrowing weather window ahead of a deluge forecast for Westland.  Plan B was to finish off some work at Griffin Creek Hut that only required two days of good weather.  So, the PTC group who had geared up for Yeats Ridge Hut hastily reorganised themselves and met with Ollie Clifton of Back Country Trust and builders Ben Norris and Aaron Gillespie at a farm where Harrington Creek meets the Taramakau River.  Three short helicopter trips saw all eight of us, plus gear installed at Griffin Creek Hut ready to start work late in the afternoon of Monday 15 January.

During the next two days, everyone was busy with a variety of tasks—carting buckets of gravel up from the creek, mixing and pouring concrete around newly replaced piles, repainting the long-drop toilet and new woodshed, and track maintenance towards the saddle, while builders Ben and Aaron installed a new wood burner and flue unit into the open fireplace of the hut.  Ollie used the remaining concrete to construct a step up to the hut entrance.

The days were hot and dry with a near frost on the first night and much warmer the next night.  The small helicopter landing area in front of the hut was a collection of tents for the duration of our stay, and this was enlarged by trimming nearby vegetation once tents were packed away on our final day. Fletch Anderson flew us all back to the cars with three short trips and we all returned to Chch late on Wed 17th January.

Thanks to Ollie, Aaron and Ben for the technical work and to fellow PTC participants, Bill Templeton, John Robinson, Mike Flaws, Peter Umbers for their cheerful approach and hard work, despite the original plan to go into Yeats Ridge Hut being postponed.  That remains to be completed with a likely rescheduling for late February, subject to weather.    Mike Bourke