Mt Alford

Sunday 2 March 2025

This was the second attempt at Mt Alford this year – the first was postponed due to wet weather in January and resulted in a Plan B trip closer to home around Duncan Park and the Port Hills.  This time, the trip was brought forward a week to take advantage of favourable weather and fill a gap in the PTC calendar. The weather forecast predicted NW winds and temperatures in the high 20s.  With John travelling directly to the Alford Forest car park, the rest of us assembled at Church Corner and travelled in 1 car to Mt Alford.  We saw John’s car at the car park, but no John.  Correctly figuring he was ahead of us, we started the tramp up through a pleasantly shaded bush track before stopping for a morning tea break at a white bench seat with great views down onto the surrounding Canterbury plains, where several farm burn-offs were sending columns of smoke up into the air. A little further up, we emerged from the treeline and proceeded in open countryside up a poled route towards the summit of Mt Alford (1171m).  The NW breeze was most welcome as it kept the

 temperature down, which was very noticeable when we passed through sheltered areas where there was no breeze.  The route is well marked by poles through low vegetation.  We reached the summit at midday, some 2.5 hours after starting out.  We met up with John who had reached the summit about half an hour before us and was about to go back down.  What an excellent spot for lunch, warm sunny conditions and a light NW breeze to keep the temperature to a tolerable level.  Add to that, a stunning 360-degree view of the surrounding hills; Mt Hutt, Mt Somers, Mt Winterslow, all nearby, and Mt Peel in the distance.