Camp Saddle to Lyndon Saddle (again)

Shaz reports…

Liz and I completed this trip about a month earlier when Mirjam and Scruff weren’t available - so we were due for a revisit for a full team tick.

The route between Camp Saddle and Lyndon Saddle is an unformed route with no official track. You simply navigate along the ridge - and the route finding uncertainty (even though you’re pretty certain you’re not 100% sure) combined with the adrenaline from the odd gnarly rock section and lots of scree running had left both Liz and I on a 24-hour + high after the first trip.

Although we found the walk from the end of the Luge track back to the car, parked at the gate to Broken River Skifield, a little arduous we decided to park at the gate (rather than at the bottom of the Luge) again.

It takes 15 - 20 minutes to walk along the road from the boom gate, where we parked, to the start of the Camp Saddle track. And it took one hour from the car to reach Camp Saddle - so we were slightly faster than the DoC time of an hour from the track start.

The climb starts under the forest canopy for about two-thirds of the ascent and then you break out onto scree slopes which take longer to negotiate than you’d expect by looking at the distance. Looking back down the valley at the views is a good excuse for a breath catch!

Almost at Camp Saddle.

The view back down…

Water stop for dogs and coffee or miso soup stop for humans at Camp Saddle.

I never get tired of the taste of miso soup at a rest stop. It is both sweet and salty and hits the spot! That is Hamilton Peak in the background (it’s on the list for a future adventure). Our route is up the opposite slope.

Going up the first bump…

Then you follow that curving ridge line pretty much ALL the way.

Once you reach the edge of the ridge there is a steep scree slope. You can walk down the actual ridge line which is hard going downhill as it is slippery and rocky, or you can hit the slope where the steep scree beds allows you to a controlled slide walk - or even run - once you get the hang of it. I love scree running, but Mirjam struggles with downhill sections since her car accident and found this really hard going.

Starting the final descent from the curved ridge.

The scree slope in perspective - that’s Liz in the circle added to the photo.

Almost down. Mirjam called a two-minute rest break and support dogs Scruff and Shanti came in for a cuddle (not sure that was helpful).

Next up: a rest and water stop at the cairn at the bottom of the ridge. A final descent through the forest to Lyndon Saddle - familiar from several trips to Helicopter Hill - and then down The Luge track which is also familiar walking ground.

Mirjam’s legs were shaky and tired from the descent, so in hindsight we should have parked at the end of the Luge track - but since the car was a 20-or-so-minute walk uphill (well, mostly uphill) and she would not consider waiting for the car to fetch her, she had further to go.

Here’s the route. The car is at the start arrow with my name, and we walked in the direction of the arrow.

This is definitely my new all-time-favourite route (for now). I had a mild high this time, but was so much more relaxed and able to enjoy the scenery. We did it in four-and-a-half hours for the first trip and took a more leisurely five-and-a-half for this one.