Crooked Spur Hut1 7-18 May 2014
Robert’s taxi service picked Fergus and myself up at 8 am in excellent weather, and with Christine and Barry already on board, it was off to the Bush Stream car park where we were the only vehicle. Tents were left in the vehicle, however a kilometre up the four wheel drive track, two vehicles were parked at the Mesopotamia fence, and Christine and Robert returned for the tents while the rest of us started up river.
The poled route up Bush Stream was somewhat erratic, while the stream itself was carrying a considerable quantity of water, near the upper limit of comfortable crossing. A pleasant if somewhat cool trip up valley ensued until the first climb to avoid a gorge, then the real climb up Crooked Spur to the hut, to find 7 hunters in residence.
While the two tents were put up and one of our party faced a night on the floor, the party of five young hunters decided to walk out in the dark (they had come in at 2 am that morning), and there was space in the hut for all. However Christine decided to use her tent, while it was suggested that I use the other on the grounds that I sometimes snore slightly.
With the stars out and the evening getting colder, it was off to bed at 7 pm, and with a spare mattress from the hut and a twenty below sleeping bag, it was a pleasant night in the tent. The morning dawned without the expected frost, but those in the hut took some time to arise, and they nearly missed the spectacular sunrise.
The trip down Crooked Spur was just as steep as coming up, before the first river crossing cooled the feet. With a better understanding of the route we made much better time going down river, and our lunch break saw us only a couple of kilometres from the vehicle. With a stop for ice cream and fizz at Peel Forest we were home mid afternoon after an enjoyable weekend trip.
Bruce