| Leader | Mentor | Understudy | Tail Ender | |
| Standards | Alan | Dave R | Warren | Sally |
| Alternates | Norma | Peter | Gary | Kiwan |
Distance: 5.3km (stds) Duration: 4hr 20min
Elevation: Max Alt 1741m (stds) Min Alt: 939m Elevation Gain: 802m
With 48 trampers aboard the bus, we left Christchurch under grey overcast skies but with high hopes for a fine day in the mountains. After the November 2018 attempt to get to the top of Foggy Peak had to be abandoned because of high winds, weather conditions were looking much more favourable for today and the low overcast soon gave way to blue sky and bright sunshine as we approached the foot of Porter’s Pass.
A team of 20 decided to tackle the climb to Foggy Peak and got off the bus at the top of Porter’s Pass. The other 28 trampers carried on a few hundred metres to Starvation Gully with a plan to complete an ‘out and back’ walk to Trig M and on towards Rabbit Hill. The usual Trig M/Rabbit Hill/Lyndon Road route wasn’t possible today because Lyndon Road is closed for repair following extensive flood damage in June and so the bus was unable to get to the usual pickup point.
Alan led the 20 up the mountain while Norma led her 28 up to Trig M. On both routes it was a steady upward slog but broken by frequent rest stops as the tail enders caught up with the leaders. On the slopes of Foggy Peak we were able to take in the increasingly spectacular views – the plains still shrouded in cloud, Porter’s Pass and across the valley where we could see the alternative group heading up the track towards Trig M. Weather conditions were almost ideal – the sun warmed us but the northwest breeze kept us from overheating.
On Foggy Peak, there was brief respite from the relentless climbing as we reached the false summit and walked about 100 m across a small plateau before starting to climb again. The summit with its patches of snow still looked far away but President Jan assured us that we’d reach it in about half an hour and that estimate proved right. Soon after midday and about two hours after setting out, we found ourselves on the broad, flat, top of Foggy Peak at an elevation of 1741 m. After the obligatory group photo, we took in the spectacular panoramic views – Trig M, Rabbit Hill and Lake Lyndon to the south, the Craigieburn Range to the west, Castle Hill Peak and Mt Torlesse close by and Christchurch and the plains still hidden under a layer of low cloud. We sat eating our lunch looking eastwards with the Kowai River Valley and Bob’s Knob at our feet and the snow-covered Torlesse Range stretching away to our left.
Reluctantly we left our lofty perch and began the descent to Porter’s Pass. It was faster going down but just a little scarier with the loose shingle underfoot inviting an ignominious fall. Some of us were more confident than others but we all arrived safely at the bottom just a few minutes after 2 pm. As we descended, we could see the alternative group of 28 also heading back down from their tramp to Trig M and beyond. After a short wait and some discussion about the length of the walk as measured by various tracking devices (was 5.5 km the distance in plan or along the hypotenuse of our triangle?), the bus arrived to take us back to Christchurch. Our legs knew they’d had a workout but the minds of the 20 were glad they’d met the Foggy Peak challenge. Txt Warren G
