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Parked the car in Cass and at 12.15 started to walk to the Cass / Lagoon trail head, back up the road at Craigieburn Forest Park. Followed a grassed over metal road with a row of pines to our right before cutting through the pines and heading to the Cass River which we followed up stream looking for a crossing point. With no crossing to be found and a walker returning in the opposite direction wading the river we removed our boots and crossing in sandals.
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Found a dry tributary which allowed us to scale the steep sided river bank and followed the top of the bank through meadows forest and gorse. Decided that we were getting to far away from the river and so dropped down through a beech wood to get back to it. Followed the right hand bank of the river up stream until we reached a shear bank and so had to cross to the left. Over the next couple of kilometres we crossed the river a number of times until at last the path moved away and took us up through beech wood climbing steeply at times, finally we came to the luxury of a bridge to cross the river again and continue on the north side until we reached Cass Hut where we rested for a while before pressing on.
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Di crossing Cass River
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Continued on up through beech wood before emerging into open tussock still climbed steadily towards a saddle which we passed and still continued climbing in order to round the steep drop on the other side. Descended through beech wood, steeply at times, and then more gently, soft beech leaves provided a comfortable surface for our aching legs.
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The longest day (in the southern hemisphere. By 7.45 we were on our way, crossing a three wire bridge shortly after our start and then a swing bridge soon after that, which brought us out into the sun. Followed the Harper River up on the left hand bank with a cool light breeze blowing down the valley. Passed into a beech wood with its shade a occasionally at that time of the morning the sun disappeared behind a nearby hill. Spent a good deal of time ascending the hill side above the river and then descending by down to it, and repeating the exercise so that we must have clocked up many more metres of ascent than shown on the map. But by 9.30 we had reached the West Harper Hut.
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Continued to travel north up, over, around and through beech wood forest until we again returned to the river. Picked our way over the river bank talus and river crossings using cairns until we again found the orange triangle track markers and in this way continued up towards the Lagoon Saddle. Near the top we emerged into open tussocks with board walks taking us around to the highest point on our path where shortly after we stopped for lunch.
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Descended down the north side of Mount Bruce through tussock and bog with occasional broad walks until we came to a mixed forest of beech and pine through which we descended steadily to Cora Lynn Road and then the main road.
To retrieve the car Steve walked back towards Cass thumbing as he went and within a kilometre got a lift back to the side road to Cass. After we had sorted ourselves out we drove back to Arthur's Pass Village and on up the pass summit, just to see it. Then turned around and drove back to Christchurch.
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Waimakariri River
from Mount Bruce
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