Mt Richmond Forest Park - a challenge for all trampers

My son Ryan joined me for this part of the tramp through the Richmond Forest Park.This section of the Te Araroa trail starts at the delightful picnic spot of Pelorous Bridge. The track is well known for its' beautiful tall native forest, mainly red beech, as it runs alongside the crystal clear Pelorous River, so for the first few days it is long but easy walking. The weather was great and although we were carrying heavy packs (10 days food), we made good progress.

However, as we moved further south and up onto the Richmond Ranges proper, the alpine section as they call it, the tramping got harder and the days longer. We often climbed up the 1,000 meters in the morning, only to descend 600 meters in the afternoon.
The weather was kind to us and we needed it to be, as we negotiate the high exposed mountain ridges and the rocky crags, that we often had to work our way around. But the scenery was just bearth-taking, mountains as far as the eye could see. We felt on top of the world and it's days like this that you know why you love tramping so much. Just wish it wasn't all on the same day.

These mountains are hard work. It is certainly "full-on" tramping and you need to have a good sence of adventure, to get the best out of it and enjoy the experience.