Birthday celebrations involving hiking? Bring it on!
Overnight hiking is a favourite way for me to fully immerse myself into the wild for extended periods of time and my trip to Boyle Flat Hut did not disappoint. I love the whole process, from planning, weather checking and packing, right through to the end where I end up back at the trail head and have the feelings of contentment and achievement come flooding in. There is something so empowering about carrying everything that will keep you warm, safe and sustained on your back and then surrendering to the unknowns in front of you.
When my friend, Erin, asked me to celebrate her birthday with her on the trails instead of dinner and a bar I was all in! The planets aligned and we managed to organise two whole days to get onto the trails and for the first time ever we would be doing it sans kids. Usually we have at least two children each in tow which is wonderful in its own right but the mindset and challenge we can undertake is of course different when considering the needs of children. This one was all about us!
Weather challenges force flexibility
At the start of the week we could see a wet weather system due to hit New Zealand at the same time as we were supposed to be departing for our trip. Typical! At no point did we consider cancelling but it did mean we would not only have to be prepared for tough conditions, we would also have to be flexible on where we would go. We watched, waited and packed whilst the weather forecasts constantly changed through the week until the Friday morning when the weather looked more ‘locked in’. It wasn’t as bad for the South Island as it had originally appeared to be and by changing our location from the Arthurs Pass area to Lewis Pass we were confident that any weather coming our way would be more than manageable and have little to no effect on the rivers in the area. Our final destination was planned for Boyle Flat Hut, a 13 km hike along the St James trail starting from the Southern end of the trail at Boyle Village.
We left the car in the locked car park of Boyle River Outdoor Education centre which is based at the trailhead of the St James walkway. Usually the St James is walked North to South and the Education center shuttles people to the Northern end due to a high car crime rate at the public car park there. Since we were doing an out and back route from the south side we could just take advantage of tucking the car into bed as safely as is possible for our time away.
The hiking begins!
After filling out an intentions form and placing it with the education center we were off, packs on and filled with anticipation and frivolity we began our adventure. St James Walkway here we come … or not. Within two or three hundred metres of what we thought was the the track it narrowed and disappeared and we realised we had in fact missed the markers signaling the turning for the actual track. DOH! Lesson learned, we may be away on a girls weekend but we still needed to pay attention. Very quickly and with egos checked we were back where we were supposed to be, walking through beech forest, where tree roots twisted through the ground beneath our feet. The track undulated upwards taking us high above the river. The uphills were sharp but short and for the most part allowed us to maintain our non-abating flow of conversation.
At around 2 kilometres we hit the first swing bridge. It’s relatively high and gives great views of the Boyle River below. It has a one person weight limit so we took it in turns to make our way across and take in the beautiful views of the river, merrily flowing beneath us.
It’s an uphill trend…
The track continually changes in elevation and in this direction trends uphill the whole way. Although the gradient remains fairly civilised its enough to make for tired legs at the end of the day. Whilst the main river crossings had the convenience of swing bridges the side streams did not, so it is worth keeping in mind that during or just after heavy rain they could become challenging or impassable and even when the rivers are running low, completing the track with dry feet is not going to be possible. Overall, the track was proving to be well marked and well maintained, although there were plenty of muddy bogs to be skirted around or stomped through which was the cause for much hilarity through the day.
Soon enough we had made it to the 10km mark where we crossed the second swing bridge. This is the turnoff for Magdalen Hut, a new six bunk hut 1.1km away downstream from this point. We however were heading to the larger Boyle Flat hut, another 3-4 km’s away so took the left turn and continued our upstream march along the Boyle River.
A little way up we were then met with the disappearance of the track, this time not from us not paying attention but from a slip that had taken 3-4 metres of track with it. A quick scramble down and it thankfully became apparent that you can sidle down and around the edge of the river and back up to rejoin the track a few metres later. This is soon followed by a final robust uphill section which then pops us out of the forest and drops down onto grassy flats where we could see the hut perched like a beautiful beacon on the other side of the river.
Boyle Flat Hut; our own wild sanctuary
It is possible to cross the river here and scramble up the other side if it is running low but just a couple of hundred metres extra and you can use the perfectly functioning swing bridge. On arrival at the hut we found that we had the place all to ourselves which felt like total luxury. Our own wild sanctuary for the night.
It was 4pm by this time and the temperature was dropping so I went to inspect the woodshed only to be greeted by the saddest looking contents I had ever seen. Thankfully DOC had left a saw in the shed so whilst Erin hunted for smaller branches in the surrounding trees I set about sawing the slightly bigger branches from the woodshed into firebox sized lengths whilst wondering how I would ever get this to burn since it was so wet and green. Luckily I had carried in some dry kindling and firelighters to give us a head start so soon enough we had a fire, although it took a long time and a lot of nurturing to produce enough heat to warm the hut for the night.
The hot food and warm drinks couldn’t come soon enough, it had been a big day and we were ready to relax. In true female fashion we found yet more to talk about until 9:30pm when we decided that we couldn’t be bothered to go hunting for yet more wet firewood so it was deemed time to crawl into our sleeping bags for the night.
It was a slow hut morning
In the morning we woke to clouds that had the promise of sun behind them. We drank multiple cups of coffee and ate breakfast on go slow, enjoying our surroundings and chatting about what the day ahead may look like. Finally with bags packed, we swept the hut and cut down a small tree to replace what we had burnt from the woodshed.
Downhill hiking and a sandfly army attack
We braced ourselves for the hill up to the highest point which begins almost as soon as you cross the bridge in front of the hut but were pleasantly surprised at how much easier it was from this direction of travel. Walking the track in reverse was far more relaxing than the day before and we meandered our way through the track, easily ticking off the kilometres, one by one.
We began sharing stories from our younger selves, a topic we don’t normally have time to delve into. There is usually a kidlet of some description around to interrupt our thoughts and convos so it was refreshing to pass the time, relaxing and reminiscing.
We aimed for a large side stream that we thought would be bathed in sunlight and would provide us dry spots to eat lunch on. Unfortunately the reality was that we were on the wrong side of the valley for sunshine and instead got attacked by a horde of vicious sandflies. We tried our best to ignore them but when our constant air swipes and skin slaps did nothing to deter them, we soon gave up and moved on.
Homeward bound; appreciating the small things
Before we knew it, we had crossed the third and final bridge and found ourselves in the final couple of kilometres of forest. By this point I was starting to look forward to a shower, flushing toilets and seeing my lovely husband and kids. I love the feeling that washes over me at the end of a trip like this, it’s a warm feeling of contentment and achievement and I can appreciate all our modern day conveniences with new eyes. Dry shoes and socks feel blissful, warm water coming straight from the tap feels magical and walking without a large percentage of my body weight on my back feels liberating. It’s nice being able to appreciate those small things in life and it’s one of the many rewards that I get from pushing myself out of the usual daily comforts I am surrounded by. And so, with our cups full and minds calm we got in the car and headed home.
Useful links:
Boyle Flat Hut information from DOC:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/canterbury/places/st-james-conservation-area/things-to-do/huts/boyle-flat-hut/
St James walkway information from DOC:
https://www.doc.govt.nz/parks-and-recreation/places-to-go/canterbury/places/st-james-conservation-area/things-to-do/tracks/st-james-walkway/
