Awoke in cloud again, but no wind, so keen enough to start on the long 900m descent to Hacket Hut, knowing that we had to take it slow and steady because of the damp forest floor. Nearer the top especially the amount of large trees blown over in various storms was amazing - a good place not to be when the wind is up, and thanks to DOC for having cleared the track so well in spite of it all.
Concentrating so hard on our footing we missed Pyramid Rock (a landmark part way down), but eventually reached Hacket Creek and met one of the parties from the Auck Tramping Club's Interim trip on their way up. A good chance to swap notes, to get another wasp warning, and then depart in our opposite directions.
Hacket Hut (our original scheduled destination the night before) looked to have had a late night party, so grateful that we had not ended up there after all.... So on to Browning
Hut for an early lunch.Climb up to Totara Saddle was fine - only another 200m from the hut, but then, as the track notes suggested, the track became a hard slog for quite a few hours - narrow track sidling a steep hillside with plenty of chances for tripping and slipping. Eventually it sidled onto a ridge between the Mates and Roebuck Creek cachments, and then a final descent down to the Roebuck Hut on the Pelorus River bank.
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