Pinnacles Trip Report

My selfless friends Jenny and Lizzy joined me this weekend for some "training" in the mountains, well more hills.

The tramp to the Pinnacles in the Coromandel is not technically challenging, it is a cleared track, well signposted. We left the car park (180m asl) and followed the Web Creek Path to Pinnacles Hut (616m asl) . What made this stroll training was the vast buffet of treats carried to the hut, yoghurt, cake (chocolate and carrot), slice (muesli, apple, caramel and chocolate) as well as ginger wine, a coffee plunger, a wok and lots of toastie clothes. We were all delighted to make the trip in under track time! On arrival it was time for hot drinks, dinner and 11 hours of sleep. 

Sunday morning we rose early at about 9am, and decided to complete our journey to the Pinnacles proper a further 143m up. The weather was fine as we wandered up the ever steepening steps, then ladders, then staples. There was a beautiful view from the top for at least the first 5 minutes.... then 50 knots, hail and rain. Clambering down the exposed rock face back to the hut was not an option, so we sheltered and waited till it passed.  Good training for the cold of the upcomming Simrad races .

Back to the hut, coffee and cake, stroll down to the Hydrocamp, then we decided to take the Billy Goat track back to the carpark  recommended to us by the 69 year old hut warden. We thought it was going to be a down hill day but NO,  this way home had  an  additional 112m of climbing, before a very steep decent into the valley.

In all a great weekend, 690m of vertical climb, most of it with 20kg packs, 11 hours of sleep in a tramping hut - a record for me, and of course all that fitness gained from giggling.