For one reason or another this trip is a repeat of #18 in December with the biggest difference being that the December trip had only three of us, this time the group was much larger with 10 people. With memories of the mud still in my mind, we began with a walk of a kilometre or two along the Pipeline Track to the Burns Track turn off. I was pleasantly surprised with how dry this part of track was and had high hopes that other parts of the track would be in a similar condition. The start of the climb up the Burns Track is always steep and flattens out before a short steep climb to the Rustlers Ridge track junction which is where a compulsory morning tea stop was called. While most of us settled for water there was the one or two who broke out the thermos for a cup of tea.
From the junction we followed the contour around to Swampy Ridge. The going was reasonably good with only the occasional muddy patch to contend with. Being at the back was good because I could see where others had gone and could avoid the worst of it. This is a pleasant part of the Burns Track as the bush thins with more open patches. Once at Swampy Ridge we turned towards Hightop and this was the section where the mud had been at it's worst during our last time along here in December. How different things can be a month later as the track is much drier and most of the mud had a thick porridge consistency rather than the ankle deep, wet, sloppy mud from last time making it much easier to avoid the majority of it. 
As we approached Hightop the bush opens out to golden tussock and with all the climbing and mud behind us we were able to relax and enjoy our surroundings more. I have always enjoyed the tussock tops of the Silver Peaks and while most of the peaks are now covered in scrub, there are still some open tussock tops which are a pleasure to stroll through. We made the small detour to the top of Hightop where we found a place to sit in the sun amongst the tussock for lunch. 
We had purposely chosen a place that faced West and we were rewarded with panoramic views of the Silver Peaks. In December the tops of the Silver Peaks had been obscured by cloud where as today we could easily see from Pulpit Rock all the way through to The Gap and beyond. This was the route along Rocky Ridge that we had taken during trip #5 The Three Ridges in November. One of the things I am enjoying as we complete the 100 trips is seeing how all the tracks and previous trips connect as we walk our through the them. We could also see Hikarora/Mt Watkin near Waikouaiti which is where trip #36 will be going in March.
All too soon lunch was over and we were back on our feet and retracing our steps to the Hightop track where we were able to look down to our next part of our trip, walking along Mountain Road. From this vantage point it is easy to see all the tree felling that has happened in the area and the contrast of the harvested pine plantation versus the lush green of the native manuka forest of the Silver Peaks Reserve. 
Finding our way down from Hightop involved some bush bashing as the track is indistinct in places but thanks to some good navigation with Antony in the lead, it wasn't long before we were back on track and rejoining the Green Ridge track which lead us to Mountain Road. Here we stopped briefly for a team photo before starting the hot 6km walk along Mountain Road to the Rongamai track. 
The roadwalk is always monotonous and felt never ending however with good company the conversations were varied and the distance seemed to fall behind us with very little effort. It is good with the pine trees gone to be able to see more of our surroundings and also to wonder about the trips the early club members did in the area, often running to Evansdale to catch the last train back to Dunedin. After an hour of road walking we reached the Rongamai track which starts as an old 4WD track before narrowing into a walking track and eventually onto a narrow ridge that then drops steeply to Carey's Creek.Itis here that care needs to be taken to avoid a fast descent, and with lots of trees to hang onto we were soon at the bottom without any mishaps.
The final stretch is a about 3km alongside Carey's Creek where last month had been a sea of lupins and today was more long grass and blackberries. It is a pleasant walk beside the crystal clear creek and we were able to look behind at the ridge that the Rongamai track comes down.
Eventually we reached Evansdale Glen with the final hurdle being a shallow creek crossing which helped to wash the worst of the mud off our boots. This had been a trip that covered 19.2km over a variety of terrain in around six and a half hours. 
The roadwalk is always monotonous and felt never ending however with good company the conversations were varied and the distance seemed to fall behind us with very little effort. It is good with the pine trees gone to be able to see more of our surroundings and also to wonder about the trips the early club members did in the area, often running to Evansdale to catch the last train back to Dunedin. After an hour of road walking we reached the Rongamai track which starts as an old 4WD track before narrowing into a walking track and eventually onto a narrow ridge that then drops steeply to Carey's Creek.Itis here that care needs to be taken to avoid a fast descent, and with lots of trees to hang onto we were soon at the bottom without any mishaps.
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