Cascade Saddle
Every year since I was nine, Dad and I have done a birthday adventure with my mates and their dads. For my 15th, I wanted to do something bigger. I spoke with Dad’s friend Bob and settled on Cascade Saddle. Late April meant short days, slippery ground and a chance of snow, but the forecast looked good.
Read:
3 mins
Location:
Aspiring National Park - Dart Valley
Date:
May 12, 2023
Planning + Start
I sent out the plan to everyone (ten of us total). It took over a week before anyone read it properly, and a few dads panicked about the distances. Dad and I rechecked it all and realised I’d only underestimated by 15km, so we stuck with the plan. After school, everyone met at our place before driving to Raspberry Flats. Packs were reasonable except for one dad who’d packed a full pillow, and another who couldn’t fit his gear and hand-carried two supermarket bags. We reached the Cascade Hut around 6pm and cooked steak and onion sandwiches. then tried to sleep. One dad’s snoring was loud enough to shake the hut, so most of us didn’t get much rest. We were moving again by 6am. Within half an hour we reached Aspiring Hut, then began the steep climb up toward the saddle. The track was rough, with roots and big steps, but after two hours we were above the tree line, scrambling across slabs and steep slopes. The weather was perfect — sunrise lit up the peaks, and the views from 1700m were incredible. The descent looked intimidating from DOC videos, but it felt manageable in person. We crossed shale slopes and dropped to the river before climbing again onto the saddle.
Day 2 + 3
The alpine plateau was stunning — a mix of tussock, tarns and massive drops into the Aspiring Valley. From the top we saw Dart Glacier for the first time. Just 50m away was a 1000m cliff straight down. We stopped for hot lunch, then began the traverse down to the glacier. It was technical and slippery, but after an hour and twenty minutes we reached the flats and walked to Dart Hut. We spread out sleeping spots to avoid the snorer, then played cards, cooked dinner and had a freezing river dip. We started day three early. I thought we had 15km left — turned out it was closer to 27km. We climbed the Dart Track to Rees Saddle quickly, then descended into the valley. The first 7km felt slow, but we gradually picked up time. We arrived at Shelter Rock Hut and sprinted the final section to beat the DOC time by 5 minutes. Lunch was freeze-dried leftovers and whatever was left. The final kilometres tested everyone. Feet were sore, some of us walked barefoot to deal with blisters. We pushed through waterfalls and bush, counting off distance markers and thinking about burgers. We met our mate running in to collect us and asked how far was left. He said 14km. Morale dipped, but we kept going. After 57km, 2800m of climbing and 46 hours of travel, we reached the van and headed to Fergburger. Phones lit up, energy crashed, and everyone dozed off on the way home. It was hard, hilarious and one of the best trips we’ve done. Timing summary Day 1 – Raspberry Creek to Cascade Hut: 1.5hrs Day 2 – Cascade Hut to Dart Hut: 9hrs Day 3 – Dart Hut to trail end: 8.5hrs Total Distance – 57km Total Alt Gain – 2800m
