Winter Crossing

It didn't cross, When a happy band of trampers scrambled aboard the lorry at 8 a.m. on Saturday. 22nd. little did they dream that twenty hours later they would still be slogging through the snow and rain-soaked bush, fording swollen streams and sliding down gravel-slides to the accompanied roaring of a Hooded river a few hundred feet below.

Two hours after a good start found the party at Dobson's with the incendiarist hard at work. The hot refreshments soon disappeared and the party launched out-on their real work at 12.30 p.m. The snow quickly increased from one to two feet. The patches of open bush were of no use as the drifts sometimes exceeded 6 feet, and the party spent much time in sidling these hummocks. Darkness found the group still making large holes in the snow and it was unanimously decided that one of Bob's bulldozers would be a good idea. However, they continued in the hope that a frost would crust the surface but this was not to be. The party was very grateful to McNaught and Oliver for the way in which they helped in the arduous task of trail-breaking and in the incessant hunt for blazes.