On Saturday we set off from the Kiriwhakapapa camping area. After a steep climb up the Blue Range, lunch at the Blue Range Hut turnoff, a steep descent to the Waingawa valley, and a brief trip up-river, we arrived at Cow Creek Hut. As expected, given the limited western Tararua access due to road closure, the Cow Creek Hut was full, so we set up camp in a clearing in the bush nearby. On Sunday morning the wind was still gusting so we abandoned our Table Ridge plans and headed down-valley with Mitre Flats as our destination. Mitre Flats Hut was full, so we set up our tents in various positions in and around the bush bordering Mitre Flats. By Monday morning we had decided to return to Kiriwhakapapa by finding a route over the Blue Range above Mitre Flats. After crossing the swing bridge we followed the track upwards for a short distance then left the track and climbed around 400 m on a broad bush-covered ridge up to a pair of peaks marked 865m. From the northern 865m peak we dropped down on the ridge running out to the east. A mixture of stream, bush and old tram track travel then took us out to the old tram track along the Mikimiki Stream, a track that is now used for mountain biking and is well maintained. A long climb up to a saddle on the bike track and a shorter trip down the other side took us back to the Californian Redwood trees and the carpark at Kiriwhakapapa.