Normally our end-of-year tramps are an easy jaunt, but this time we were in for a real workout. Our group of about a dozen people set out from the Alpine Club hut carpark about 10:30am going along the easy and wide Ridge Road Track. Half an hour later we came to the quirky Auckland University Tramping Club that was done out in signs pillaged from all sorts of places. There would have been a lot of tough work done in getting two heavy pianos into the place. We arrived at the Simla junction one hour after we started, making good time as the signs had said one-and-a-half hours. Simla Track was a gradual downhill at first, but became a very steep and tricky scramble down to the stream for a welcome lunch stop about 12:40pm. Climbing up Sisam Track was also a steep and tricky scramble, and we had another rest stop at Smythe Corner just before 2pm. From there it was an easy walk along the wide Long Road and Ridge Road Tracks back to the Alpine Club hut, although some of us were getting sore and tired feet because of the tough scrambling. We were back at the hut by about 4pm.