This cache is placed a short distance from now forgotten part of Hooker Valley Track.
The old Hooker Valley Track came up to the Hooker Lake on the left bank of Hooker River and from here, the track continued along the lake to the Hooker Hut (oldest of Mt Cook National Park huts). Originally this track was used by climbers to access the upper Hooker Glacier, and as a part of route from Aoraki Village to West Coast, crossing the Copland Pass.
But in 1994 the access to Hooker Hut was badly damaged by heavy rainfall speeding up the erosion process of retreating glacier's moraine wall and since then this side of Hooker River's source has been visited less and less. Hooker Valley Track has been modified and upgraded with new bridges, lookout points and leads you to the other side of Hooker River headwaters now. Hooker Hut has been deconstructed in 2015 for moving to a safer place in future. And the Copland Pass Crossing hike has now become a very difficult route and not as safe as it used to be.
By placing this cache we invite you to come and visit the forgotten part of Hooker Valley Track and use the unique opportunity to visit the Hooker Lake with no tourist swarms around you. There will be crowds of people on the other side of the river but it is almost guaranteed that you will be the only one(s) on this side.
Up to the lake the old part of track is still clearly visible, well preserved and should be completely safe. However, as always with alpine environment and the unpredictable nature of weather in the surroundings of Aoraki, one should always come prepared and be aware of any potential hazards. Extra care must be taken in winter season. There is an avalanche warning sign just before coming up to the lake.
This side of the river provides the same stunning views to Aoraki/Mount Cook as the crowded side as well as provides an opportunity to explore the lakeside and going closer to the beautiful waterfall coming down from Eugenie Glacier.
The cache is a small sized peanut butter jar within a regular sized peanut butter jar hidden under a side of a large boulder. Some minor bush-bashing may be required to get to the cache depending on the growth of surrounding scrub but it should generally be easy, as it is located only about 100m from the lakeside. I have provided a trailhead waypoint for the point where old track diverts from the new one. It's just before the Upper Hooker Suspension bridge (3rd suspension bridge).
Additional reading:
Hooker Valley Track (DOC)
Hooker Hut (DOC)
Copland Pass (Wikipedia)