St. Arnaud

My last journey away from civilization here in New Zealand was a fitting one - it was a great adventure and challenging. Today I spent much of the morning taking in the breathtaking calmness of Lake Rotoiti from a jetty just outside of Lakehead Hut. It was a good time for reflection and a great end to a very long (100km+) tramp. As I walked out into town this morning I was struck with the finality of it all; the trip is ending and now I start my journey home. The moment when you appreciate things the most is when they're about to end.

Today I'm going to binge on food and relax in my campsite by the lake - I lost a bit of weight on this one which I need to get back! This computer unfortunately won't let me upload photos, so the description of the walk that follows will have to suffice until tomorrow. I'll let you imagine what it was like, then fill in the images tomorrow when I get to Nelson.

-Brian

March 10 - Angelus Hut
It's 8:00 PM and sleet is being pelted against the walls of the hut fiercely. I'm at 2000 meters here at the hut and the elements are strong. Tomorrow afternoon they're forecasting winds of up to 120 kph, so I'm going to try to get off the ridge early, or spend another night here. [The heavy winds ended up coming through mostly during the night]. I'm expecting snow here tomorrow morning as the freezing level was supposed to drop to 1100 m tonight; it will be nice to see some since I missed out on winter this year.

The day started calmly enough with a nice view of the lake right from the campsite, but the weather deteoriated quickly and I walked through heavy rain most of the day (although fortunately it stopped briefly when I climbed above the bushline).

In a decidedly ill-fated move I changed my route at lunch when the weather was still okay. To avoid doing the other alpine saddle that I will need to do later in the week during heavy wind (this is all based on the forecast), I took a steep, direct path up to this hut and reversed the loop I'm taking [indeed the weather was great for the second climb]. Shortly after starting the 1000m ascent to Angelus hut the rain started falling heavily. The track I took was very difficult and in retrospect I wish I hadn't taken it because I think it was a bit too dangerous today - the hut warden here at Angelus attempted to descend on the route and turned back because of the weather. As the track rose out of the bush it became super steep and covered with loose scree that made for very slow going. Unfortunately, the prospect of turning around seemed worse than pushing on and I eventually made it, earlier than expected.

It was good company at the hut tonight, as everyone seemed to have a difficult day, even on the other routes.

March 11 - Sabine Hut
The wind howled hard against the side of the hut last night and this morning I looked outside to see that a good amount of snow had fallen - it was a beautiful sight, especially from the warmth of the shelter.

I think the weather made people a bit mad last night, and one woman woke everyone up because she couldn't find her overtrousers, insinuating that someone had moved them. As people objected to her looking through their packs, her husband intervened, "Hey now, there's a woman here who is missing her overtrousers!" as if she intended to sleep with them.

This morning I got an early start to beat the wind and took a more sheltered route down the mountain that cost me another 5 hours of walking making for a long day. Still, descending through the snow was beautiful and fun as well. I walked part the way with a former warden at Angelus Hut and we had lunch together. After some afternoon rain, things cleared up here at Sabine Hut and the view of Lake Rotoroa right from the windows of the hut is spectacular. I'm sharing the hut with a very nice French guy and the two crazy people from last night (the man didn't even recognize me from last night).

March 12 - Blue Lake Hut
The crazy people made quite a lot of noice again last night, this time by snoring. I was awoken at 4 in the morning by the most disgusting sounding snore I've ever heard. Permit me to be crude just once when I say the man sounded as if he was breathing through his butt. Fortunately, they didn't make it as far as this hut tonight.

I walked about 20 km today, but the weather was pleasant so it was a fantastic day. I decided to come to this hut for the night to look around, even though it will add another 14km to the circuit. The approach to Blue Lake followed a beautiful gorge ravished by avalanches and sidled along a very fast river full of rapids.

The company in the hut tonight was excellent; just two Kiwis and an Australian, and we all played Spades tonight. It's great to talk to locals for a change, and the Kiwis always seem to take interesting and challenging routes that often follow unmarked paths. I suppose they tire of tourists on the more popular tracks.

March 13 - Upper Travers Hut
I got an early start this morning so that I would have plenty of time to cross the Travers saddle. It was a massive climb, but, with excellent weather, very much enjoyable. There was one section that climbed 600m over 3 km! It was tough work, but the views were spectacular, especially of the decidedly evil-looking Mt. Travers. I had a very pleasant late lunch on top and then came down 500m to this hut.

Once again there was good company in the hut with two very friendly Australians and a French girl arriving shortly after me. We all had a great night chatting around the fire. The hut is situated just above the bushline and has outstanding views. It's incredible to stay here; it feels as though I ought to be paying hundreds of dollars for a spot this nice.

March 14 - Lakehead Hut
I had a late start this morning so that I could enjoy the awesome view of the valley from Upper Travers over a cup of coffee (or a "cuppa" as they would say here). After saying goodbye to my new friends, I started off and took the day very slow, enjoying the perfect weather. At lunch, I met another French guy and we talked for 2 hours or so. I arrived here at five and took a very refreshing wash in the lake (I'm back at the southern end of Lake Rotoiti), then chatted over dinner with a Dutch couple and another American. It was a great day and I'm looking forward to an easy three hour day tomorrow and a big celebratory feast.