track=trail
The track leveled off and wandered into a tussock (grass) meadow, home to Iris Burn Hut, our rest for the evening. Here, Robbie the Ranger entertained us with stories, like the time he was helping a group of school kids cross the ridge during foul weather. He turned to find a young girl curled up in a ball on the side of the track, overcome by the conditions. He took her to the emergency shelter and waited four hours for the weather to clear.
tramp=hike
DOC=Department of Conservation
Last week, we tackled a grand tramping challenge: Kepler Track, in Fiordland National Park, west coast, South Island. Crossing the track involved a 37-mile, four-day journey through ever-changing terrain, in weather ranging from sun to rain to downpour to whirling snow. Each evening, we bunked down in a DOC-run hut, along with about fifty fellow trampers, where we shared stories, laughs, and card games.
Day 1
The track began in a mossy wood, tracing the shore of Lake Te Anau. We walked to the sound of waves sighing across a beach of coarse gray sand. Moss-covered trees formed a canopy above, and ferns covered the ground.
But this idyllic scene didn't last for long. Soon the track turned and followed switchbacks up the mountain. We felt the weight of our bags and the chill of higher elevation. Pale green moss hanging from trees incarnated a ghostly presence in the forest.
Spooky Moss
At last we emerged from the forest and prepared to cross the ridgeline to our evening's shelter: Luxmore Hut. As we entered the open alpine meadow, however, we were lashed with cold wind and rain. With our rain hoods drawn tightly around our faces, we trudged across the last harsh mile.
Luxmore Hut
We stepped instead the hut to a foyer filled with fifty pairs of dirty boots and wet jackets. Just beyond the entryway, came the roar and warmth of a woodstove, dinner, and conversation. We imagined we were hobbits arriving to the Inn of the Prancing Pony.
The hut stove warms hikers and helps dry clothes.
After stowing our things in the cold dark bunkroom above, we reentered the dining area, claimed an empty cookstove, and then squeezed our way onto a bench, eating pasta out of a single cooking pot between us on the table. By the time we finished eating, we had been absorbed into the company of four New Zealand dairy farmers and their card games.
Cards in the Hut
Day 2
Over breakfast, we watched the sun break through clouds over Lake Te Anau below us and then headed off up the mountain. Our way was marked by mist and rain, wind and swirling snow.
Forging Into Mist
But, during occasional breaks in the cloud, we enjoyed views of the mountains around us and the fiords below.
Emergency huts along the track provided an occasional break from the cold wind and rain. Frigid hikers piled in, and steam rose from their heads and hats. In one shelter, we met six Israelis, who laughed uproariously when we pulled out pita and hummus for lunch. They were eating corn chips. I enjoyed entertaining them with random Hebrew sentences, and we learned about their town of Be'er Sheva (Beersheba) and their military adventures.
A rainbow arches across a valley.
Eventually the weather calmed, and the track turned downward into the forest again. The end of a steep climb is relieving, but a downhill trudge is also hard on the body.
Forest Stream
The track leveled off and wandered into a tussock (grass) meadow, home to Iris Burn Hut, our rest for the evening. Here, Robbie the Ranger entertained us with stories, like the time he was helping a group of school kids cross the ridge during foul weather. He turned to find a young girl curled up in a ball on the side of the track, overcome by the conditions. He took her to the emergency shelter and waited four hours for the weather to clear.
Iris Burn Hut
To be continued.
Stay tuned for Days 3 and 4 of the great Kepler Track adventure.
