3/13/18
Took a little stroll in the morning along the lake to a point where I could see glaciated Mt. Aspiring (2nd tallest peak in NZ). In the morning drove to Makarora with beautiful lake views of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, which shimmered many shades of blue and turquoise. Glaciated mountains stood watch in the distance. At Makarora we started the Wilkin-Young Gillepsie Pass circuit. It started out with fording the Makarora river, a pretty wide, but not too deep river. It transitioned into valley walking, then the last several miles were steep and rough ups along a beautiful blue river (Young river) to the Young hut. We arrived at dusk to a warm hut with a few local kiwis. 2733 ft of elevation gain
3/14/18
Straight, steep up to the top of Gillepsie pass. There were good views, but most of the mountains were obscured by fog/rain. The big mountain that went up from the top of the pass was Mt. Misery. There was a sensational rainbow that lasted forever while we were up there. We cooked some soup on top in the drizzle. Very steep downhill, until we eventually reached reached the Siberia River valley. Super beautiful with mountains rising straight up (tops covered in rain and cloud though). Arrived to Siberia Hut, which sat next to a waterfall and had great views up and down valley. The hut looked up the valley at Mt. Awful. 3537 ft of elevation gain.
3/15/18
Hiked from the Siberia river valley down to the Wilkin river valley where we eventually caught a jet boat for the last ~15km. It was a really fun way to finish the trek. We did the jet boat option b/c big rain was coming and the river crossing might be tough, plus it would be fun. We walked the last 3km to the car from the jet boat in the rain. 974 ft. of elevation gain. Back in Wanaka, we took a shower, did some grocery shopping, and laundry. We spent the night by the lake, but were given a $200 fine for freedom camping. More on this later in another blog.
3/16/18
In the morning we drove into the Matukituki valley. We forded 9 creeks with Bongo to get there, which the visitor center said could be tough, but Bongo did it like a champ. We hiked into the Matukituki Valley to Aspiring Hut. The hike in was in a beautiful green river valley with amazing views of tall, glaciated peaks. The stuff postcards are made of. From the hut you could see great views of NZ's second highest peak, Mt. Aspiring. We dropped most of our stuff of at the hut, and then did a very steep climb to the top of a ridge call the Pylon. AMAZING mountain views from the top!! Some of the best we've seen. Impressive mountains with big glaciers. We also saw a large flock flying kea from there. From the pylon, we descended a bit, forded a river, and arrived at Cascade Saddle with nice views of the huge dart glacier and take your breath away straight drop down to the valley. We saw a nice sunset on our hike down and hiked the last 30 minutes or so in the dark with our flashlights. One thing we had found out is that when you aren't on a great walk, most trails that climb passes or mountains do so by going straight up! No switchbacks like back home. You're often using roots and rocks to climb up. And b/c of the lack of switchbacks and trail control, there can be a lot of erosion, so that you can be hiking in deep, slippery ravines. You definitely can climb to elevation quickly, but it can also be hard work.
7165 ft of elevation gain
3/17/18
Foggy in the morning, but we continued up the Matukituki valley along the pretty blue river. Then we had another steep rooty/rocky climb, along waterfalls to Liverpool Hut up in the alpine. Eventually the fog burned off, and we had stunning glacial views across the valley, including Mt. Aspiring and Bonar Glacier. Behind the hut was Mt. Barff and Barff Glacier. We hung out in the sun on the hut's decks for a bit, and then I did a touch rock climb/scramble around for views. I went back down to the hut, and Elisha and I followed a climber's trail up to the glacier and a cool cliff drop view. Really amazing views! It was a nice small hut with good company (3 americans, 2 kiwis, and an asian). We witnessed a really nice sunset and great stars.
5400 ft of elevation gain
3/18/18
We descended the steep trail back down. We hiked back down the Matukiuki valley until the Rob Roy Glacier turnoff. We hiked up to the glacier, which was a sweet hanging glacier with a myriad of waterfalls falling off it. 2411 ft. elevation gain.
We had a pretty sunset drive back to Wanaka. We treated ourselves to some dinner at food carts: Indian and dumplings. Camped at the vacation house of one of the kiwis we had met at the hut.
3/19/18
Day at the library working on my thesis. Camped at the same kiwi's house
3/20/18
Day at the library working on my thesis. Camped at the same kiwi's house
3/21/18
Walked along the lake shore of Wanaka and saw the famous #wanakatree that sits in the lake. We had lunch at the lake and then afternoon in the library working on my thesis. Ate fish and chips and then camped along Lake Hawea in the rain.
3/22/18
Drove up over Haast Past. Stopped at the Blue Pools, which are some pretty glacial blue pools in the Haast? river. We then began our hike up to Brewster Hut. It started right away with a chilly river ford. Then a straight up hike in the fog and light drizzle (at times). The hut was completely fogged in. Hard to see it from more than 100 feet away. Also very cold. A bit of snow from the storm the night before and icicles on the roof. There weren't many people in the hut, so it didn't warm up as much as we'd like: 1 American high schooler and 3 glaciologists.
3/23/18
Woke up to a dense freezing foggy soup. The plants were all frosted. We hung out in the hut for awhile, and then decided to climb Mt. Armstrong, despite the fog. It paid off! We quickly hiked above the clouds! The last part of the hike was in a decent amount of snow, which made it fun and interesting. Unreal views from the top of Mt. Armstrong! 360 degree views including Brewster glacier. We could see all the way out to Mt. Aspiring, Mt Awful, Mt. Dreadful, etc. Quite a bit of snow on the top of Mt. Armstrong and all around. So many glaciers! Before we'd had enough of the view, we decided we better head down. Grabbed our stuff at the hut, and then continued down. We continued driving to Haast, but stopped on the way to check out Fantail Falls and Thunder falls.
We drove past Haast and camped in rainforest near the ocean. It was the night of the mosquitos! When we went to bed, there was probably 100 mosquitos in the van. We went to work killing them all. We slept for a little bit, but were awakened by more buzzing. Another 100 or so mosquitos. We figured they must have been hiding in the car. So we killed them. Another 10-20 minutes of rest. More buzzing. Turned on the lights. Another 100 mosquitos! Killed them all, but more kept appearing. We eventually figured, somehow we were parked in a mosquito breeding area and there must have been some hole in the van that they were coming up through. At this point the ceiling and walls of Bongo were covered with mosquito carcasses. There was nothing we could do. I tried to wrap myself in blankets, leaving just my nose out. But the buzzing was incessant. In the end I think we both slept less than an hour that night!
Took a little stroll in the morning along the lake to a point where I could see glaciated Mt. Aspiring (2nd tallest peak in NZ). In the morning drove to Makarora with beautiful lake views of Lake Wanaka and Lake Hawea, which shimmered many shades of blue and turquoise. Glaciated mountains stood watch in the distance. At Makarora we started the Wilkin-Young Gillepsie Pass circuit. It started out with fording the Makarora river, a pretty wide, but not too deep river. It transitioned into valley walking, then the last several miles were steep and rough ups along a beautiful blue river (Young river) to the Young hut. We arrived at dusk to a warm hut with a few local kiwis. 2733 ft of elevation gain
3/14/18
Straight, steep up to the top of Gillepsie pass. There were good views, but most of the mountains were obscured by fog/rain. The big mountain that went up from the top of the pass was Mt. Misery. There was a sensational rainbow that lasted forever while we were up there. We cooked some soup on top in the drizzle. Very steep downhill, until we eventually reached reached the Siberia River valley. Super beautiful with mountains rising straight up (tops covered in rain and cloud though). Arrived to Siberia Hut, which sat next to a waterfall and had great views up and down valley. The hut looked up the valley at Mt. Awful. 3537 ft of elevation gain.
3/15/18
Hiked from the Siberia river valley down to the Wilkin river valley where we eventually caught a jet boat for the last ~15km. It was a really fun way to finish the trek. We did the jet boat option b/c big rain was coming and the river crossing might be tough, plus it would be fun. We walked the last 3km to the car from the jet boat in the rain. 974 ft. of elevation gain. Back in Wanaka, we took a shower, did some grocery shopping, and laundry. We spent the night by the lake, but were given a $200 fine for freedom camping. More on this later in another blog.
3/16/18
In the morning we drove into the Matukituki valley. We forded 9 creeks with Bongo to get there, which the visitor center said could be tough, but Bongo did it like a champ. We hiked into the Matukituki Valley to Aspiring Hut. The hike in was in a beautiful green river valley with amazing views of tall, glaciated peaks. The stuff postcards are made of. From the hut you could see great views of NZ's second highest peak, Mt. Aspiring. We dropped most of our stuff of at the hut, and then did a very steep climb to the top of a ridge call the Pylon. AMAZING mountain views from the top!! Some of the best we've seen. Impressive mountains with big glaciers. We also saw a large flock flying kea from there. From the pylon, we descended a bit, forded a river, and arrived at Cascade Saddle with nice views of the huge dart glacier and take your breath away straight drop down to the valley. We saw a nice sunset on our hike down and hiked the last 30 minutes or so in the dark with our flashlights. One thing we had found out is that when you aren't on a great walk, most trails that climb passes or mountains do so by going straight up! No switchbacks like back home. You're often using roots and rocks to climb up. And b/c of the lack of switchbacks and trail control, there can be a lot of erosion, so that you can be hiking in deep, slippery ravines. You definitely can climb to elevation quickly, but it can also be hard work.
7165 ft of elevation gain
3/17/18
Foggy in the morning, but we continued up the Matukituki valley along the pretty blue river. Then we had another steep rooty/rocky climb, along waterfalls to Liverpool Hut up in the alpine. Eventually the fog burned off, and we had stunning glacial views across the valley, including Mt. Aspiring and Bonar Glacier. Behind the hut was Mt. Barff and Barff Glacier. We hung out in the sun on the hut's decks for a bit, and then I did a touch rock climb/scramble around for views. I went back down to the hut, and Elisha and I followed a climber's trail up to the glacier and a cool cliff drop view. Really amazing views! It was a nice small hut with good company (3 americans, 2 kiwis, and an asian). We witnessed a really nice sunset and great stars.
5400 ft of elevation gain
3/18/18
We descended the steep trail back down. We hiked back down the Matukiuki valley until the Rob Roy Glacier turnoff. We hiked up to the glacier, which was a sweet hanging glacier with a myriad of waterfalls falling off it. 2411 ft. elevation gain.
We had a pretty sunset drive back to Wanaka. We treated ourselves to some dinner at food carts: Indian and dumplings. Camped at the vacation house of one of the kiwis we had met at the hut.
3/19/18
Day at the library working on my thesis. Camped at the same kiwi's house
3/20/18
Day at the library working on my thesis. Camped at the same kiwi's house
3/21/18
Walked along the lake shore of Wanaka and saw the famous #wanakatree that sits in the lake. We had lunch at the lake and then afternoon in the library working on my thesis. Ate fish and chips and then camped along Lake Hawea in the rain.
3/22/18
Drove up over Haast Past. Stopped at the Blue Pools, which are some pretty glacial blue pools in the Haast? river. We then began our hike up to Brewster Hut. It started right away with a chilly river ford. Then a straight up hike in the fog and light drizzle (at times). The hut was completely fogged in. Hard to see it from more than 100 feet away. Also very cold. A bit of snow from the storm the night before and icicles on the roof. There weren't many people in the hut, so it didn't warm up as much as we'd like: 1 American high schooler and 3 glaciologists.
3/23/18
Woke up to a dense freezing foggy soup. The plants were all frosted. We hung out in the hut for awhile, and then decided to climb Mt. Armstrong, despite the fog. It paid off! We quickly hiked above the clouds! The last part of the hike was in a decent amount of snow, which made it fun and interesting. Unreal views from the top of Mt. Armstrong! 360 degree views including Brewster glacier. We could see all the way out to Mt. Aspiring, Mt Awful, Mt. Dreadful, etc. Quite a bit of snow on the top of Mt. Armstrong and all around. So many glaciers! Before we'd had enough of the view, we decided we better head down. Grabbed our stuff at the hut, and then continued down. We continued driving to Haast, but stopped on the way to check out Fantail Falls and Thunder falls.
We drove past Haast and camped in rainforest near the ocean. It was the night of the mosquitos! When we went to bed, there was probably 100 mosquitos in the van. We went to work killing them all. We slept for a little bit, but were awakened by more buzzing. Another 100 or so mosquitos. We figured they must have been hiding in the car. So we killed them. Another 10-20 minutes of rest. More buzzing. Turned on the lights. Another 100 mosquitos! Killed them all, but more kept appearing. We eventually figured, somehow we were parked in a mosquito breeding area and there must have been some hole in the van that they were coming up through. At this point the ceiling and walls of Bongo were covered with mosquito carcasses. There was nothing we could do. I tried to wrap myself in blankets, leaving just my nose out. But the buzzing was incessant. In the end I think we both slept less than an hour that night!
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