Hump Ridge Track

Another amazing New Zealand tramp this weekend!  I decided to join one of my best friends from Bowdoin, Elizabeth, who's also studying at Otago, and a few of her friends on the Hump Ridge Track in Southern Fiordland, as they had an extra spot.  It was one of those trips where even though we had a few obstacles along the way, the struggles will only make the memory that much stronger in my mind.

On Friday night, we drove to the trailhead and stayed in the carpark so we could start the tramp the next morning.  The drive there was struggle #1... we got a much later start than we wanted, so we didn't get to the carpark until 2am, when it was alternating hail and pouring rain.  On the drive there, Sammy was pulled over for the first time for driving too SLOW...apparently since she was feeling a little unsure about driving on the left side of the road the police officer noticed that she was driving less than half the speed limit and swerving in and out of the lines.  Oops.  But we eventually made it there and got a few hours of sleep before our first day on the trail...

The first day was estimated to take 7-9 hours and included 1000 meters elevation climb (a pretty good climb, if that's unclear).  It started along the beach, which was beautiful if not for the hail pelting our faces.  Then, the climb through the trees up the hill began.  The forecast for the weekend had predicted a few millimeters of snow at the hut our first day, so we were expecting it to be cold but nothing too bad.  So we were shocked when halfway up the trail was covered in snow, which only kept increasing to be almost half a foot deep at the top!  There were times where I wondered if the fitness and preparedness of our group really made it prudent for us to continue, but through the hail and snow and wind we prevailed to make it to the hut in a solid 8 hours time. To be fair, once making it to the dry comfort of the hut, I really appreciated the snow for how beautiful the snow made the already stunning landscape.  Another group of international students was also doing the track at the same time we were, and arrived at the hut only shortly after we did.  After a delicious warm dinner, we spent the evening in the bunkroom playing cards, enjoying tim-tam slams (sucking hot chocolate through chocolate wafers until they almost melt in your hand then slamming the whole thing in your mouth at once), and passing out in our sleeping bags to the sound of the wind outside.

Rainbow ahead on the track the first day!  A promising sight!

Entering mossy Fiordland.  Unfortunately this is the extent of the photos I have from the first day, as a result of the inclement weather, so you'll have to use your imagination for the rest... 

   

We woke the next day to a surprisingly clear and beautiful morning.  The snow from the day before had left a magical white covering on everything around.  From the hut, there was a short 1-hour summit loop around the top of the mountain, which I did with a few friends from the other group.  The scenery was beyond incredible -- simply indescribable.  So here are some pictures....

On top of the world! (picture credit to Caroline)

A hearty breakfast of oatmeal followed, then we headed off on the second day of tramping.  This day covered as much distance as the day before, but was mostly downhill then flat along the coast, and was much improved by better weather.  We split into two tramping groups and ours made it to the second hut in record speed, with plenty of time to walk down to enjoy the beach nearby.  The second hut was situated in historic Port Craig, where a lumber mill used to be.  (The hut was actually a renovated historic schoolhouse from the town).  While enjoying the beach, we also enjoyed many of the relics scattered around the premises.  It was really interesting to be in such a rugged wilderness location and also be surrounded by so much history.

 Whole group on the porch at the hut before setting off the 2nd day (picture credit to Brett)

Matt, Sammy, Elizabeth and I near the beginning of the tramp down

Tramping down the very snowy (and beautiful) track (picture credit to Brett)

Along old railroad tracks

These trees showed so much creep!  Would have made my geomorphology professor proud!

Port Craig Village Beach

We saw Hector's Dolphins at the beach!  This is apparently a very good beach to see them, as a pod of ~100 lives in the bay, but they are actually the rarest dolphin in the world, so it was quite a treat to see them in the flesh while tramping.

Playing cards by candlelight in the hut, 2nd night

The next day was our last day on the trail, so our group hoped to get an early start to get home at a decent time.  I woke up early and took a little walk around to enjoy the morning light by myself a bit first before waking the rest of the group up.  For the track back to the carpark, we had two options: the beach route, which is only supposed to be done within 1 hour of low tide each day, or the inland route, which can always be done but takes a bit longer.  I, knowing that we didn't have a tide chart and having seen the tide fairly high that morning, wanted to listen to my instincts and go with the safety of the inland route.  However, Sammy and Matt really wanted to do beach route and Matt assumed that the tide was low enough to do it. You know what they say about assuming....  Big mistake not trusting my instincts.  While some parts were fine, and we were able to walk on rocks or sand on the beach, others were much worse.  At one part, Elizabeth and I decided to climb up the hill and bushwhack for a while as opposed to climbing over sketchy rocks hanging over crashing waves, but at one part there was no way up the hill, and we had to walk over slippery seaweed-covered rocks with waves crashing against our legs the whole time!  I don't want to be too melodramatic, but I think it's fair to say that near-death experiences were not out of the question.  LUCKILY we finally made it to the end and the trails converged again!  With all the obstacles, the trail took longer than expected, but after a quick lunch break to re-coop a bit and change to dry socks, we powered the rest of the way and made it to the car in good time.  

Enjoying early morning light on the last day

Post-near-death experiences (Sorry Mom, no pictures of that. I was too busy trying to stay alive to pull my camera out...)

Peek-a-boo views

New Zealand weather and landscape always keeps things interesting!  In spite of, or maybe actually BECAUSE of, the obstacles we faced, it turned out to be an incredible weekend.  I am so sad to think that I only have a month and a half left in this beautiful country, so I'm trying to soak in every moment of it. Looking forward to Kepler Track and Milford Sound next weekend with Ryan!