roads that lead away from this, i'm following myself just this once

the tuesday brad left, i dragged myself to a meeting with the tramping club about the upcoming fiordland excursion. a bunch of people had organised trips to fiordland: piling onto buses march 17 to be dropped off on the side of the road somewhere - each group going somewhere else - scattering around fiordland and then being picked up sometime sunday afternoon and driving back to dunedin.

i got there early, because i had missed the compulsory river crossing training, so i wanted to talk to a few trip leaders about it. i know i'm an experienced hiker, in good physical condition, excited about trying new things, not really afraid of anything. so i started talking to this guy rich about his trip, and he said i'd be fine - rated a moderate plus, but no biggie.

the plan:
saturday would be all off-track. we would go up cascade creek to its head, go through a saddle in the mountains, and then go down duck creek into greenstone valley where we would find a track leading us to the mckellar hut. spend the night there. and then follow the routeburn track the next day up to key summit for some views and then down into the divide where the bus would pick us up.

doesn't sound too bad, eh?

i don't have a real backpacking pack. instead i have a daypack which i can fit a ton of stuff into, so, i decided to take my risks with that. if all else fails, i can just wear everything i brought, i figured.

so, friday night at 6. i arrive at clubs & socs and get handed a bag of group food - no problem, i shove it into my pack which is so stuffed it looks like it will break - there's a picture coming up to show you the ridiculousness.

i sit next to alexis (the only other alexis i know who is in two of my classes and going on the same trip i am, go figure). as soon as we hit fiordland, we can hear the rain (remember, the whole 9 m a year bit?). our group is dropped off somewhere at 1 am, in the pouring rain, and we set out to find somewhere to set up our fly.



[the fly the next morning]


the next morning, we made breakfast, packed up, and headed off. it was raining, and continued to do so for the rest of the day. not pouring, but at least a steady drizzle. first thing, rich warns us not to even try to keep our feet wet and we practice river crossing.





it really wasn't so bad. my boots are mostly waterproof, but it doesn't make any difference when you're knee deep in water, so i just got used to walking in my drenched boots.

the first three hours were fine - climbing over boudlers, walking up and through rivers, following a loosely marked "route" which included using ropes for support while walking along muddy drop offs, grabbing onto whatever foliage is around to help you up, help you control your fall, keep you from falling down, all sorts of things.

no one took many pictures at this point, but here's a few to give you an idea:



[cascade creek]


[rich helping the other alexis. thats me crawling over something above his pack]


[when the brush is too think, it's "easier" to go straight up the creek]


when we got above the alpine line, we were walking along this very cushiony ground which sucked all your energy and momentum up. it really hurt my knees for some reason. it was so so soft (largely due to the rain) and made walking up really difficult. it was also quite rainy and windy - we were walking through a cloud, i think, making visibility a bit rough as well. which meant after all the struggle up, there were no views.

the going down was the worst though. as soon as we got over the saddle, we were on the side of the mountain which has being hammered by wind - almost no foliage. it nearly knocked me over and i looked down, practically straight down a very rocky mountain side and thought, "there is no way in hell i'm going to survive this". but it became more like skiing down the hill than anything - leaning forward or back to control how fast you slid down the mountain. so, so crazy. when we got back to the alpine line, however, the creek was too dangerous to walk down directly and this is where the brush was so thick you couldn't see a thing - in front, under, behind, et cetera et cetera.

crazy. absolutely ridiculous.

and, at that point, really no fun at all.

when we'd finally reached some sort of point that was managable, the six of us in the group were going pretty slow, and next thing we knew, rich was gone. we'd gone over proper safety measures if you get lost: sit tight and wait for someone to come find you. but, this was different. rich was the leader, which meant he knew where we were going. he had the map. he had the compass. but he was alone. and the six of us were together. who, technically, is lost in that situation? we discussed it for a long time. yelled our heads off trying to get rich to hear us over the roar of the creek. after 15 minutes, we decided to go ahead and try and find him, and then, lo and behold, he was there.

we practically ran to the hut. which was absolutely full so most of us opted for the floor. we made a fabulous meal - pasta with a tomato sauce complete with tuna, capers, and broccoli. and cheesecake for desert.



[result of a packed hut when its been raining - the attempts to dry clothing]


in the end, the day took us ten hours.

sunday was gorgeous. clear, bright, sunny, warm. all completely on track and easy. we went up key summit for some fabulous views:









[there was even a guided nature walk! somehow, i ended up reading, which i don't mind and always end up doing for my family anyways]


[our group minus thomas and paula]


in the end, it feels so good to have survived. because, really. it was amazing. and thats what being in this country is all about - trying new things and pushing your limits.

i'm just so proud to be alive