Day 1 Te Anau to Luxmore Hut- 18km 750m Elevation Gain
I left for the Kepler Track on Boxing Day - Dec 26 the day after Christmas. On Christmas the weather had been rainy with the snow level descending to 1300m. Boxing Day was cloudy with the look of impending showers.
I left early and walked around the lake to Brod Bay which took me about 2 hours from the backpacker I was staying at. There I started the real climb up to Luxmore Hut. I walked up and up for around three hours. At one point a few trees had fallen over the track and I had to squeeze between them. I had to take off my pack to fit through. I managed to get mud all over my self in this endeavour. I continued walking upwards. When I cleared the tree line I had fantastic views of Lake Te Anau and the surrounding mountains.
Just as I caught sight of the hut I felt hail. This must have been an omen for the trip although it quickly abated. The hut was spectacularly poised with views of the nearby mountains and Lake Te Anau. I signed in and had a hot lunch of soup. The hut ranger told me that it had snowed the previous day at the hut (Christmas). As the weather was a bit iffy and was slated to rain the next day I decided to head up to the summit of Mt Luxmore. I wore my full rain gear and long underwear in case of rain/sleet/snow. I have to say I was a bit of a fashion statement (NOT).
It was cloudy on the way up and I was only catching intermittent views of the surrounding mountains. It took me a little over an hour to climb to the peak. Unfortunately most of the views were obscured by clouds. However, I was treated to a bit of snow. I waited a bit to see if it cleared up but no such luck.
I headed down and was treated to a hail storm on the way down. Back at the hut Larry, Lori and Dustin (friends from the Milford Track) had arrived. They had a bit of lunch and then Lori and Larry headed up to the summit. I listed to my iPod in my bunk thinking that they would be in for a bit of a wet trip. In fact, it did sleet on them and then let up right as they reached the summit and they were treated to 360 degree views. Boy were they lucky!
Down at the hut Dustin started a coal fire in the stove to heat up the hut. It was super cold in the hut especially in the bunkroom and the toilet where the stove did not heat. I shared my instant hummus with Lori and Dustin for dinner. (Dustin gave me a bunch of Cliff Bars which are a treat because you can't get them here).
After dinner Dustin, Lori and I headed off to the Luxmore Cave to explore. When we got there it was pretty wet and slippery. We had also heard tales of having to crawl because it was not very high. After Lori bit it, we turned back deciding an injury now was not worth it. Back at the hut a beautiful sunset was a happening so I was glad we got back to see it.
The ranger warned of poor conditions the next day that would deteriorate through out the day so we planned to leave early.
Day 2 Luxmore Hut to Iris Burn Hut- 14.6km 750m Elevation Gain 1000m Descent
I woke up to a beautiful rainbow and then Larry made us a fantastic breakfast of pancakes, peaches and syrup. It was a great beginning to the day. I headed off as soon as possible to try to beat the bad weather wearing my rain coat, rain pants and long underwear.
It was raining on me from the beginning and there was little visibility of the surrounding mountains. On a positive note I could easily see the trail which went up, up up. I was quite warm going up. Once I reached to ridge line the rain turned to sleet. It was blowing pretty hard. I descended for a bit and began to feel chilled. I began to question my decision to leave early (before the weather report). At the first emergency shelter I put on another layer and put a pair of socks on my hands. There were two small groups ahead of me and they went on so I decided to as well. The rain was steady but not heavy yet and (heavy rain was the forecast for later in the day).
Along the ridge I caught glimpses of the hanging glacial valleys, Lake Te Anau and Lake Manapouri. Mostly I saw sleet and cloud. At times the sleet was blowing horizontally. I had to brace myself to ensure that I wasn't blown off the ridge. Now I may sound a bit negative here but it was quite an experience. I had had so much good weather that I knew that this would happen eventually with the amount of rain this area experiences. For the first three hours or so I was okay with it. I was not very uncomfortable despite the fact that my pack grew heavier and heavier as it became water logged.
The turning point came when my Gortex boots no longer kept the water out and I was sloshing water at each step. At that point (after about hiking three hours on the ridge) I was ready for it to be over. Unfortunately I had another two hours or so to go. It was what can be classified as a character building experience. No really - I was in pretty good shape. I wasn't cold except for my face and in general I was pretty dry.
The descent to the hut was quite long. I must have been rushing a bit because I wiped out in a big way. I kind of felt like a turtle flipped over because I was lying on my back on top of my backpack. It was heavy and I had a hard time righting myself. To compound the situation one of my arms was stuck in the air held up by the hiking pole. I am lucky that I didn't dislocate my shoulder. Eventually I kind of levered myself up. (An alternative was to unclip my backpack). It was kind of funny despite the fact that I was wet and muddy.
Eventually I made it to the hut. The weather on the notice board said that the snow level had dropped to 1300m (we were above that at thimes while hiking) and that gale force winds were expected. Three people made it there before me. I wasn't there for more than 15 minutes when we were yelled at by the hut ranger for using a door that was sign posted as closed. They started a fire but were afraid to put much wood on it because of various notices put up about conserving wood. We did an assessment of what was wet and dry. In general, for me my outwear was wet and my shoes and socks and my backpack (not what was in it). I placed these by the anemic fire. Later, the ranger yelled at people for putting outerwear and boots by the fire. I wasn't there and my boots where thrown into the hall for me to find. My socks and boot insoles remained so wet that I could continuously wring water out of them. I would wring them out then check them later and would still be able to wring more water out.
Throughout the afternoon the rain increased to a heavy level. As people came in it became evident that many people were in bad shape. There were throughly soaked and their belongings including their sleeping bags were throughly soaked. They piled their gear on top of everyone else's so no ones dried. Lori realized this and she and her dad hung a line up between their bunks. I put a few things on their line. I sneaked my boots upstairs. I put my insoles on the stove flipping them like pancakes trying to dry them.
Day 3 Iris Burn Hut to Moturau Hut- 16.2 km slight descent
I woke up to a cloudy but rain-free day. I left early as usual. My first stop was a side trip to the Iris Burn waterfall. From there the walk was mainly downhill with a few ups. I walked through a glacial valley and along the Iris Burn river. Along the valley were a few waterfalls with the run off from the previous day.
At one point I came to a sign that said "Track closed" - nothing else. I thought "What do I do now?". The track was obviously closed because a bunch of trees had fallen over it. I noticed a few small orange arrows pointing up a very steep hill. I climbed up the hill clinging to wet and slippery tree roots for hand and foot holds. Eventually it became clear that this was a detour. I wish I had gotten a picture of this but once I was on my way up I didn't want to try to go down again.
Eventually the valley ended at Lake Manapouri and the track lead to the Moturau Hut on Lake Manapouri. It was warm and sunny. Most of the people on the Track went past this and walked out to Rainbow Reach (less than two hours more) where they could take a shuttle back to Te Anau. I stayed at the Hut. It gave me a chance to warm up and dry my remaining wet clothing (socks and insoles). The only downside were those pesky insects - (you know it SANDFLIES). I lathered up with DEET and made myself at home on a wooden platform where I listed to my iPod for the afternoon.
Later that evening Lori, Larry, Dustin and I walked out to Shallow Hut and explored the area around there. It was just before sunset and the lake looked quite beautiful.
Day 4 Moturau Hut to Te Anau- 19 km - generally flat
I got up early and hoofed it back to Te Anau so I could return my hiking pole to the rental agency, possibly do laundry (this didn't happen) and see the movie the Shadowlands (about Fiordland).
My first stop along the trail was at the Wetland viewing platform. There I saw a carnivorous plant called the Sundew. It is the friend of all because it eats insects such as sandflies. Yeah !!!
The rest of the walk was along the Waiau River and very pretty in spots. It was mostly flat or downhill and I was surprised how quickly I made it back to the Te Anau Control Gates which signify the beginning/end of the track.
From there I walked on the Lakeside trail back to Te Anau stopping at the wildlife park to see the Takahe - an endangered flightless bird.
Back in Te Anau I showered. Wow - that felt good. Then I ran my other errands but did not get the laundry done.
I met up with Lori, Larry and Dustin and saw the Shadowlands movie. It shows the fiords as filmed from a helicopter. I bought a copy and sent it home to Dad. Later we also met up for happy hours and dinner at the Moose. Maybe we will all hike together again in the future when I return to the US.
Lessons Learned
- Gortex boots hold up only so long
- Backpacks soak up water in rain making them heavier. Backpack covers could be a useful addition to prevent this.
- Walking in the forest causes the forest floor to get into your boots (somehow). This causes foot irritation. Thinking about investing in gaiters.
- Extra socks are awesome - glad I had them
- Tevas are useful when you can't wear your boots in the huts - glad I had them
- Food trades on the trail are so fun
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