First, we got off to a late start. We were supposed to leave Christchurch at 9am but they were late to get going and didn’t pick me up until 10. All six of us piled in one station wagon, four in the back bench. It was snug. With limited daylight down here in the winter, I already knew there was a good chance that if we didn’t get moving, we’d be hiking in the dark. The drive was too lesuirely, with stops at the market, the bathroom, and of course, picture stops to soak in the beautiful scenery. After about an hour of driving, the road turned into a gravel road for the next hour with some river crossings, one so deep we had to all get out so the driver could fly through with as little weight as possible. Long story short (a little shorter anyway), we didn’t start hiking until 1:30pm. Not good when it will take ~5 hours to the hut and the sun sets at 5pm.
The walk began. I tried several tactics to encourage people to walk faster but it was no use. The stroll was the pace. A little side note intended to help frame the situation, not to seem boastful: I was carrying all the food (minus lunch) for 6 people, the fuel, the pots, the stove, the water filter… No one volunteered to help and since everyone’s bags were packed, I didn’t even ask. Splitting up food would slow us down and we needed to get moving! Some of my compadres hadn’t been backpacking before. One girl had her sleeping bag tied to a daypack with bungee cords. It wasn’t working so well as it was just dangling behind her, hitting her legs with every step. One of the guys tried to help re-tie it, but it was no use. After about 20 minutes of watching it hit her in the back of her legs continuously and realizing the guys weren’t going to help, I offered to strap it on to my pack. So we continued on, now with my pack about 3 times the depth of me. I felt like I was some sort of livestock, hauling goods.
It began to get dark. We were still hiking through the sheep pastures and hadn’t yet reached the trail. Time for the torches, as they say here in NZ (flashlights and headlamps)! Two people didn’t bring a torch. The English guy’s torch was dimming quickly as the batteries were dying. We got on the trail and struggled to look for each orange triangle marking the trail… if only they were reflective. This forest got us lost last time I was here and it was just as confusing this time. I put new batteries in my headlamp and we all cheered at the amount of light it brought. This, we thought, was our saving grace. So we trucked on. We continued to lose and find the trail, and eventually got to a sign, “Hurunui Hut 30 minutes.” We were close! I thought this was in the bag. We trucked on in the dark, chattering away, until one girl suggested that she thought we had passed it because the trail had joined the river again. Everybody had different ideas and we eventually turned around and trucked back up the hill we just came down. When we got to the top we saw a split that we hadn’t seen the first time. Now we were confused. We tried to stay together so we wouldn’t lose anyone, but getting 6 people to quickly move back and forth along the trail to look for hints and figure out where we were was not easy. Inertia! They decided to stay put for a bit at a spot we recognized from the trip out and I set out down the unfamiliar trail to see where it went. I guess I was gone for about 10-15 minutes. It only seemed like 5 in my head. I kept hoping that if I went just a little bit further, just around the next bend, I would see a hint or the hut… I didn’t want to turn around. I soon realized the hut was not on this trail so trotted back up the hill to join them. I heard them calling me and I yelled back, “Coming!”. I later found out that they couldn’t hear me at all. All 5 of them were yelling together for me and my one voice yelling back was just not loud enough. The next day I found out that it was at this point that they thought I was lost in the forest and they were coming up with a plan on what to do. Lesson noted, but I didn’t want to waste their energy having them come with me.
We regrouped at the intersection, looked at the map and decided that we were likely at the first split off the main trail, not the second which is where the hut was. We marked this spot with a big branch across the trail and headed back down the wet scree for the third time. I think everyone was convinced at this point that there wasn’t actually a hut and that we were sleeping outside. I knew we were going to find this hut. I just prayed that the weather would hold and that everyone would be able to dig for just a little bit more energy to keep on going. We hit the river again and then came to the second major split and headed up the hill. This had to be it! It looked familiar, but then again everything was looking familiar and it was becoming confusing. Everyone else already doubted what I said and I was now starting to doubt myself too. But soon we saw a flicker of light through the trees. Was that someone’s light at the hut? We all turned our torches off and looked through the trees. It was the hut! We had made it. A friendly Kiwi couple was staying at the hut and they had 3 candles burning. Everyone cheered and hugged. It had been 7 hours since we began walking and at least 2 of those were spent going back and forth in the dark, deliberating, knowing the hut was within 30 minutes.
The hut was warm and glorious. For dinner, I cooked spaghetti with marinara sauce topped with Tasty cheese and some carefully transported french baguettes on the side. Everyone ate happily and went to bed. I climbed into my Helium sleeping bag, thinking that this bunk was way too comfortable for camping, but was overwhelmingly grateful to be in the hut. We set a plan to wake up at 7am to hike to the hot springs, which were an hour past the hut, to give ourselves time to get back to the hut and out by dark. The first day was a hard day mentally, keeping everyone’s spirits and energy up, but I thought the hot springs the next day would redeem the trip. I guess I forgot—everything in New Zealand is an adventure.
My alarm went off at 7am, but I couldn’t get anyone moving. We finally got out of the hut, but it wasn’t until past 8. The Kiwi guy at the hut gave us specific directions on where to look for the hot springs, warning us that it was hard to find and that there wasn’t a sign. I didn’t think it would be hard. Last time I went to the hot springs in the light and the dark and it seemed really easy to find in the light. I even remembered a sign. Another long story a little shorter, we could never find the hot springs. Time was ticking… We still had at least a 5 hour trek out from the hut, so we didn’t have time to spend looking for the springs. We made the decision to head back. It was hard. I knew it was there. But we had to go. Nonetheless the scenery was gorgeous and we got to watch the sunrise!
The hike out from the hut was long and slow. The girl with the previously dangling sleeping bag was tired and not feeling well. A couple of us took turns hanging in back with her. It was nice to have this time to just observe, snap a few photos and be in awe of what surrounded me. It was an amazing day, crystal clear with the sun shining bright! When we got to Loch Katrine, one of the lakes on the route, we had a snack break and the guys and I went for a swim in the lake. Quite chilly but it was a no brainer. I can’t turn down a swim. From here on, the trail was along a 4WD track. Several trucks passed us as they were heading out and the girl who wasn’t feeling well ended up getting a ride out to our car. This saved us a lot of time. The rest of us hurriedly hiked out to the car, piled in and headed home. We got through the stream crossings and most of the windy gravel road while it was still light. As we entered civilization again, everyone cheered when they saw streetlights and petrol stations. I, on the otherhand, couldn’t find any reason to be excited for streetlights or civilization. I’d rather be enjoying another night at Hurunui Hut. I, however, was grateful that all 6 of us were laughing in the car and the sign of streetlights approaching meant that the car was still working (that’s another story), we were heading home on schedule and everyone made it. These were all wonderful things!
I’ve only known these people for a few weeks and was pretty sure that after this tramp none of them would ever come on one of my hiking trips again. I thanked them for being great sports and re-emphasized how lucky we were to have such great weather, which made everything so beautiful. I knew that although they might not have enjoyed every step, the next day or at least a few days later when their aches went away, they would be happy they did it!
Believe it or not, these people still seem to like me. We hung out this week and everyone laughed and joked about our trip. I talked to my host family about finding the hot springs and they said there was a land slide a few years ago that filled in part of the pool. This probably altered the trail and took out the sign. I also found a post online from a Christchurch resident saying he looked for the hot springs for 2 hours and never found them. I didn’t feel so bad anymore. We looked up the actual distance of the hike when we got back… 45 km (28 miles) roundtrip.
Conclusion: I’d say it was a great adventure!
Lianne, the expedition leader!! Just think of the world you exposed these folks to. Good job. :)
ReplyDeleteLi, as someone who has been subject to your famous "understatements" of an adventure's difficulty level, I found this whole post hilarious. Just remind yourself that if it is rated Easy on the Lianne scale, the average participate better buckle up for the ride. I'm glad to see that you're getting out a lot and seeing that beautiful country. Thanks for doing this blog so that I can keep tabs on you :)
ReplyDelete28 miles is pretty far for an overnight trip for first time backpackers. Good work on herding everyone along and sherpa-ing their gear. You're a great trip leader.
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