The Adventures of Clark & Olsen: New Zealand | Day 6 | Kepler Track (Day 2)

We had been warned the night before about the weather, but when we woke up around 7 on Wednesday morning, the sun was shining and the sky was clear. I actually felt pretty good that morning on getting up, moving a bit slow, but still functional. After a 'full cooked breakfast' (instant potatoes, powdered eggs and meat cubes) we looked out the window and saw clouds approaching from the south. We knew that the weather report would come in around 8:30, but it was pretty clear how things were about to go down. We packed up and headed out by 8, starting the new day with yet another climb. We knew that we had a couple of ups and downs followed by about a 2000' descent down to the next hut. Between Luxmore Hut and that descent, we would be completely exposed along ridges for about 10 km (6 miles). The clouds looked increasingly gray as we came around the first bend, and the wind began to pick up. It was raining in the distance, and a rainbow materialized. As we neared Mt. Luxmore, we witnessed the rarest of things - a double rainbow...all the way. After taking a minute to make a video parody, we pressed on.

A beautful morning

View of Lake Te Anau

Clark on the trail.

Rainbow (double rainbow video too big to upload)

As we crossed below Luxmore's peak, we could see the descent to the first emergency shelter begin. Rounding another bend, we could see storm clouds about to converge over our position. We quickly moved down the switchbacks that led to the shelter as the rain began to pelt us. The winds were gusting to perhaps 40 mph as we reached the door, and we gladly clambered inside to escape the weather for a few minutes. Thankfully, the rain subsided a few minutes later, and we were off again, hoping to avoid being drenched for as long as possible. Meanwhile, the gorgeous scenery was more than enough to keep us moving. I don't think either of us have ever seen anything like the Fiordland mountains, with their steep green-brown slopes and rugged peaks, not to mention the beautiful glacier-carved lakes that surround them. We had to remind ourselves to stop and enjoy the views instead of looking as we walked to make sure we focused on our footing, since the wind and the narrow path put us in some precarious spots.

The track along the ridgeline

Olsen just before the weather set in

We made it to the second shelter just before noon, and decided to stop and have a snack before making our descent down to Iris Burn Hut (burn = river/stream). As we picked our way along the final ridge section, the sky began to make the mountains look like the LOTR scenery from the films. Just as we crossed into the bush, the rain started coming down. The dense foliage kept us from getting completely soaked, and we hurried down the switchbacks partially due to a sense of urgency to get out of the rain, and also because our legs and knees were on fire from walking down the steep path. We knew this from previous treks; the down is usually more painful than the up, the up is just more tiring.

Iris Burn

Clark waterlogged after the long hike down

We made it to the hut around 2pm, and were grateful for the warm fire and shelter from the rain. After picking our bunks, we sat down for some lamb fettucine...it was pretty good. As we wondered where the rest of the trampers were, the rain continued to pour down. Most folks made it in by 6, and we passed the rest of the evening by chatting with some Coloradans (Clark was thrilled).