routeburn
day i
i woke up sick. i made wrong tactical desicion #1 that day - i got out of bed. i dressed up. i took my backpack and went to the kitchen where i nearly threw up to the smell of frying ham & eggs. telling myself that i would get a refund or get on the bus i dragged my whiny ass to the Track & Info center, where they rip off tourists who want to get to track heads in really old uncomfortable buses.
for some reason i told myself i was feeling better and if i felt bad i will drive back with bus, and got on. took a photo in the Million dollar view spot. manage to get some breakfast down halfway to the track. taped my feet, DEETed myself and dragged myself onto the track, passing two hard working DOC officers.
after a hour of walking it was apparent i was feeling really bad. i went on. i got to the first hut - routeburn flat. i sat down, scared two israelis who were there and rested before dragging myself uphill for two hours to the hut where i was supposed to overnight. it was the worst climb ever - it took me 2.5 hours to climb a DOC 2 hour climb [which usually means about 1.5 hours]/ i had to stop every few minutes to rest and then drag my sorry and whiny ass up the hill. after 2.5 hours i got to the hut, went to bed, and kept myself hydrated.
day ii
i actually woke up feeling much better. i woke up every two hours during the night to drink & pee, and i managed to re-hydrate myself. i guess that celebrating St Patrick's Day in Queenstown and then only drinking Coke Zero for two days flushed all of the water out of my system.
anyway, the weather re hydrated itself too and it was raining [although not too bad] and windy all day. had to walk over the ridge line and around cliffs with bursts of wind of maybe 50-60 kph. kinda scary next to a 200 meter almost vertical slope.
we didn't get a lot of views on the routeburn [like most of my hikes so far], but we did get to look into the last valley of the second day - the Mackenzie valley and lake [i think. it was about two weeks ago]. it was worth it.
day iii
i walked out that day and i was desperate to get to civilization and fast. i walked really fast for the first three hours until my foot had some other ideas - like growing corned skin just below the ankle. i could hardly walk for the last hour of the trek which began with 15 minutes of steep uphill.
i got to the Divide, the end of the track on the milford road [which by now i truly loathe. i do not know why, but i'm sick of it] in time for the early bus. me and about six-seven other people. only - we were all booked on the late bus. and when no one is booked on the early bus it does not come. hopeless i was not - me and a British guy tried to each a hike to civilization. i was hoping to get to Te Anua early enough to grab some food before getting on the bus to Queenstown.
trying to hitch hike on the milford road was almost as hopeless as trying to hitch to Mt Aspiring National Park [this sad but true story will appear later in my blog]. lotsa old rich tourists in rentals who did not want two stinky, young and poor trampers in their car. but behold! after 1.5 hours a local guy in a big shiny 4wd stopped. he was going all the way to Queenstown. he just got back from hunting deer in the bush. a couple of his hunter friends were driving in the other car with their dead deer. he bought me pie and entertained me with his stories about working on an oil rig in britain, surfing around Spain and east asia, as well as his businesses and family. i got to Queenstown at 4.30pm, when i was accepting to arrive at 8pm. felt like it was my lucky day. ate a Fergburger to celebrate the happy event.
in short, the routeburn track was over and so were my feet.
i woke up sick. i made wrong tactical desicion #1 that day - i got out of bed. i dressed up. i took my backpack and went to the kitchen where i nearly threw up to the smell of frying ham & eggs. telling myself that i would get a refund or get on the bus i dragged my whiny ass to the Track & Info center, where they rip off tourists who want to get to track heads in really old uncomfortable buses.
for some reason i told myself i was feeling better and if i felt bad i will drive back with bus, and got on. took a photo in the Million dollar view spot. manage to get some breakfast down halfway to the track. taped my feet, DEETed myself and dragged myself onto the track, passing two hard working DOC officers.
after a hour of walking it was apparent i was feeling really bad. i went on. i got to the first hut - routeburn flat. i sat down, scared two israelis who were there and rested before dragging myself uphill for two hours to the hut where i was supposed to overnight. it was the worst climb ever - it took me 2.5 hours to climb a DOC 2 hour climb [which usually means about 1.5 hours]/ i had to stop every few minutes to rest and then drag my sorry and whiny ass up the hill. after 2.5 hours i got to the hut, went to bed, and kept myself hydrated.
day ii
i actually woke up feeling much better. i woke up every two hours during the night to drink & pee, and i managed to re-hydrate myself. i guess that celebrating St Patrick's Day in Queenstown and then only drinking Coke Zero for two days flushed all of the water out of my system.
anyway, the weather re hydrated itself too and it was raining [although not too bad] and windy all day. had to walk over the ridge line and around cliffs with bursts of wind of maybe 50-60 kph. kinda scary next to a 200 meter almost vertical slope.
we didn't get a lot of views on the routeburn [like most of my hikes so far], but we did get to look into the last valley of the second day - the Mackenzie valley and lake [i think. it was about two weeks ago]. it was worth it.
day iii
i walked out that day and i was desperate to get to civilization and fast. i walked really fast for the first three hours until my foot had some other ideas - like growing corned skin just below the ankle. i could hardly walk for the last hour of the trek which began with 15 minutes of steep uphill.
i got to the Divide, the end of the track on the milford road [which by now i truly loathe. i do not know why, but i'm sick of it] in time for the early bus. me and about six-seven other people. only - we were all booked on the late bus. and when no one is booked on the early bus it does not come. hopeless i was not - me and a British guy tried to each a hike to civilization. i was hoping to get to Te Anua early enough to grab some food before getting on the bus to Queenstown.
trying to hitch hike on the milford road was almost as hopeless as trying to hitch to Mt Aspiring National Park [this sad but true story will appear later in my blog]. lotsa old rich tourists in rentals who did not want two stinky, young and poor trampers in their car. but behold! after 1.5 hours a local guy in a big shiny 4wd stopped. he was going all the way to Queenstown. he just got back from hunting deer in the bush. a couple of his hunter friends were driving in the other car with their dead deer. he bought me pie and entertained me with his stories about working on an oil rig in britain, surfing around Spain and east asia, as well as his businesses and family. i got to Queenstown at 4.30pm, when i was accepting to arrive at 8pm. felt like it was my lucky day. ate a Fergburger to celebrate the happy event.
in short, the routeburn track was over and so were my feet.
posted by yeara at
1:43 am
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