Note: I wrote a lot of phone notes regarding these two days and as I wrote my blog post, I noticed that they were very repetitive. So, I’ve put the two days of phone notes at the bottom of this blog post so that you can read if you’re interested. But you’re not missing anything if you don’t read them. It will just save you some time if you’re short on that.

Compared to the other mornings on the trek, it was an early morning. Our alarms went off around 6:15am to get up and get going for our long day hike on the Routeburn track. Because it is such a busy and popular track in the summer, it is hard to get accommodation (hut bunks or camping) reservations. Thankfully, we were able to get reservations at the Routeburn Flats Hut site which was about an hour or two from the eastern end of the track. We were going to be hiking from the west end towards the east end. Due to our plan to hike back to the west end the next day, we wouldn’t actually complete the whole hike (meaning the last few kilometers of the east end of the track) but we had done the lions share of the track so that was ok.

Our total distance we had to hike today was 22.2 kilometers or almost 14 miles. We were aiming to be on the trail by 8:30am at the latest. We had heard that it would easily be an 8 hour hike and so wanted to get an early start to allow time for breaks, picture time, coffee time, etc. :-p

We got up, broke camp, and walked to Howden Hut to eat breakfast and wash up. We were on the trail beginning our ascent right about 8:30am. We set a pretty good pace as usual in the morning but took a couple of stops for pictures within the first couple of hours.

There was a nice waterfall that we passed and so stopped there and then a really nice open area with a beautiful view of some mountains.

Our first rest break was at the Lake MacKenzie. The sun was out but there was still a chill in the air. You had to keep hiking to stay warm.

While at the Lake MacKenzie Hut, I started talking to a couple of guys that were from the US. One of them had a sweatshirt with “Maryland” on it, so I asked them if they were actually from Maryland; they said yes and we ended up chatting for a little bit. They were planning to do the same thing as we were; to hike to and camp at Routeburn Flats and then walk back to the Divide the next day because their rental car was there and obviously needed to be driven back to Queenstown to be returned. They headed out of MacKenzie Hut before us and so didn’t see them again until we reached Routeburn Flats.

We rested our feet, at some food, and took some pictures of Lake MacKenzie which was absolutely beautiful.

Then it was time to continue. The next hour or so of the hike was a sort of intense ascent through the forest and out into the alpine region of tall grass and rocks. I really like getting up above the elevation of the forest because then you really feel like you’re getting somewhere and the views become a lot more interesting.

Once we had gained quite some elevation, we looked back and took a couple of pictures of Lake MacKenzie from above.

Finally, we reached our first high point and it was picture time!

After that, we walked along a generally/relatively flat path along the side of the mountain towards Harris Saddle. I was doing pretty well for a good portion of this path but started wearing out as we got closer to the Harris Saddle Shelter. I didn’t know there was a shelter there and assumed that this long path along the side of the mountain that generally took the shape of saddle (high point, gentle slope downward then back upward) was the “saddle,” but it wasn’t. Someone that we crossed paths with and asked how far it was said Harris Saddle was still about half an hour away and that Routeburn Flats was an hour or more after that; unwelcome and unpleasant surprise. Oh well; I just kept putting one foot in front of the other. Finally, we climbed a set of stairs, a little further up the path, and there was the shelter! A really welcome sight! We quickly took our packs off and just laid flat on the deck of the Shelter.

I forgot to mention that the weather on this day of our long hike couldn’t have been more perfect. We were really fortunate to have mostly clear skies, what clouds were there were very high (not fogging our view in the alpine elevations), sunshine, and a bit of wind to keep us cool while hiking really hard. It really helped make the whole long hike worth it.

After just resting for a bit, we dug some food out of our packs and ate. It was only now, when eating lunch, and looking at the brochure for this track, that I realized that our campsite was basically at the same elevation as where we had started back at Howden Hut! WHAT?!?!?! How did I not realize this before!?!?! It put a bit of a damper on my outlook for the return hike that was destined to happen tomorrow. But I tried not to think about it too much.

Then it was time for more pictures.

After our break, we continued our trek over the real Harris Saddle and began our descent towards Routeburn Falls and Routeburn Flats. With every step down, I thought “We have to climb every step back up this blasted rocky, prone-to-twist-an-ankle-or-knee trail. I was getting really, really tired out by this point; my legs were starting to feel a bit like jam (not quite jelly, there was still some substance but getting there). The trail, at least for me, had the optical illusion effect that our glacier guide had described. It didn’t look very far, but with each step, the ground seemed to stretch out or move backwards; basically, you think it’s not going to take very long to hike a certain distance and you just keep walking and walking and walking it takes forever!! The closer we got to Routeburn Falls Hut, the trail got rockier, steeper, and just more challenging on tired-out legs. So we hiked a bit slower and slower in an effort to not twist or strain anything that could jeopardize our trek.

We stopped and rested for about 10 minutes at the Routeburn Falls Hut as we were both by this point really worn out and not looking forward to the last 2 or 3 kilometers that would inevitably seem to take the longest because that’s just how it usually ends. Those last 2 or 3 kilometers did seem to take a long time because the trail was pretty windy down the side of the mountain and was sometimes pretty steep. My legs were becoming more and more jellyish and sort of numb by the minute, my stomach growling for a substantial meal. My knees never really bothered me (VERY surprisingly and thankfully), but everything about the lower half of my body was just super worn out; my spirit and attitude and mind just exhausted from the adrenaline high of such a spectacular hike but also the sheer grit it took to continue putting one foot in front of the other even though you just want to sit down and not go any further downhill because you’re just going to have to hike right back up the next day. I don’t know how to explain this exhaustion; you’re fufilled because of such grandeur of nature, but feel empty of strength and ability to move forward.

Finally, we got to Routeburn Flats Hut where I immediately took off my pack, my shoes and socks, and laid down on one of the wood benches that were in the covered campers’ common area. When we arrived, the guys from Maryland that I had met at MacKenzie hut were there preparing their dinner. We got talking and they said they had met another couple of people who had rented a car and parked at the eastern end of the track and were going to walk from the western end (near the Divide) back to the eastern end to drive the rental car back to Queenstown. They apparently were staying at the same hostel and so decided to trade rental vehicles so that neither had to walk back the other direction the next day. These guys offered George and I ride back to Queenstown if we decided we wanted to abandon walking back to Howden Hut the next day.

This glimmer of a chance to not hike back all the way to Howden Hut and get to civilization was super appealing in my state of mental and physical exhaustion. I really wanted to just go back to Queenstown (civilization), rent a car, drive back to the Divide to get George’s stuff that we had left behind, and then drive to Gunns Camp and Milford Sound. I asked George how he was feeling about the matter. He wasn’t budging on the plan to hike back. In my mentally exhausted state, I considered letting George walk back across alone, going to Queenstown with the guys from Maryland, and meeting George at Gunns Camp a day or two later. Now before my family freaks out, remember what I said about hitchhiking here in New Zealand (in a previous post); it’s a very popular method of traveling within the backpacking community and is very safe here compared to the US. Also, after a goodnight of sleep, I would feel a bit more refreshed and would reconsider.

After dinner, we set up camp, and I climbed into the tent, gave the warden our camping reservation ticket while retaining a piece of it for my scrapbook, and passed out.

Day 6: Return from Routeburn Flats to Howden Hut

I woke up early the next morning and when George woke up asked him what he thought about going back to Queenstown. Basically, he was just going to walk back to Howden Hut. We weren’t obligated to stay together but he still wasn’t buying into my desire to get back to civilization that was sparked by an offer for a lift to Queenstown.

I was up walking around by 7:15am because the guys said they would be heading out around 7:30 and I didn’t want to miss them. However, they were nowhere to be found. I walked around a bit to see if I could find them, but they vanished. My thought was that they didn’t want to get in the middle of anything and that I was just not supposed to go to back to Queenstown. Don’t worry mom and dad, you put a super responsible head on me and so I’m still not inclined to try hitchhiking here. George could attest to the fact that even together, I was not completely comfortable doing that. If we did, it would have definitely been part of the adventure getting further out of my comfort zone than a multi-day trek through the woods. So, just know – I don’t plan on hitchhiking.

By about 9:15am, I realized that they were gone and I knew I would be walking back to Howden Hut. Besides, combining the facts that our motto for this trip had sort of become “Everything together and together we have everything” and that I absolutely can’t stand the feeling of letting someone down, I just couldn’t let myself give in to feelings that didn’t have any real serious basis (remember, I was mentally and physically exhausted the previous evening) and that could potentially ruin a great ending to our joint epic adventure. So I just accepted the fact, resolved to finish, and we began packing up camp. By 10am, 1.5 hours after our start time the previous day, we headed back up the trail towards Harris Saddle, Lake MacKenzie, and Howden Hut. My head and my spirit were so bummed for an hour or two. My legs and my lungs were screaming at me when we began the ascent back up towards Harris Saddle…. Something to the effect of “You crazy witch!!! What are you doing to me?!?!?!”

When we were almost back to the high point of our ascent and I realized my legs were semi-tired but not achy or weak feeling and my feet were pretty fine, I more and more returned to my happy adventurous self. I regained my appreciation and happiness to be hiking in such spectacular terrain, talking and meeting people along the way, and all the while proving to myself what I am physically and mentally capable of doing! Plus, with these 22.2 extra kilometers, we would far exceed the kilometers I had estimated we would walk in 7 days.

Because we had taken a bunch of pictures yesterday, we didn’t really need to stop on the way back. We only really stopped for rest breaks at Harris Saddle, MacKenzie Hut, the Waterfall, and finally Howden Hut for dinner.

The last 8 kilmeters from Lake MacKenzie back to Howden Hut took FOREVER! The trail just keep winding, going and going on and on… I kept thinking just around the next bend we will see Howden Hut. But we just kept going and going. Finally though, we saw the wood plank walkway that I knew meant only a hundred meters or less to Howden Hut. We made it!!! We dropped our packs and once again just sat down on the benches to rest for a couple of minutes before preparing dinner. We got the bag of extraneous stuff from the warden since it had our last dinner supplies inside. Dinner cooked and eaten, no more like devoured, we walked the last 20 minutes to the free camping area, set up camp, and passed out.

Wowza…. what an incredible experience! And it’s not quite over yet!

The water up in the mountains was drinkable right out of the stream. Ice cold and super refreshing.

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Phone notes from Day 5: {NOTE: A lot of what I wrote in my phone notes is repetitive to what I added to in the actual blog post so don’t feel like you’re going to miss anything if you skip the Phone Notes}

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Photo notes from Day 6: