Like the good folks of Cicely, Alaska we are struggling without any sunlight. Like Walt and company (Northern Exposure, Season 5) we feel like we need some artificial sunlight. We are thinking about trying to rig something up with our rain hats and head lamps. We started our last trip in the pouring rain and finished it in the rain. We should have known our luck was ending when we stood out in the rain for two hours unsuccessfully trying to hitch a ride to the trailhead. In the last seven days we have encountered every type of rain imaginable. Showers, thunderstorms, absolute downpours, misty rain, and snow one morning. Our first trek we were worried about getting sunburnt and on this one we were worried about trench foot. It was still a great time though. We linked up three different trails to make one long trip of about 100 kilometers. We did the Greenstone/Caples Loop, and finished up with the Routeburn Track. It was a great time. We stayed at some of the backcountry huts which made the never ending wetness a bit easier to handle plus we met heaps of fun people. The last hut we stayed at slept 16 people. When we went to bed there were over 30 people in this tiny building. Cozy. One of the hut wardens was warning us about a particularly boggy spot that floods really bad with lots of rain. He said, "If the water is chest high it is manageable, but if it is above your head it is unsafe." Ok sweet, great advice. But we just got back into Queenstown where we plan on hanging out for a bit before we head back in for some more hiking.
Some shots from the Kepler Track. 1. Top of Luxmore Saddle. 2. Hiking across the alpine section of the Kepler Track. 3. Our last campsite on the Kepler Track. We had this whole lake to ourselves. It was awesome.
Home sweet home. We met up with a friend of a friend from the states and he let us sleep on his back porch for a couple nights. Score.
The Greenstone Hut on the Greenstone Trail. Sweet hut in the middle of nowhere. Even had flush tiolets. Craziness.
*Internet time is almost up..but more pics to come.
3 comments:
the visor lamp made Walt crazy. not that that is a bad thing...
Trench foot...you two are officially ems geeks & I love it!! Remember, keep changing your socks (on that note, I already put a hole in my favorite purple footy socks-thus how much I love them) :)
Yeah, watch extended exposure to those lamps. Makes you nutty. Also... remember the rule of drowning for the next downpour. Throw, then Go.
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