Sunshine in the Mountains

On the way up Avalanche Peak

I'm on a role with the blog now!  After the West Coast, I went to Arthur's Pass, which is a small village and a large National Park.  I met a guy on my trip in Kahurangi who lives in the village and let me stay with him and he spoiled me!  Not only did he offer great local advice, he provided a bed (only the 5th time I slept in a real bed since my parents left a month ago), delicious home-cooked meals, and plenty of "hiking food."  Plus he had traveled the world and hiked a lot in NZ and abroad, so had plenty of great stories.  And he had a picture book of NZ's mountains, which I loved, so he let me keep it as a souvenir.  People like him really make the travel experience and give you faith in humanity!

Anyway, his suggestion, based on the weather forecast was to climb Avalanche Peak the first day, then do the Edwards-Hawdon route the next 3 days.  I had an absolutely stunning day on Avalanche Peak and it gives incredible views from the top across the main divide.  In many ways it reminded me of climbing a 14er in Colorado, but these mountains are all under 8,000 feet!  As I said, the view from the top was amazing and the weather was perfect so I sat on the top for almost an hour and a half!

On Edwards-Hawdon route

The next morning I went to start the Edwards-Hawdon route, which the Dept of Conservation considers the hardest level of track below technical climbing, as it had many unbridged river crossings and large sections of unmarked track.  However, Gerald ensured me it was pretty straightforward and the rivers were low enough to be crossed easily, so on I went.  The first day was 4 hours of following the Edwards River, which was partially forested and partially open with views of the mountains on either side of the valley.  Surprisingly, I had the hut to myself! For the first time, I experienced an earthquake, which was rather terrifying in a hut by yourself!  It was only magnitude 4.2, but gave the hut a good shake and my mind immediately went to Nepal and I was waiting for the roof to collapse or the mountains to start spewing rocks at me.  Luckily, after a couple seconds everything was back to normal!  With a nearly full moon, the sky was bright, but the stars were still spectacular.  The next day was the big day with 2 mountain passes and a col.  As Gerald said, the track was very straightforward with where I needed to go.  It took 6 hours to complete, with stops, but was one of the best hikes I'd done in New Zealand! The scenery was unbelievable as you crossed three river valleys with views in every direction of peaks and several tarns!  I've given up on picking a favourite hike, but this is up there.  The sense of accomplishment completing a "challenging" track alone was nice too.  On the final day, it was an easy 2.5 hour walk out the Hawdon Valley where I was picked up again by Gerald and taken to his place for a shower and lunch before going on my way!

On Edwards-Hawdon route

I'd planned to go to Mt. Cook National Park afterwards, but the forecast was awful, so I decided to drive to Dunedin again.  The weather here is surprisingly nice, as I think the storm is still moving east and hasn't made it here yet.  On the drive down, I was guided by the full moon, which lit the ocean.  There's something really magical about a starry night sky or the full moon, winter or summer!  Anyway, I am in Dunedin for a few days, then down to visit a friend in Gore (and get my car fixed), and finally over to Wanaka where I will try to work.  For the first time in the past few days it began to hit me that I leave soon.  While I'm upset about leaving New Zealand, I'm also excited for the next adventure.

Avalanche Peak summit

On a sad note, a friend of mine who I lived next door to when I studied in Dunedin and shared my car with, along with many hikes, passed away in his off-campus house at Wake Forest over the weekend.  While we lost touch since leaving New Zealand, it is still extremely sad, especially as the rumor is that it was suicide.  The reason I bring this up is that I just wanted to take a moment to say that, despite me leaving for the opposite side of the world, I love you all so much and miss you every day.

Now, for a happy ending, the trees here are still holding a bit of fall colour, but many are bare as winter approaches.  With any luck there are two short hikes I still want to do if I can, but otherwise, I couldn't have been happier if the Edwards-Hawdon track was my last big trip in the hills!