March 5th marked Day 100 of being "on the trail" and in true Te Araroa style we cut loose by rationing ourselves half a packet of biscuits more than usual. Rock n Roll.....let the good times unfold! It would of been great to of packed some cheese and red wine but our packs were heavily loaded to support our 8 day stretch from Lake Coleridge to Tekapo village. A few minor adjustments to our food and we're the heaviest yet. Easily 20kg which makes 1000m ascents feel like somebody's trying to pull you back down the mountainside but we stay calm and cruisy and just plod along.
And "plodding" seems to be the theme of the day at the moment. Not too sure why but since the complete utter highs of Richmond Range and especially Nelson Lakes I've crashed a little. We're still surrounded by fairytale type scenery and the lifestyle is so great so cannot make complete sense of the emotions but will just keep motivated and ride it out. Maybe fish n chips in Tekapo (or Takeapoo as I affectionately call it) and a rest day will turn the corner.
So plodding 1000m to the first saddle took us right up from the Rakaia river up and over and slapped straight back into the Southern Alps hut hopping our way to Lake Emily. Towards the end of the 1st day the wind started to pick up slightly then just out of the blue about 25m in front of Emily a little dust devil sprang to life on the track where it wobbled and whisked together on the spot, then after a few seconds it waved and wobbled its way to our right and down the mountainside where it unravelled itself and swirled back to fresh air.
The end of the day saw us escape the oncoming rain and strong, gusting nor'wester as we flung open the door to Comyns Hut. My favourite hut so far. It was old and built in the 60's out of the most basic of materials - wriggly tin and a mechano kit girder type assembly. It was dark but the many candles gave the hut a warm, atmospheric glow and the large open fire place allowed for a heartwarming heat and focal point to the evening as the wind howled outside.
Climbing, ascending, sidling and repeat. This was the theme to getting to Lake Emily and once there we snapped a shot as towering above Lake Emily was Mt Taylor so it seemed fitting. Joining the 4WD track to leave and finish this section Melanie noticed a presumably empty box of beers most likely left by some litter bug but upon closer inspection saw that there were 5 beers in there! BOOM! Within seconds the lids were popped and the 5 of us were doing a cheers in a real remote part of NZ! Happy days! It was only 11am but whose wearing a watch these days? Oh yeah......what day is it?
So tomorrow we head up to Stag Saddle, the highest point of Te Araroa at 2000m altitude. We pushed out an 11 hour day yesterday to get ourselves to the hut at the front of the pass for tonight then on Emily's birthday we will summit and if the weather holds huge views across Lake Tekapo to NZ's highest mountain, Mt Cook/Aoraki should be on offer! Happy Birthday Emily X
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