Sunday, March 16, 2014
Started Time: 10:25am
Distance: 8.8kn
Finish Time: 3pm
Weather: Overcast
The Routeburn Track is considered to be one of the finest walks in the world, and Mom and I were scheduled to hike the 35km of the trail in 3 days. We commended our trek about a half hour drive past Glenorchy at the Routeburn Shelter, and ventured out into the wild. The clouds blanketed the sun to keep temperatures from getting too hot, which suited us perfectly for ideal hiking conditions. It was a beautiful hike through the woods, over suspension bridges and along cool running water. The colors of shaded tan mountains with green mossy trees against the blue river were so vivid it looked like someone drew this scene with the most brilliant of crayons. We got open views through the tree line, unlike my first day on the Heaphy Track, which I loved. Even though the golden grass and dried streams were not as lush as I had hoped, the sheer vastness of the valley between two mountain ranges left me in awe. We made it to the Routeburn Falls Hut just before the rain started coming down, and Cyclone Lucy had officially hit the South Island.
Steph Dobson 