A big day. Going to hike to Blue Lake, over Waiau Pass, and camp somewhere before Waiau hut. Last time it took a long time and it was a day where I hated hiking and loved it again.
So I was mentally prepared. At 6:15 I left the hut and started on the uphill part still within the forest. The roots, rocks, and erosion of the trail make it a slow track, but it was in much better condition than 4 years ago and I am getting faster on this terrain. There were some very steep parts close to the hut and I could feel that I needed to fuel my body. So at the hut, I prepared some noodles, walked to the clearest lake on earth (no touching only looking!), and already felt in a much better mood.
The next part would be steep, an additional 200m climb because you can’t walk along the lake shore. The downhill is slippery gravel also called scree and I hated that last time so much.
After I packed everything and waved goodbye to Aisha, Cameron, Sebas, Mathild, Logan, and Alex, I continued.
It was easier. Whether that was due to my mental preparation and knowing what was to come, or because my body is in better shape (last time I didn’t eat healthy enough and so around this time my body was depleted of nutrients), I don’t know. But it was much more enjoyable. Even the descent went smoothly.
At Lake Constance, Alex caught up with me. I refilled my water and continued. I planned to have my break near the top of Waiau Pass and soak in the view. The others weren’t far behind, but they all took a break.
The ascent is quite straightforward (literally). I would climb 2 orange trail markers, take a breath, look around, and continue. Soon I was on the traverse section. This part you can see from far away and a photo never captures the real feeling, but I didn’t freak out as much as last time. It’s not that I think you would slide down if you fall, but sometimes your footing isn’t stable. While it gently slides down, my body just freaks out. But I kept breathing and put the other foot in front of the other and it was soon over.
I found a perfect spot for a break while I could see the others climbing/tramping towards me. Alex was first and exclaimed happily that it only took him 40 minutes from the lake to reach me. That is fast, but in a landscape like this, I would regret rushing through it. But different people hike a different hike. He continued before the others arrived.
The other hikers shared my opinion and everyone sat down to let the view sink in. It’s one of the best views of the TA.
Of course, we had to continue at some point and we continued together. Over the pass and down the bedrock on the other side. Love the rock scrambling!
We had another long break when we bumped into two other hikers. We did leave them behind and continued with the six of us.
We reached the junction where I camped last time, but 4/6 wanted to continue and so Mathild and I sucked it up and continued as well. So Logan, Aisha, Cameron, and Sebas are fast walkers and I struggled to not get behind. At some stage, I couldn’t see Mathild anymore. They stopped to discuss the camp spot and with the decision on a grassy meadow 1 km away, I waited for Mathild.
As much as I wanted to stop at the junction, the additional 4km meant that tomorrow would be easier. Logan also got an automatic weather report and the day after tomorrow, a 100% chance of rain.
In the evening, we all took a dip in the river to rinse off the sweat and then we quickly covered up because it was sandflies o’clock. After dinner, we went to bed.
Zilla-in-the-wild 