Sunday, March 22nd, we head out of Lake Mackenzie hut and head out to the Divide. The track crosses a small flat before climbing steeply to the bushline.
It was chilly on Sunday morning - the wool hats stayed on most of the day.
The ferns were outlined with frost.
On this side of the track, we walked through a lot of mossy beech forest past many waterfalls. It was beautiful.
These are the impressive Earland Falls (178m high). An emergency bridge is situated down stream should the falls be in flood. Thankfully, we had 3 days of hiking without any rain at all. This is pretty amazing considering it rains more than 200 days a year in Fiordland.
The beech forests were just dripping with lichens, mosses, perching plants and ferns.
We stopped for a snack at Howden hut situated at the junction of Routeburn and Greenstone/Caples Tracks. From here it's only about an hour to the Divide.
We took a side trip to Key Summit up a steep incline climbing above the bushline to an alpine wetland and tarn interpretive walk. We were rewarded with magnificent views of the Darran Mountains and the Hollyford Valley. You can see behind Dan, about chin height to the left, the hanging Lake Marian.
From the Key Summit we could look back at where we had come from. That really pointy mountain to the right of center is Emily Peak. The valley below it is where Lake Mackenzie hut is located and where we stayed the previous night.
Looking down the Hollyford Valley from Key Summit. Hollyford Valley eventually leads to the sea. The Hollyford Track, which we are planning on attempting soon, follows the Hollyford Valley to the sea.
Routeburn Track -- finished! We made it to the Divide relatively unharmed other than the usual blisters and sore muscles. Since the Routeburn is a one-way track, we had arranged with some friends a car swap starting the track at opposite ends to avoid any backtracking. It worked well and after finishing the track we were able to make it back to Dunedin ready for work again on Monday. What a great weekend trip and another Great Walk completed.
It was chilly on Sunday morning - the wool hats stayed on most of the day.
The ferns were outlined with frost.
On this side of the track, we walked through a lot of mossy beech forest past many waterfalls. It was beautiful.
These are the impressive Earland Falls (178m high). An emergency bridge is situated down stream should the falls be in flood. Thankfully, we had 3 days of hiking without any rain at all. This is pretty amazing considering it rains more than 200 days a year in Fiordland.
The beech forests were just dripping with lichens, mosses, perching plants and ferns.
We stopped for a snack at Howden hut situated at the junction of Routeburn and Greenstone/Caples Tracks. From here it's only about an hour to the Divide.
We took a side trip to Key Summit up a steep incline climbing above the bushline to an alpine wetland and tarn interpretive walk. We were rewarded with magnificent views of the Darran Mountains and the Hollyford Valley. You can see behind Dan, about chin height to the left, the hanging Lake Marian.
From the Key Summit we could look back at where we had come from. That really pointy mountain to the right of center is Emily Peak. The valley below it is where Lake Mackenzie hut is located and where we stayed the previous night.
Looking down the Hollyford Valley from Key Summit. Hollyford Valley eventually leads to the sea. The Hollyford Track, which we are planning on attempting soon, follows the Hollyford Valley to the sea.
Routeburn Track -- finished! We made it to the Divide relatively unharmed other than the usual blisters and sore muscles. Since the Routeburn is a one-way track, we had arranged with some friends a car swap starting the track at opposite ends to avoid any backtracking. It worked well and after finishing the track we were able to make it back to Dunedin ready for work again on Monday. What a great weekend trip and another Great Walk completed.
1 comment:
Emily, on the photo about the hanging lake view you wrote: "You can see behind Dan, about chin height to the left, the hanging Lake Marian."
Not the best description, since it is hard to see where Dan's chin begins/ends with that growth on his face!
Actually, I am just jealous of you guys going on such a classic trip. Thanks for the virtual tour.
Tim
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