Mt Aspiring – Episode 1. The Naked Menace

Just one beer too many resulted in a day later departure than intended. No regrets, my body was thankful the various aches, pains and cuts from the last trip received extra healing time. Eventually I hitched a lift with two Israeli girls almost to the trail head. Determined to cross the river at an earlier point they parked up at Makarora cafe and I took another ride 6km further to the bridge at blue pools. An hour or so later I saw the Israeli girls stuck on the far side of the river cooking lunch, unable to cross the high waters. It seemed I had done some learnings from my previous trip after all. A return to well formed trails was a pleasure following my previous escapades. The remainder of the day was almost event free, following the well marked track through forest beside River Young. Focussing on foot placement I didn’t spot an over hanging branch, thus loosing many braincells as I whacked my head, savouring the taste of blood from my bitten tongue. Then at precisely 16:37 and 22 seconds my $20 watch unsurprisingly broke.

– Along the Young –

Young hut was more like a safari camp of palatial proportions than a backcountry hut. 28 bunks built on stilts into the mountainside with a grassy helipad adjacent. Not precisely the back country experience I sought, pleasant nonetheless. I set about fixing my watch, jabbing the hole left by the missing twisty time turning whatsit with my knife, The watch soon began ticking again, finally sealing the hole with candle wax. I admired my genius, I still had a few braincells remaining from the branch headbutt after all. I simply needed to remember it was 3hours and 5minutes slow. As more hikers arrived, the concession seemed to be that it had been a tough track. I kept quiet, thinking it had been a walk in the park compared to some other routes I’d taken recently, after all there were bridges, signposts, chains and waymarkers. Still, I nodded in agreement.

– Out of the forest into the mountains –

Up and over Gillespie pass the following day, I met several more weary hikers coming the other way as I descended. One couple had a particularly risky river crossing story to re tell. The chap had gone for an unexpected swim down the river and both had broken their cameras in the torrent. I obliged when asked to take a photo and send it on. I hoped the Israeli girls hadn’t got a similar tale to tell.

– Atop Gillespie’s pass &the swimmers –

Lunch, was supplemented with extra protein as the occasional sandfly found its way into my food, before ditching my big pack to visit the raved about crucible lake a 5 hour return walk away. The hot hike received its just reward. Glacial icebergs floated amongst the water of the lake that is hidden from view until the last moment. Fellow hikers were basking in the still and hot air that the sheltered the landscape provided. As the sun neared the point of dipping behind the mountain, I ignored the onlookers, took my opportunity stripped off and went for a swim amongst the bergs. A short refreshing swim. More like the dunking of a rich tea biscuit in a brew. In and out, no lingering.

– too cold for a frontal photo –

Rather than join the masses at Siberia hut I camped out with Caroline and Blake, who I’d met the previous evening. Safe to say we experience the worst of New Zealand’s sandflys. I I’ve bemoaned the sorid sandflys before, comparatively I had nothing to complain about previously. Thousands flittered around attempting to attack any exposed skin, the only option was to cover up as much as possible. Shorts replaced with trousers, that were then tucked into socks, hat on and my rainjacket hood covering my neck and most of my face. My meal was once more supplemented with unwelcome extra protein. So bad were the flies I resorted to wearing latex gloves from my first aid kit to protect my remaining exposed skin from the biting bastard’s. “Just let me eat my dinner in peace” I felt like screaming – perhaps the sandflys were screaming the same thing as I swatted them off. There is a Maori saying that the sandflys are a reminder that humans are merely temporary visitors to this paradise.

– Sandflies for Lunch and Dinner Yum! –

A particularly cold sleepless night in the tent followed. Awaking to a mist that lingered in the valley. Ice had formed a solid crust on my tent making packdown particuarly slow. Wrapped up warm to survive the ‘summer’ temperatures I headed to Siberia hut, (it seemed aptly named) to use the necessary morning facilities. I didn’t fancy bottom bites from the flies, but a recently thawed toilet seat wasn’t pleasant either.

– Icey summer start –

7km on a highway of a track passed rapidly. The river at Kerin Forks was low enough to enable an earlier than expected crossing. Sadly the dry feet I’d experienced qnd relished for the past 2days were now wet, and remained so until the end as is tradition New Zealand. Although the early start and good track allowed for a long late morning break drying my clothes and tent in the now hot sun.

– Valley mist and frost, the heat of the day on its way –

Discovering a perfect swimming hole along the river at lunch, once more I stripped off and took the plunge. A longer swim this time, but not much longer in the glacial fed waters. Without onlookers I basked naked in the sun for an hour. I’m fairly sure it’s the first time since I was very young I ate my lunch completely naked, I may do it more often. Being in the sun starkers going about your usual routine is a liberating. Unfortunately New Zealand sits beneath a thin Ozone layer, after an hour I could feel skin in places the sun don’t shinerarely becomimg a little too hot. It was time to re-dress and move on. Blake the Canadian had recounted stories of bears and hunting moose in his native Yukon territory the night before. Showing me videos too, I’d never appreciated monstoursly big moose are. Leaving the Riverside swimming hole I marvelled how enjoyable it was to hike in a land worry free from bears, tigers, snakes and spiders, also free from even small fish and bugs that can crawl up inside you. I know being free from spiders is not 100% true. I’ve seen plenty of the 8 legged monsters, ranging in size from tiny to true Shelob’s. As terrifying as they all are to me, only one rare species is poisonous, which leaves my mind at relative ease.

– I never realised how long my….. Arms are –

Helicopters are everywhere in the South Island. More common than taxi’s! Used for hiking, hunting, servicing huts and rescue, helicopters and heli-hiking certainly have their place in an economy reliant on tourism. Explaining my choice to camp rather than use Siberia hut that night, my comment on the matter over Heli hikers and the crowds they cause was along the lines; “If you need a chopper in, you probably shouldn’t be here in the first place, not having the skill or fitness to not fitness to rescue yourself.” A kiwi who had been consistently warning us about rabbit pass got up and left. I was told by the Aussies later that he’d been helicoptered in with his wife and young children – a fact I was unaware of at the time. The Aussies and kiwis who were also at the hut had found it hillarious as they had also grown tired of his consistent negativity toward our shared plans to tackle rabbit pass the following day. 4 days since last seeing a forecast I was now relying on the classically kiwi saying; “If you don’t like the weather, just wait 5minutes,” as I opposed to the kiwi who lefts’ opinion of “give up and turn back”.

– View from the hut… Not bad –

With dawn, heavy, patchy clouds loomed over nearby peaks. Myself, Jimmy and Jacko decided to try and reach rabbit pass and camp if necessary rather than wait a day in the hut, maybe we’d get lucky. We didnt. 40minutes into the walk the patchwork of heavy clouds connected and descended menacingly from the peaks, obscuring the view with a deluge of rain. 2 hours later we arrived at the foot of the waterfall face, the most notoriously dangerous part of rabbit pass. Soaked and cold, there was no way up the imposing climb in these conditions and the challenge seemed futile without the reward of a view. The heat of yesterday seemed a lifetime away. With frozen fingers we raced to put up our tents and wait out the weather. Brief pauses in the rain allowed us to escape the tents, pee, stretch, assess the ever increasing flow of water tumbling from the mountainsides, before a hasty retreat back into the tent as yet more rain fell.

– Waterfall face between rainfall. The route goes up the right then traverses above the cliff, the photos doesn’t do justice to how steep it is –

Arising early the next morning I packed my tent down immediately. The wind had made for a restless sleep, unsure if the weather would improve or deteriorate I decided to make the most of the opportunity. Saying farewell to Jimmy and Jacko I began the steep climb alone. With wetter ground than ideal I carefully made my way up waterfall face. At the top the river that had been hurling water ferocuoiusly the previous day looked remarkably tame. The crux of the route was behind me. The sky was smattering of blue and grey as I reached the pass itslef. Deciding the weather was fair enough for a side trip to Lois peak, I ditched my pack and climbed above the snowline to the peak. Cloud enveloped me at the summit, a wished for view of lake Wanaka on the eastern side was obscured by a blanket of white. Nonetheless the western views a few hundred metres down from the summit were spectacular, including a snapshot of the towering Mount Aspiring massif.

– Above the waterfall face and the view from near the summit of Lois peak –

Down from the pass clouds parted, the wind eventually eased and the temperature rocketed. The heat made progress slow and sweaty. A final climb back up to 1000metres took longer than anticipated on a rough forest track. Exhausted I set my tent on the mountainside, clear views onto pope’s nose peak of Mount Aspiring faded into darkness as I slipped into sleep.

– Pope’s Nose on the Mt Aspiring Massif from my mountainside camp –

Following the matukituki river out the next day, the heat of the day made a swim too tempting to resist. Another skinny dip into the cold waters was refreshing. Another naked lunch followed before sunbathing. Near to the track I kept an occasional eye for walkers, ready to at least slip some boxer shorts on. I hadn’t expected a group of kayakers to paddle down the river, just as they hadn’t expected a naked man sprawled out in the rocks. They certainly got a view that was not in the brochure. Deciding as lovely as it would be to laze around by the river all day I re-dressed, re-packed and made my way back to the road. Thumb out, by 16:30 I was back in civilisation sipping on a cold, deserved beer, reflecting on the trip and the reality that soon my trans alpine hike would be coming to an end.

– The naked menace spoiling beautiful kayak trips 😉 –

Mt Aspiring National Park is possibly the most stunning section of my walk so far. Not that the other legs haven’t been beautiful, there is just something extra special about this place. As always more photos from the expedition below….