13km Day :  847km Total
9 February 2015
-42.153627, 172.660025

Today was the most challenging day of hiking so far.  All three of us woke up before dawn to get a good start.  Graeme and Colin were very efficient in making breakfast and packing up, but I was having trouble getting myself moving.  So when they were ready to put on their packs and walk out the door at 6:45, I was making my second cup of coffee to try and chemically induce my motivation.

I stepped out of the hut and into the fog at 7:30.  It was about a 3km walk and 150m climb up to Lake Constance through a rocky and grassy landscape where I could only clearly see about 50m in front of me.  I sometimes had to guess at where the next marker was and got out my compass a few times when the markers weren’t visible after several minutes of searching.

Morning Fog

When I arrived at the lake I was disappointed because I couldn’t view much more than the edge of it where I was standing.  I moved on into a marshy, rocky field where I crossed a few small streams that feed the lake.  And then I started the long climb up a steep scree slope to begin the ascent to the saddle. 

After an hour of climbing, the clouds began to dissipate and I got an awesome view of Lake Constance.  I had to stop and sit before taking in the view because the slope was so steep it gave me vertigo to look back and down while standing.

Climbing the Scree Slope to Waiau Saddle

Looking Back at Lake Constance

Walking up the scree slope required complete concentration with every step.  It was an exhausting climb through the combination of physical and mental effort. 

I reached Waiau Saddle at noon with 30mph gusts coming over the pass and a sprinkle of rain starting.  At the top of the pass I had intermittent mobile phone coverage.  I attempted to send a message, but after it dropped out a couple of times I gave up because it wasn’t worth standing in a rainy gale to make more attempts.

The Other Side of the Saddle

On the other side it was a different type of difficulty descending.  There were a lot of boulders to climb over and rocky faces to climb down.  Sometimes I would look over a 3m shear drop to see the next trail marker and say out loud to myself, “How the h### am I going to get down there?”. But eventually i would find a path to do it using both feet and both hands to climb.

Looking down at the river I consoled myself by believing that once I got next to the river it would be a nice easy trail to give my mind and body a rest.  But even at the river there was no real trail.  It was rock hopping with the complication that there was tall grass and small bushes hiding where most of the rocks and boulders were.  So every step for a while required a testing probe.

Approaching the Valley Floor

I finally reached the valley floor around 4pm where I took a break at a nice little undeveloped campsite.  After that the trail got much easier to walk, but the sprinkle of rain turned into a solid steady rain.  After an hour of walking in the rain I found Ryan & Robbie taking shelter in Caroline Bivvy which is a tiny shed that has only two bunks.  I squeezed into the building with them to get dry for an hour and have a dinner of salami and cheese on tortillas followed by peanut butter and crackers.

While waiting out the rain a couple of hikers with French accents opened the door but it was clear that no one else could fit in the tiny shelter so they moved on.  When there was finally a break in the rain I went outside and quickly set up my tent for the night.