The drop of rain maketh a hole in the stone, not by violence, but by oft falling.

The weather reports yesterday were bad, and they were accurate. There was a large storm coming through and there was nothing we could do. From the time was got up until just before getting to the next hut, it poured rain. the first part of the climb wasn't that tough since this was the leeward side of the mountain, but as I went up, the temperature dropped and the wind got more stiff. Mackinnion Pass is a spectacular main-divide pass surrounded by glacier encrusted mountains that is suppose to offer some massively sweeping views into lush, green valleys. Unfortunately when I got there, it was mostly a cloud catcher with buffeting winds. The top of the pass was pretty flat, and wet, and windy. Even all grayed out, it was a pretty spectacular scene. It was quite different to see rain nearly driven straight up from the valley as this pass acted as the tip of a wind tunnel. By this time the winds were very strong and I was using the hiking poles not only to brace myself from being pushed into the mountain, but more to brace in case the wind suddenly stopped and my balance over corrected me off the trail and over the precipice. Fortunately there is a day use shelter at the top. It wasn't heated, however it was protected from the rain and wind, so I was able to bring out my stove (now I was definitely glad that I brought it) and cook up one of the dehydrated meals. the best trick of all was to boil water and put it in my Nalgene bottle to use as a heat source. Prior to this point, beyond some minor conversations, I didn't really pay attention to most of the other trampers, but here their level of preparedness (or lack thereof) could be seen. Many of the people didn't have much other than a small rain poncho and certainly not something that was very effective against the wind. Since I over estimated food and had a lot of extra, I cooked up an extra meal to pass around and spent a little time heating up water; plus it kept me busy and moving in the chill.

Eventually as more folks started coming in, it was time to move ahead to make room, so I gathered my stuff (after reluctantly having been given back my water heater), and headed back out into the storm. It was really rocky even in dry times, but now there were rushing stream crossing on its way down the mountain every dozen meters with several points where I had to unbuckle the waist and chest straps in case I took a tumble and had to ditch the pack. Fortunately my footing and pole work held up the whole time. Later that evening we would learn that one of the guided walkers had broken her ankle in this section later during the day and had to be helicoptered out once the weather cleared. the thing that got me was how absolutely spectacular the waterfalls were. It was incredible to be completely surrounded by mountains several hundred meters tall with the cascading torrents of water everywhere. I wish I could have taken out the good camera, but the small waterproof camera was all I could use pretty much the entire day. I would walk a few hundred feet and then just stop, turning around and looking up like a rural boy in New York City. I could just by myself for quite a while before seeing any other signs of life. I was fairly wet, a bit cold, and I didn't care. I was simply enthralled.

Eventually I got to Quintin hut, the last lodge for the guided walkers, and were able to leave my pack in the day use shelter to make a side trip to Sutherland Falls, the fifth tallest falls in the world. Definitely the time to see a natural wonder like this is during a strong rain just to be able to experience the rush and sounds of such falling masses. It was pretty cool. Eventually I made my way to Dumpling lodge, the last hut for the trip. By that time most of the rain had stopped, so I was able to take my good camera and go back a mile or so to get some shots of a really neat set of terraced waterfalls. The hikers that later came in were quite a ragtag group. Several of them were in no way prepared for something like this. There was a French couple that had little with almost everything they had purchased from a cheap supply store. Everything they had was made of cotton (clothes, sleeping bags, socks, etc). Everything they had was soaked and with the high humidity outside (as well as inside since everyone was trying to dry their stuff at the same time by a fire near a stove), nothing was going to get dry. This was the first time any of them had ever been camping in their lives. While conceivably doing one of the best hikes in the world as your first and maybe only hike might seem like a good idea at the time, if we had been caught in a snowstorm (as did hikes last year and even earlier in the summer) they would have had to be evacuated. They were just fortunate that the temperature was as warm in the valleys as it was.

It was a pretty tough day, but all such a wondrous experience. I am so glad to have been able to have an opportunity to experience such a thing.

Everywhere is walking distance if you have the time.

Day two of the Milford Track is pretty uneventful. An early wake up is nice in order to catch the light from the sunrise and relax for the day. The distance between Clinton and Mintaro was only about 11 miles of fairly flat terrain, so it only took 5-6 hours or so. It was a bit chilly in the evening, and with a lack of side trails, there really wasn't much to do other than reading whatever materials there were lying around. The scenery was spectacular for most of the day and i really was enthralled by the towering mountains, stream crossings, and enjoyable environment. The weather outlook for the next day wasn't looking great, but there wasn't much we could do about. Without dire emergency, there was no way to go back. It wasn't the most settling thing to see a picture from about 13 months back (which would have made it a month earlier in the summer this time last year) when there was 4-5 feet of snow that required hikes to have been guided out of the track. With it being late in the season as it was, we were fortunate.

Today I have grown taller from walking with the trees

Today was an exciting day, one in which I would start my first of two major hikes with this being the Milford Track. This hike is listed as being among the top in the world and sees a lot of hikers such that I had to get the last of the available tickets to start on this day at least 4 months prior to starting. this is a four day, three night, track what has some strict requirements due to the sheer number of visitors. Mike, from the evening before, said he was heading to Milford Sound and offered to give me a lift to Te Anau Downs where the boat was to meet us to transport everyone to the trail head, so I was able to save $20-30 in transport fees. I arrived a few hours early so I pulled out my sleeping pad and found a shady area in which to nap for a while.

The boat came in in plenty of time for our 2PM pickup. The ride along Lake Te-Anau was lovely with the captain offering some information along the way of the various sites and features though it was cool enough that there was a halo around the sun caused by atmospheric ice crystals. There were about 40 of us in the 'freedom' hiker group (self-guided) and another 40 in the guided tours. The guided tours have electricity, hot showers, beds with linens, hot meals, and don't carry anything more than a water bottle and a few snacks. Freedom hikers are required to stay in the huts along the track on successive days in order to protect the area from overuse. The huts are all stocked with gas stoves, flushing toilets, and mattresses, but little else. We have to carry our own ignition sources, food, water, sleeping gear, and clothes.

The hike to the first hut was fairly short, however due to the ticket process, no one is allowed to skip to the next hut even if they wanted as most were filled each night. Another disadvantage is that there really are not any side trails available to explore. For this first day and most of the next, it seemed to be more like an unpaved sidewalk than trekking trail with a path wide enough for an ATV and pretty much flat the whole way. It might as well been paved. While in that way it wasn't quite primitive outdoor experience, the views were astounding enough to quickly forget of such things. The hut wardens would give a talk each night about what to expect on the next day's trek. While I thought it was tough being in a room with a single snorer during the bus trip, try sleeping in a large room with 20 other folks. Seriously, I think it should be a law to keep the snorers in one bunkhouse and let those that actually want sleep remain peaceful in another. The first night I pulled my mattress out to the helicopter pad a little away from the compound to watch the stars until the morning dew started to settle at which time I had to get back to the hut

New Zealand beer leaves one with a sheepish taste.

When I got back last night I ended up talking to my roommate Staci for a while and we decided to hang out for the day. She had a car, so we drove down to Lake Manapouri about 15 miles away to check out the area. We looked to book a day trip to Doubtful Sound, but the boat would not get back until later than she wanted as she was planning to drive up to Milford Sound that afternoon to meet a friend. This worked out perfectly for me at least in that I needed someone to take up my extra bag (containing iPod, food, and other extra materials) so I wouldn't have to carry it on the Milford Track. She graciously agreed to take it up and drop it off at the hostel in which I had reservations the day I finished the track. I walked around town for a little and watched a film at the local cinema called 'A to Whenua' about the area that had some stunning cinematography. I spent a little time researching and catching email as well as picking up some last minute supplies and checking to be sure all my gear was in order. That evening I went out with the new roommates that came in that day and enjoyed several beers with Jola, Mike, and James (Wolly) at The Ranch for happy hour, getting back around 12:30 in the morning. I've really enjoyed meeting people like this and just getting know about others and have missed that in my previous solo trips when I car camp on my own.