Start – Middleton Lake Campsite
Finish – TA km 2526 (Ahuriri River East Branch)
Daily Distance – 19 km
TA Distance – 2526 km
Bluff Distance – 515 km
And now for something entirely different. Snow!
As predicted (and hoped), the highest 200m or so of today’s route was through fluffy, knee deep snow.
Not something I thought to encounter on this trip, and in all honesty it had me missing my stout leather
boots, but a lovely change of scene. I am indebted to the people who forged the track today. It must have
been exhausting to pick a way through snow obscured tussocks and streams. I found it hard going enough
simply following the broken trail. The less said about the elegance of the downhill section the better too. I
seemed to spend as much time slithering down on my backside (fervently hoping there was no obscured
speargrass) as upright.
Owing to the slower ground conditions (and time spent making snow Angels), I haven’t managed to
complete the descent portion of the route. Tonight I am camped at 950m and will have to complete the
remaining 10km down to 700m tomorrow. That’s as low as I’ll be for a few days until returning to 350m
at Lake Hawea. Possibly another chilly night tonight, but at least a really fun day to look back on.
