Routeburn Day 2

The cabin we slept in had around 30 beds and most of them were taken.  It was quite the symphony of snoring (Andy contributed) throughout the night.  Around 7 am we got out of bed and headed to the kitchen building to make breakfast (oatmeal, an orange, and trail mix).  We headed out on the trail around 9:30 amidst dense fog.  The fog lasted most of the morning.

There is a shelter on the other side of Harris shelter which seemed to be everyone's stopping point for lunch.  We could all tell there should be a stunning view but fog and mist were blanketing the area.  The shelter was just big enough to fit around 15 people and bags and it was full.  There was the group of 7 Australians from Brisbane, 2 guys from North Island NZ, and 3 American students, and us.  We made peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and had cheese and crackers.  Then one of the Australians who we had been following and chatting with on and off shouted for everyone to come outside quickly.  A small break in the clouds had allowed for a glimpse of the mountains on the other side of the valley.  In the next half an hour the clouds completely cleared leaving an amazing view of the mountains and valley in front of us.

We did part of a side trail up conical hill

And generally spent a long time taking pictures

The trail continued along the mountainside above the tree line for most of the way to the second hut.  It was simply amazing walking on a mountain overlooking even more impressive mountains with unobstructed views the entire way.

Lake Mackenzie hut had a kitchen building and a separate bunk room around the back.  Unfortunately one of the windows was left open all night and everyone froze, but we wouldn't find that out until later.

Dinner was hot chocolate, chicken and vegetable soup, couscous with lemon pepper tuna, trail mix, cheese and crackers, and dried strawberries for dessert.  The 2 Canadian siblings (Laura and Steven) we met gave us a cup of their white wine to help them finish it off.  We talked with Suzanne from the UK and a guy from Oregon, but didn't get his name.  Suzanne has been in New Zealand for 3 months managing a hostel in Auckland but recently got a job managing a hostel in Wanaka in just a weeks time.  So she was taking a break before work started to hike around.  Before coming to New Zealand she had gotten a job in the field she majored in but found out she didn't like it.  So she decided to leave and travel for a bit.

The hut warden gave a very entertaining talk but didn't start until 8 and went on for almost 45 minutes.  There were times were my eyes were shut and I was pretending to listen but just couldn't.  Between jet lag and hiking all day and a half glass of wine I was done.