Day 21 :: Routeburn Track

Day 21 - Routeburn Track

This morning I woke up and got the crazy notion to do the Routeburn Track. Not all 3 days of it - just the first day's worth of hiking. If you recall, this is the hike I cancelled to accomodate an overnight cruise. In the end I would meet 2 cool travelers - Alon and Tom, who would prove to be good company on the way up and down respectively on a hike that would measure 17.4 miles (28km) roundtrip and with a net elevation gain of 2300 feet. This is one of the longest hikes I've every completed in a single day (including the Inca Trail in Peru).

We would hike through beech forests carpeted in ferns and moss, cross a dozen wooden suspension bridges over crystal-blue streams, climb alpine terrain full of greenstone (jade when polished) and tussock grass, and tell good stories of life.

I picked Alon Beneliezer - another backpacker on his way to the Routeburn Track as well - about 1km just out of Glenorchy. Alon is a 24-year old Israeli who literally just finished his degree at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and decided to venture to the South Pacific for 12 months. His travels have included the last 2 months here in New Zealand, and will continue on hi Austrailia and then Thailand/Cambodia/Laos. It was a good thing that I picked him up because he was still another 22km or so from the trailhead. We practically sprinted the first 8.8km (or 5.5mi) to the Routeburn Falls hut, where we broke for a long lunch. Alon had an amazing lung capacity, as he told me stories all the while up... stories about life for 20-somethings in Israel and the story of his near-death experience trekking solo around Mount Cook. When we at last reached the Harris Saddle, we parted ways. Alon continued on another 10km (or 6.2 mi) to Lake Mackenzie where he would spend the night. He was close to persuading me to continue the trek with him and return via the Caples Track, but I remembered my reservation to do the Canyon Swing back in Queenstown on Thursday morning. His intentions were to complete nearly 40-50 mile loop in 3 days. With good conversation and our Israeli-army pace, it was hard to turn down but I decided to stick to the plan and head back to Queenstown.

On the long trail back down to the carpark, I ran into Tom Henstock - a nice gentleman from Washington State who made a 2-day rountrip adventure out of the first 18 miles of the Routeburn Track. In our conversations, I found out that he had served in the airforce, was familiar with filipino culture and had done a number of travels around the world. Unfortunately, his wife would not be able to complete the Routeburn (and later the Kepler) tracks with him (as she tore a tendon earlier), but I video-ed a message for him to play for his wife who was staying at the same hostel as I was. I left him about half-way down where he would spend the cold night at the Routeburn Falls Hut. Alas, I would continue the last knee-breaking downhill stretch alone as dusk was switfly approached.

I'm very glad I got a chance to do even just a portion of the Routeburn Track, and I have no regrets about cancelling my original plans - I may have never met Alon and Tom. As I always say, "Live without regret."