Finally, after a hearty (and somewhat leisurely) breakfast and a 20 minute van ride, we hoisted our packs and departed the Routeburn Shelter for our 5-day tramp of the Routeburn and Caples tracks. And we held out hope that the cloudy weather wouldn't turn to rain.
Day 1: Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Falls Hut
- Distance: 8.8 km (5.3 mi)
- Elev. Gain: +550 m (+1800 ft)
Despite the surprising large number of fellow trampers in the parking lot, the track never felt crowded. The first segment to Routeburn Flats was in open beech forest, winding along the crystal clear Routeburn River with only modest elevation gain and occasional views out to the surrounding mountains. We took a short rest at the Flats, and marveled at the scale things . Then, the track turned up for the final push to Routeburn Falls, and our first hut. And what a hut it was! Big (~50 people), clean, and modern. We settled into the common room for the afternoon, as the temperatures were dropping and the rains finally came. The people arriving later in the day looked a bit like wet rats, and we liked the idea of warm dry huts!
 |
| Departing Routeburn Shelter |
 |
| Routeburn River |
 |
| Routeburn Flats |
 |
| Routeburn Flats from Routeburn Track |
 |
| Approaching Routeburn Shelter complex |
 |
| Fading Light on unnamed ridge |
Day 2: Routeburn Falls Hut to Lake Mackenzie Hut
- Distance: 11.3 km (7.0 mi)
- Elev. Gain: +405/-515 m (+1330/-1690 ft)
An anxious read of the 8am weather report posted on the hut bulletin board did nothing to lift our weather-spirits. We opted to just start going and let whatever happened happen. The track headed up by Routeburn Falls, then into high meadow country with unfamiliar plants, scattered rocks and lakes. Totally surreal. Clouds moving in and out. As we approached Harris Saddle, which was our high point on the tramp, the mist turned to moderate rain ... and the winds picked up. Fortunately, there was a little hut at the saddle, allowing us to rest, get a bite to eat, and escape from from the nastiness for a few minutes. The thick clouds squashed any motivation we had for tackling the side trip to Conical Peak. But, the weather broke within a half hour, and we headed off on the long, high traverse of the Hollyford Face. The dancing clouds teased us with glimpses of big peaks across the Hollyford Valley. The traverse stays above the very distinct bushline (i.e., Kiwi for treeline), delighting the eyes with all the meadow flora, as well as the moss-draped beech trees at the tree line. Magical! Ear-to-ear smiles for miles! We finally crossed over a ridge and began our decent into Lake Mackenzie. But is was much more than just a grind down the side of a mountain ... it dropped into a very dense wood with crooked crazy trees, and moss and ferns everywhere. And the trail was like a little tunnel winding its way through it all! What a day!
 |
| Monolith above Routeburn Falls |
 |
| View back to meadows above Routeburn Falls |
 |
| Traversing above Harris Lake |
 |
| Harris Saddle (right center) from Hollyford Traverse |
 |
| Bushline along Hollyford Traverse |
 |
| Trailside flora |
 |
| Tarns and tease views |
 |
| Trailside flower |
 |
| Ho hum rest stop! |
 |
| Lake Mackenzie and Mackenzie Hut (lower right) |
 |
| Dense forest approaching Lake Mackenzie |
Day 3: Lake Mackenzie Hut to Howden Hut
- Distance: 8.6 km (5.3 mi)
- Elev. Gain: +130/-340 m (+430/-1120ft)
- Key Summit Side Trip: 7.8 km (4.8 mi), +/- 380 m (+/-1250 ft)
We rose the next morning to improving weather, and started off our day with a short side trip along Lake Mackenzie. Again, a windy path through some dense, lush forest. Back at the hut, we hoisted our packs for a relatively short day to Howden Hut. Many trampers exit on this 3rd day, past Howden Hut to The Divide. We, on the other hand, were extending the tramp to include the Caples track, so stayed at the relatively small Howden Hut. The route to the hut was through a combination of dense forest, small meadows, and above bush line, and passed the very tall Earland Falls (174 m). Excellent views across the valley to snowy peaks. Once at the hut, the decent weather coaxed us into a side trip to Key Summit. Our guide book highly recommended extending this excursion out the ridge beyond the end of the proper track. Great recommendation! First an alpine bog, then some up and down with tarns and big views. Finally, we could see the next days objective ... McKeller Saddle ... and the beautiful Lake McKeller. And solitude! Very nice.
 |
| Morning light above Lake Mackenzie |
 |
| Tomtit |
 |
| View from Routeburn Track |
 |
| Earland Falls |
 |
| Forest trail |
 |
| Karen and mossy trees |
 |
| Mt Christina and Lake Marian from Key Summit |
 |
| Alpine Bog |
 |
| Hebe |
Day 4: Howden Hut to Mid-Caples Hut
- Distance: 19.5 km (12.1 mi)
- Elev. Gain: +380/-640 m (+1250/-2100 ft)
- McKeller Saddle Side Trip: 2 km (1.2 mi), +/- 80 m (+/- 260 ft)
Up to this point, we had considered going down the Greenstone Track as
an option to the Caples Track, particularly if the weather wasn't
cooperating. But, awaking to a magically-beautiful morning, and with a favorable forecast, we stuck with our baseline
plan of going up over McKeller Saddle and down the Caples Track. And
what a fantastic choice it was! As we worked our way up hill to the
saddle, we were entertained by increasingly impressive views of
not-too-far-away peaks. We reached bush line just prior to the saddle, at which point we couldn't help ourselves and just had to wander off the track up to viewpoints on ridges. A bit cold and breezy, but just awesome ... and lonesome. After a quick break, we headed back down to the track and continued on, now in the Caples valley. The first half hour or so was totally magnificent ... above the bush line with big peaks in every direction. Tom was just walking along with an ear-to-ear grin! Mind blown! The remainder of the day was spent performing a (very) long descent, generally following the river in a forest of gnarled beech trees. The trail was noticeable "harsher" looking in this area (kind of like it was blasted out of the hillside) ... and we later ran into a tramper who had been in the area 5 years earlier, and, at that time, workers had been, in fact, dynamiting the trail out of the hillside! Just as the forest walk was getting tedious, we broke out into meadows, allowing views of the river and up to the adjacent ridges. Finally, we reached our hut, and found it to be nearly empty ... a bit of a relief since it was a first-come-first-served shelter. Some later arrivals did fill it up about half way, but there was still plenty of room to stretch out a bit.
 |
| Morning light near Howden Hut |
 |
| Mt Christina |
 |
| Mt Christina and ridgeline from McKeller Saddle |
 |
| The happy trampers above McKeller Saddle! |
 |
| Descending into Caples Valley |
 |
| Gnarled tree |
 |
| Tramping along the Caples River |
 |
| Evening light at Mid-Caples Hut |
Day 5: Mid-Caples Hut to Greenstone Shelter
- Distance: 8.8 km (5.3 mi)
- Elev. Gain: +50/-150 m (+160/-490 ft)
Our final day, we had to get moving and keep a good pace to reach the car park (and our ride) by noon. Just below the hut, we went over a fence line, and were a bit confused. But, we quickly found out that the fence is to keep grazing cattle (and possibly other domesticated animals) from the upper valley. The route was pretty flat, through a combination of forest and meadows (pastures), with nice views of the surrounding ridges. Shortly before reaching the end, we merged with the Greenstone Track for the final stretch. As we approached the car park, we met some fellow trampers who we had befriended in the first few days, but that had opted to go down the Greenstone instead of the Caples. Their hut experience was a bit crazier ... and overflow crowd, with some people sleeping on the floor of the common room! So, we did, in fact, make a great choice!
A quick, fairly scenic ride back along the lake to Kinloch Lodge, a quick swim, a hot tub, a shower, some great food, and a bed. A totally great trip! Excellent scenery, friendly people, reasonable elevation, great trail!
 |
| Meadow near Mid-Caples Hut |
 |
| Paradise Shelducks |
 |
| Lower Caples Valley, with Tooth Peak in background |
 |
| Bridge across Caples River leading to Greenstone Track |
 |
| Fisherman near Kinloch Lodge |
Activities
- Hike the Routeburn and Caples Tracks
- Hike to Key Summit, with an extension to the high point above Lake McKeller
5-Star Moments
- Alpine country above Routeburn Falls and the entire Hollyford Traverse!
- Dense beech forest with gnarled trees, ferns, and hanging moss near Lake Mackenzie.
- Wandering the ridge above Key Summit
- Big views from McKeller Saddle (and above)!
Random Scenes
- Waking up each night to the symphony of snorers in the huts!
- The MacKenzie Hut warden giving an evening lecture about the history of
the native birds, their decimation at the hands of non-native mammals...
and his efforts to reduce the population of these predators.
Inspiring!
- Watching two Keas (alpine parrots) flying away from an outhouse near Key Summit. They had just escaped, after being stuck in the outhouse (for some reason or other), causing an urgent rescue attempt by the Howden Hut warden (and helpers).
- A group of Aussie trampers arriving at Howden Hut directly after completing a different tramp, restocking their alcohol supply for this tramp, and promptly consuming it. Pretty looped, and not much appreciated by the ship-shape woman warden.
Tom's Daily Stress Points
- Will the weather make the route impassable? (stress level = medium)
- Will our bodies hold up for the long ~20 km from Howden to Mid-Caples? (stress level = medium-low)
- Will there be room at Mid-Caples hut? (stress level = medium)
Sleeps
- Routeburn Falls Hut
- Mackenzie Hut
- Howden Hut
- Mid-Caples Hut
- Kinloch Lodge (quick swim, hot tub, shower!)
Noteable Eats
- Backpacking food on the tramp (from home)
- Kinloch Lodge
Comments
Post a Comment