Back by popular demand are stories inspired by my footwear. My boots have witnessed a few things worthy of mention:
Inter-arbor communications
One of the things I have encountered while tramping around in my boots are other people in all of their stinky sock glory. Some of them are hilarious. Plus, unlike in “regular life”, when you meet a new person, you acknowledge them with a “hello”, usually proceeded by a “How far is it to (Insert landmark here)?”
It is miraculous to me how quickly word spreads among disparate humans in the wilderness without the aid of technology. Before I arrived at Liverpool hut in Aspiring National Park for example, I knew that there would be a group of four French backpackers descending. Two would have attempted to climb nearby Mount Barff. Yes, there is a Mount Barff. It is gorgeous in spite of its name. I even know people who have climbed it.
“No, I haven’t traveled much”
Liverpool hut in Aspiring National Park has a stunning backdrop of some of New Zealand’s highest mountains just across the valley. Liverpool is only a 3-4 hour walk from the comfy New Zealand Alpine Club’s Aspiring Hut which serves as an excellent base camp for a few days of fun.
Bonus points if you manage to snag a jet boat ride to the trail head instead of just driving there. I did and “I’m on a boat” definitely made it into my playlist that day.
I can’t help mentioning that as I sat in Liverpool hut, staying warm in my sleeping bag with my cup of tea I read Wilderness Magazine. (I found very few reasons to venture from the comfort of my sleeping bag even during the daylight. There is no fireplace at Liverpool because its above the treeline. According to some doc officers there have been problems with trampers burning furniture when fireplaces are provided without nearby timber. Wilderness featured a giant photo of Liverpool hut. I used to look at pretty pictures in magazines and think, “I want to go there”. That day, I looked at the pretty picture and said, “I’m here.”
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| I took this photo, and it is a lot like the one in the Magazine! |
On the other hand, I still have physical evidence of climbing to Liverpool in the form of an elbow bruise which hurts 4 weeks later. I acquired this trophy when I slid off a steep, wet rock just above the tree line.
I did enjoy meeting the post-divorce couple in Liverpool, though. The man intimated that he “had not done much traveling”… “You know, except for the time he rode his bicycle from Mexico to Chile.” I guess compared to his girlfriend who had traveled India, Europe, and Africa as a nurse in her youth, maybe he had not traveled…Much.
World’s Most Scenic Toilet
I know I have written about this before, but I think it is worthy of repeating: splendidly epic is a good way to describe the ridge beneath Sefton Biv which is home to the world’s most scenic toilet. (In Mount Cook National Park). To get there, one must traverse several you-slip-you-die drop-offs on an officially unmarked route. All I’m saying is, by the time you reach the top, you will need that toilet because you will have probably wanted to &*%$ your pants a few times on the way up.
I swear I must have burned 15% more calories than normal just by looking at the view up there. It is so beautiful and so in-your-face that I had a permanently elevated heart rate from adrenaline. New Zealand, you have ruined me. How am I ever going to go back home to day hikes where people walk uphill for two hours to see a puny waterfall that wouldn’t warrant an iPhone photo out the side of a speeding car window in New Zealand?
YoungAdventuress
Another tramp or two later, I met YoungAdventuress, a travel-writer who has figured out how to make her living traveling and writing full-time. She has amazing photos and amusing observations about New Zealand. Plus, an active community of opinionated followers to boot. She was accompanied by *gasp* a San Franciscan. We played cards monopoly with a Kiwi woman who shared her dream with us of being a back-country gear designer. I told her I could market the heck out of whatever she created, and our writer friend would be happy to write the reviews. Trampers are fabulous.
Things that won’t kill you
These New Zealand Southern Alps, they suck you in with their untampered splendor, high degree of accessibility, and relative safety. There are over 900 back country huts shared among a population that is less than half of the Bay Area’s in California. Much of the water can be drunk without even first boiling it. I never imagined there was a place left on earth where I could sip from a waterfall as if it were a drinking fountain. It is the best-tasting, freshest water imaginable. And then there are the absences of things that can kill you. There are no bears, snakes, mountain lions, or even obnoxious poison oak to watch out for.
Inappropriate Boots
My penultimate alpine adventure saw me to the top of Avalanche peak in Arthur’s Pass. Avalanche was my first snow summit. It was one of the more stressful tramps I have done. I may or may not have cussed in maritime proportions to get through it. I would also admit that my ever-patient, experienced mountain-climbing kiwi tramping companion endured considerable squabbling every time my foot slid farther than I thought it should. OK, the snow was only a few centimeters thick. But in my defense, we were climbing something called Avalanche Peak. Moreover, I haven’t done much snow adventuring yet.
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| Those are our footprints...Now you understand why this was a little out of my comfort zone |
Mueller Hut in Mount Cook National Park offers high-quality surround sound of snow avalanches to accompany alpine vistas. It is a reasonably accessible climb with a well-marked track. But it starts off with what must be about 50,000 stairs and there are a few cold, exposed, loose scree sections. On the other hand, Mueller Hut does contain an acoustic guitar where trampers are encouraged to video themselves playing so they can later share their musical talents with the world on Mueller’s Facebook page. Yes, Mueller Hut has its own Facebook page. Trampers are cool.
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