I DID IT!!!!!! I successfully completed a 21 day Solo expedition in the Fjordland and Southern Alps Wilderness areas of New Zealand! Although, not my first solo expedtion by any means, this one, however, was the most extreme, conditionally varied, and rugged trip I have ever been on. Here is a break down of each day, and the terrain that I was faced with.
Total mileage: 114.8 miles
Total Elevation gained and lost: 26,795 feet
Starting Pack weight: 75 lbs (Food,camp gear, and mountain gear)
SUMMIT OF MOUNT EARNSLAW: Southern Alps, Mount Aspiring NP (Day 15)
Day 1: I started up the Hollyford Valley deep in the heavy rainforest and began rapidly ascending into the Darran Mountains via the Moraine Creek route. The route was steep and wet. The sounds of the rainforest were very loud, insects, birds, and water created a magnificent symphony of noises. My destination was a subalpine basin called Tent Flat. After climbing up 3,200 feet from the beech forest below in only 2.4 miles with little-to-NO direct path through the bush, was spent.
View From Camp: Tent Flat Day 1
Day 2: From tent flat, I trekked through the marshy and muddy valley floor of this basin to begin an alpine ascent into the Adalaide Lake Basin in another 1,200 feet, again in less than 2 miles. Steep and rugged, but a little easier on the ground. However, talos gradually became massive boulders, and the going went very rough, very quickly. The route I ended up taking, took me up and over a ridge that was made up of entirely of boulders the size of houses and cars precariously situated with deep chasms in between. This was agonizing to traverse with a 75 lb pack. I entered the lake basin and I could see lake adalaide not 500 feet in front of me, but the travel was so slow and painful, it took 2 full hours to make it a half km. I reached the lake shore to find the conditions werenot any better. No beaches here, just boulders. The day was hard, and it took 10 hours to trek up 1.8 miles. This place is rugged. It puts the Sierra Nevada and the rockies back home in thier place.
First glimpse of the Alpine, right below adalaide basin. My camp for 3 nights. Lake Adalaide
Day 3: Set up a day pack to do some climbing up into the Darrans. I attempted to Summit Gifford peak, but the summit blocks were vertical faces. Obviously impossible without partner or ropes. The views were stunning, and the weather was incredible. It blew my mind to see the glaciers overflowing from the mountains.
Approaching Summit, which is behind me: view to the North of Mount Tutoko Just below Summit blocks of Mount Gifford. View to the North of The high Darran Mountains
and lake adalaide below.
Day 4: It rained all day. No tent, just a bivvy bag. I layed in my bivvy all day and ate half of my chocolate ration. It got below freezing tonight and it was cold. So... I considered this my layover day. Cold Wet and virtually NO WAY to escape it.
Day 5: I packed up and began heading back down to the Hollyford to continue on to my next leg of the trip, but first, I had to get down the 5,200 feet descent in one piece. In order to avoid the enormous boulder field from HELL, I dipped down out of the basin via the beech forest. Bad Idea. Horrible Idea. I spent 5 hours in a tangled mess of branches, roots, boulders, bogs, and creeks all wrapped up in a nice package of a 70-75% downslope Oh and a 75 pound pack. My patience was thin, but i'm sure my balls grew a bit today. Once I got outta the forest, it was Reletively smooth. Atleast I found the route that I took up... I camped by the River once I got down where I was eaten alive by sandflies, a theme that would be consistant for the next 7 days in the Hollyford valley's Rainforest of HELL.
The glacier carved valley looking down toward the Hollyford. Tent Flat below
Day 6: Began the Hollyford Track toward Alabaster Lake. Very pretty water colors. Sandflies Suck balls.
The Hollyford River with the Darrans Mountains behind.
Day 7: From Lake Alabaster, I trekked through the worst boggy, muddy, rooty, rocky, humid, wet, slippery, and overall bullshit conditions ever! The Demon trail along, or above, below, and vertically rather, Lake Mckerrow. My knees were pissed, and so was I after 13 hours of non-stop negotiating with inhuman conditions on a "trail" that is supposed to take 6 hours, I reached Hokuri Creek, where the views of the lake and the peaks above made me forget about my aching body, but sandflies still sucked major amounts of balls. The day 7 tireds were comin on...
Hokuri Creek entering Lake Mckerrow: Camp fo the night. Not Bad.
Day 8: I reached Martin's Bay today. Not impressed, but the sun was shining, and the ocean breeze was cool. I spent the day naked walking around the sand bar by the mouth of the Hollyford River.
Day 9: I Chilled out at the beach today and went to watch the seal pups play. A wilderness beach with NO other human beings around. I hung out with the seals for most of the day and I collected some shells for earrings to people
Martin's Bay Baby Seal pups. Hope for the world :)
Day 10: I left Martins Bay and headed back toward the Demon Trail, once again, crap conditions. Wind blew all day, and I mean WIND BLEW. I began losing my mind in the forest;
Typical Dense and humid beech forest
The pictures don't work man! I want to see!
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