Milford Track

Well, we conquered the Milford Track! Nestled in the mountains of Fjordland National Park on the south island is the 33.5 mile Milford Track, a beautiful trail that begins at the north end of Lake Te Anau and ends with the majestic waters of Milford Sound. The trip is a 4 day hut-to-hut hike through the rain forest along the Clinton River, over Mackinnon Pass and down into the Arthur Valley. It's unlike any hike we've done in the past. The track is one-way, and you must purchase tickets. Each day a new group of up to 40 hikers starts the trail.

Day 1: An hour long bus ride from the Te Anau Department of Conservation (DOC) left us at the Te Anau Downs dock, where we caught a passenger ferry with 21 other 'trampers' across Lake Te Anau to Glade Wharf and the start of the Track. The massive amounts of rain coupled with the dock at the trail head being submerged under 1 1/2 feet of water had us wondering if we had a few screws loose for signing up. The Milford Track is notorious for getting buckets of rain. Soaked within the first hour, we were curious what day 2 would bring. The first days' walk was a short 3 mile trip to Clinton Hut and our bunk for the night.

Day 2: As we have mentioned in previous blogs, the south island has been getting hammered with spring snow, increasing the risk of avalanche danger in the mountains. When we signed up for our trip, we had to agree to let the DOC fly us via helicopter over any dangerous sections of the trail. We woke up to dry conditions, the storm they were calling for with expected 90km winds had dissipated. We were stoked! The problem was the low ceiling of clouds that hung in the mountains, making a helicopter pickup impossible. We left Clinton Hut at 9am, walked @4.5 miles toward our possible pickup and waited to see if the clouds would blow through. No luck! The ranger on duty, a troll-like Kiwi named Peter Jackson had us turn around and make our way back to Clinton Hut. As we got back to the hut the next scheduled group of 21 people had arrived, making a hut that sleeps 40 into a hut that sleeps 44. This had everyone a little down-if conditions didn't improve people might have to bag the whole trip, turning back to Glade Wharf and riding the boat back.

Day 3: We headed back up the track and waited to hear if the group before us made it over the pass. The weather was on our side, and the previous day's group was able to be helicoptered over the pass so they could make their way down to the next hut. Our group walked up to a meadow and waited for the helicopter to lift us over part of the Clinton Valley where more than 55 avalanche paths remained a threat. The chopper could take 6 people plus the pilot at a time. We were in the first group to go. It was awesome! We put our backpacks in a cargo net, hopped in the helicopter, and off we went! We only had to be lifted over a three mile stretch of the track, but it was spectacular. We could see little snow slides happening all over the mountains. We spent the night at Mintaro hut, where we were given our own private show of avalanche sights and sounds the whole afternoon and evening. That night we had a mean cribbage match with some new friends.

Day 4: This was the big day! If all went well, we would be the first group of the season to cross Mackinnon Pass on foot. We got word from our ranger, Bushy, that conditions looked good, but that we all had to make it over the pass as a group before the afternoon sun hit and softened the snow, which would increase the risk of an avalanche. We set off up the mountain. Before long we were hiking in snow. We had to stop and wait for the rangers and our Canadian/Australian trail buster, Brad, to lay steps down in the frozen snow (We hear he can skin any animal - he's from Saskatchewan). We made it to the top as a group, and what a reward! It was the most beautiful day in the history of the Milford Track! Bright blue skies and several meters of fresh snow - WOW! Days like this are extremely rare on the Milford Track, we were very blessed. Due to the snow, we had to take the emergency route down. It was steep and very rugged. Each step down was sketchy. We had to take big (1.5-2ft.) steps on very uneven terrain. Thank goodness for our trekking poles! We passed along creeks that led to many stunning waterfalls and vistas. Almost 10 miles (and at least two blisters) later we arrived at Dumpling hut and passed out!

Day 5: We had a long haul to catch a 2p.m. boat to Milford Sound. 10.5 miles over lots of rocks, rivers, and trees! We made it with 20 minutes to spare! Boots off, Tevas on, we celebrated the completion of the 38.5 mile (we did extra miles with the double back on day 2) with burgers and beers at the Moose Tavern with our new friends Joel and Brad. Good on ya Mates!
A quick shout out to Jo, Jonathan, Joel, Brad, and all of our new trekking friends from the Milford Track!

We did not take our digital camera on this trip, instead carrying our small, waterproof camera. We are hoping to get a link to photos taken by our new friends.

We are in Dunedin today after spending two days decompressing in a gorgeous spot called Kaka Point. We got the best bath ever! We will be heading north from here. More to come soon.

Love,
Michael & Chandler