Day 118 | Nichols Hut
8 February 2023 | 23°C | 8km
While the trail family staying with me at Waitewaiwai Hut complained about hurting knees after I steep downhill yesterday, I have a big climb ahead of me: 1200m elevation gain up to Mount Crawford. The area up there can be pretty windy, let’s see what the weather gods prepared for me today.
There are some mountains where the uphill is probably easier than the downhill and I guess this is one of them. I enjoy the climb through the misty mystical forest that reminds me of Lord of the Rings. Once I leave the sheltering trees it immediately gets windy. While I stop and put on my wind jacket on, a hiker comes running down the hill saying that there are some gusts up there and wishes me good luck. Hmmmm … 🤔
Not a big deal so far I think when I reach a junction with another trail. I take a little video and then head on; “the earlier I get off that ridge, the better”, I think. The trail is good and I move on quickly - just a little bit of mud - until I cannot see the trail anymore. A look at the map reveals: I am on the wrong track! The 20 minutes of walking back to the junction seem eternally long.
Why did I not notice earlier? Well, forget about it and move on! The wind picks up on the way to Mount Crawford. Once at the summit I squat down to not be blown away and then carry on quickly. Everything is covered in white around me, just for a couple of minutes some clouds get blown away and I can see the lush green of a forest .. and for a few seconds I get a glimpse of the ocean in the far distance until everything around me is turning white again.
I am a bit relieved when I finally see Nichols hut at 3pm; didn’t feel comfy in that windy weather all alone. It’s only 3pm and I am the first on there. How that never happened on that trail so far!
I eat my late lunch, do some cleaning in the hut (did anyone staying there the previous night swipe the floor? Probably not). Once I start writing my journal, I hear voices. It’s a group of 5 TA hikers from New Zealand who met in the previous hut. Now we are exactly 6 ppl in a hut with six bunks.
Technically all bed are taken (and luckily nobody else arrives) but I heard from others that there were up to 12 hikers on previous days 😱 What’s good: the more ppl in a hut the warmer it gets What’s important: leaving the window at least a tiny bit open at night :)
