Yoo 438 - NZ...Kepler, Pt 1

Kepler Track was quite the opposite of Abel Tasman. We almost didn't go! The weather forecast was awful with rain and then snow and poor visibility. Kepler is all about hiking up and over the mountains and there's kind of only one reason I hike up...it's for the VIEW.

We toyed with the idea of just canceling our plans and getting a hotel but we'd put too much into planning Kepler and I knew I'd regret not going. Subsequently, Greg knew he'd be miserable if I didn't go, so we went.

"Whatever weather! Take your spoiling plans and shove it!"

Weather on the first day actually wasn't too bad. Drizzly and a bit chilly. We were mostly in the forest surrounded by protective trees without much of a view so it didn't matter.

Also, we climbed up. Like UP, up. All day.

We joked about Kepler - Day One on every training hike we went on before New Zealand. It seemed to be the most strenuous adventure on the schedule, what with over 1,000 meters of uninterrupted climbing. So it was nice to finally tackle that after talking about it for months.

And day two was actually the hardest part...hiking down.

But pictures from the climb first!

 ^^ clouds moving in

Remember how I spilled the macaroni noodles on our first night on Abel Tasman? Yes? Well, guess who spilled the noodles AND the peas on our first night on Kepler...

Guilty as pictured.

We realized after losing our dinner the second time that it was probably a good idea to get a new pot handle...

Unfortunately, this time there were far more witnesses, seeing as how we were sharing a massive cabin with about 40 other people. They enjoyed the show while I enjoyed a lecture from the park ranger on how dangerous spilling boiling water can be.

Really? We threw our dinner on the floor for fun...we'll try to restrain ourselves next time.

 ^^ bunking with strangers at luxmore!

 ^^ and then it started snowing...

 ^^ cave

 ^^ sunrise at luxmore

The first night was our best night. New Zealand has hundreds of back country huts that you can spend the night in and they're really quite nice. Luxmore is amazing with absolutely breathtaking views. Completely worth all the climbing.

The best part (besides a kitchen and flushing toilets and a fireplace) is meeting all the other hikers. My favorite was a Kiwi family that was on their summer holiday. There were 3 kids, probably ages 11-16, and they were all so excited to be out backpacking. They each carried there own pack and were awesome hikers.

They're part of my dream family.

We leap-frogged on the trail with them all the next day and even ended running into them later on in our travels!

 ^^ missing it...

 ^^ hiking in summer snow!

 ^^ trail along the ridgeline

Day 2 gave us stunning views. We were in a white-out blizzard for a while, not even able to see the trail at times. But then the clouds started to break.

It was the perfect, all-around alpine experience.

 ^^ greg seeing snow for, like, the third time in his life

^^ greg's snowman

 

 ^^ see the faint trail climbing over the peak? that was us. getting lost.

 ^^ how bad would it have to be...to justify using this bathroom?

 ^^ what if i told you it was festive and there was a rainbow?

Also, those poles. Greg could not figure out what they were used for as we were hiking above the treeline on the first day.

"Why are there poles along the trail? That seems a bit high-maintenance..."

I just chuckled. Texas boy was enlightened when it started snowing.

Have a great day :-)