Up at 6 am, still dark.
Only notable event before leaving on the tramp was one of the guides walking in on my last minute toilet visit. Yoshie is a tiny Japanese guide and she was most apologetic when she walked in on me as I was wiping my bum. Serves me right for leaving it a bit late I suppose.
The forecast had been for plenty of rain but in fact the rain was quite gentle as we walked beneath the trees.
Shortly after our morning tea stop the group was split into two, the fast half up the front and then the slower ones to follow. The groups were self selected and I was a bit nervous I’d be sent back when I put myself in the first group. However, I needn’t have worried as I was up the front with the lead guide for most of the day.
The next hour was switchbacks and a gradual climb up through the trees. Just on the tree line we got the message that one of the women in our group had fallen and hurt her wrist. Simon offered to help the guide go back and assess her but luckily there was another GP right beside her when she’d fallen and he’d already assessed her. Definite wrist fracture with mild displacement. He put her in a sling but Simon was able to help by providing anti inflammatories.
Once we got going again we moved out of the shelter of the trees and discovered the gale force winds blowing across Mackinnon pass. It was incredible, worse than anything that I’ve experienced in Wellington. I’m amazed the guides thought it was safe. (I later discovered the limit for proceeding was a steady 100 kph, whereas we had 80 – 90 kph of steady winds but with gusts to 110 kph). At least two people were blown over and there was a distinct possibility that someone would be blown over the edge. It was exhilarating!
I would have been cowering from the sheer cliff edges with my fear of heights anyway so I was quite happy to be crouched down and shuffling along at low speed. It took us half an hour to cross about two hundred metres to the hut, where we ate our lunch listening to the wind blowing. Below is a video (my first ever in this blog!) that demonstrates the wind quite nicely. Hope it works without eating up too much data (film creds to Rhys with thanks).
After lunch it was a mad scramble back down the hill. The morning was 700 metres of climb and the afternoon was 900 metres of descent. Once we were below the tree line again we were far more sheltered and our guide said we could go at our own speed, so Simon and I raced on ahead and were the second people to arrive at the night’s accommodation. We signed in and then headed off for the 90 minute optional return trip to Sutherland falls before we started to seize up.
Everyone is a bit stiff after dinner – they call the characteristic limping gait of those who have done the Mackinnon pass the “Quentin shuffle”. Anyway, a fun day and nice to have been one of the fastest people here.
20 k again tomorrow but mostly on the flat. It’s going to be the rainiest day but we’ll be protected by the trees most of the way (hopefully).
Bedtime.