Clarence Reserve

“Come! We will go now. Leave all that can be spared behind! We will press on by day and dark!”

-Aragorn

Man, New Zealand just gets better and better! This past week brought about “Environmental Literature” class. I opted out of this elective, as did a few other people. Instead, I spent the week backpacking in the Clarence Reserve with Josh and Dan. Here is a run down from one incredible week.

Tuesday:
We woke up at 6 am and Tyler dropped us off at the base of the mountain by 7:30. We stepped out of the van and were lost immediately. Somehow, in our tired daze, we missed the trail markers and began wandering. An hour later we finally figure out where we are and find our way to the start of the track. Tired and slightly frustrated we began the ascent. The climb was beautiful, but very difficult. We stopped often, taking a few naps. We hiked through rolling hills and green meadows, along snowy ledges and down muddy mountains. Approximately 21 km and 8 hours later (accounting for getting lost) we finally arrived at Warden Hut. It was an incredible hut. Clean, new, with lots of big windows. Dan read, I napped, and Josh fished until it was time for dinner. We made dinner and read “The Two Towers” out loud as the sun went down.
PS Massive sunburn occurred (I’m sorry mom).

Wednesday:
Another early morning-We woke up at 6, made breakfast, and were back on the trail by 7:30. The morning was freezing and the river crossings were especially frigid. We walked silently along the riverbed, crossing a river every 10 minutes. After a series of confusing signs we headed up from the rivers into the hills. Cows crossed our paths and the sun finally broke over the mountains in the valley. We crested the hill and saw the most incredible blue river I have ever seen (we also realized that we had taken the wrong path). We eventually found our way to Seymour hut. It had only taken us 4 hours, so we had the rest of the day ahead of us. Once again, Dan read, I slept, and Josh fished. I spent an hour or two exploring the river and surrounding waterfalls. Hours crept by, sunburn intensified, and the three of us really had a good time. Dinnertime rolled around and as we were reading aloud from LOTR, two DOC officers (department of conservation) arrived in their SUV. They were cleaning up the trails through the Clarence with their bulldozer. We had a great chat with them as they cooked dinner. The two men told us they were surprised to see footprints and guessed from their size that they were from “two blokes and a kid”. The night was filled with laughter and the smell of Cheezls.

Thursday:
I woke up around 6:30, Josh was fishing, and Dan was still asleep. I spent my morning eating breakfast and talking with the DOC officers. I decided that if my heart wasn’t in PA, I would totally move to NZ and become a DOC officer. These guys were just so awesome! They packed up and were on their way. After lunch, Josh constructed a hat for me to wear (out of a survivor buff and a cardboard box). The three of us headed out through the valley, along the river, back to Warden Hut. We made a pit stop at an old slab hut, but made good time back. The evening was filled with reading out loud, cooking, and climbing foothills to see the view. Exhausted and nervous about the next days hike, we blew out the candles, closed the book, and went to bed.

Friday:
6 am and the alarm goes off once again. We packed up and hit the road! Back up the 1200m mountain! The way up wasn’t nearly as bad as we expected. The snow had melted and a cloud settled in. We hiked through the mist, stopping little. We arrived at the car park around noon, ate lunch, and napped. Tyler arrive 4 hours later (much to our dismay) and took us to the base of Mt. Fyffe. At 5pm, after 18 km of hiking (approx. 11 miles) we began our ascent up the 1600 m Mt. Fyffe (Hannah and Tyler now with us). This hike was brutal, almost exclusively a 45 degree angle and very, very hot. We arrived at the hut around 7:30, exhausted. We made dinner, read out loud, and watched the sun set over a cloud covered Kaikoura.

Saturday:
4 am! Time to get up! With two headlamps the five of us tramped through the pitch black to the summit of Mt. Fyffe (with the intension of seeing the sunrise). The weather was beautiful and the stars were incredible. We made it to the top in an hour and sat to watch the sun rise. For those of you who heard my story of the summit last time, this time it was completely different. There was no snow, no wind, and the ground below was covered in cloud. We explored and took pictures as the sun rose. It was a beautiful, incredible, awe-inspiring morning. I couldn’t ask for more. Our hike down was painful-6km of steep drops, that eventually led to jogging, took a toll on our feet and hamstrings. By the time we got home all we were able to do was eat ice cream and watch “Into the Wild”. What a good week

Things I learned:
1. Always, always, always wear sunscreen. Even if you got a base tan in Samoa, even if it is cloudy, wear sunscreen!
2. I should live every day so intensely that when I finally reach my bed at night I cheer and run to it.
3. No matter how old you are, reading out loud is one of the most fun things ever (even if your Elvish is rusty).
4. Peanut butter, dry oats, and chocolate chips make the best snack (or breakfast or dinner)
5. We have so much to learn from other people. Other people’s life experiences are so fascinating and have much to offer-we gotta make sure to listen.
6. Get your feet wet, your clothes dirty, and your legs sore. Laugh hard, eat lots of good food, and experience all of life all the time.
7. Fish are bigger and more elusive in rivers that look like ones from Lord of the Rings.
8. I can’t begin to retain all that I have learned. But that won’t stop me from learning-it will all be worth it if even one thing sticks.
9. A sunrise on a mountain is pretty. A sunrise on a mountain with friends that you have spent a week hiking, climbing, stinking, and laughing with is amazingly, awe-inspiringly, heart lift-ingly (yeah, it’s a word) beautiful.
10. Tolkien actually had Josh, Dan, and myself in mind when he wrote LOTR. I’m pretty sure Legolas, Aragorn, and Gimli were based on us.