Routeburn & Caples Tracks

Tramping
On and Off the Beaten Track

New Zealand is well renowned for its excellent tramping (hiking) trails through some of the most amazing scenery nature has to offer. They have trails winding through volcanic wastelands, along stunning coastlines, intertwined in unending Beech Tree forests, over scenic alpine passes, and meandering in rain drenched jungle. Whatever you are looking for in a hike, they probably have a world class version of it in New Zealand.

Northwest of Queenstown is a gem of hike called the Routeburn Track. Mike and I decided to do it in conjunction with the less popular Caples Track to form a 4 day 3 night hiking loop. We geared up in town, buying food and renting camping gear. Then we cruised up the road to the trailhead, and set off down the trail in the late afternoon. Our first day was a light one and we just hiked 6.5 km into the Routeburn Flats to camp for the night.

Once there we checked in with the hut warden, which was complicated by the fact that I forgot our reservation tickets in the car but worked out fine. Then we pitched our miniature sad looking rental tent. It was smaller than any two man tent I had every used before and was characterized by an absences of head room and only a single pole [TOP: Mike and I in our tiny tent]. We finished the day by eating dinner and watching sunlight disappear off the top of the surrounding peaks before going to sleep.

The next day we hiked up alongside cascading Routeburn Falls [ABOVE LEFT: Mike by a section of the Routeburn Falls] and through a wide alpine valley. Then continued up and traversed above the perched Lake Harris [ABOVE RIGHT: Me above Lake Harris, photo by Mike] to reach the Harris Saddle by lunch time. All morning the scenery through which we passed had been glistening and green with snow tipped peaks rising above us. We crossed paths with a number of waterfalls and enjoyed the ease of a very wide well kept track. It was amazing how tightly packed the trail was with good views and interesting water works.

After lunch we took a short side hike up Conical Hill [ABOVE: Mike on top of Conical Hill] to gain a better view of our surrounding. The hike rewarded us with an impressive vantage point plus some fun boot skiing down snowfields on the way back down. Once down we pushed on down the trail. From the saddle we traversed for a good distance mid slope along the edge of an expansive valley. Eventually, we reached a major ridgeline and the track went over it and descended down into a beautiful little side valley. In the center of the valley was the deep glacially gouged out Mackenzie Lake and on its banks Mackenzie Hut, our accommodation for the night.

We hiked down and settled into the hut to relax after having hiked 13.6 km that day, plus the side hike up Conical Hill. The hut was really nice, and very well equipped. Tramping and staying in huts is a pretty plush way to explore nature. That afternoon, as the sun slowly slid down toward the horizon, the air was almost windless with clear skies above. It was pleasantly warm and the still lake reflected the majesty of the peaks above [ABOVE: Reflections in Mackenzie Lake]. It was a perfect peaceful afternoon, and I soaked it in.

That evening we cooked hot food on one of the gas ranges in the hut. Then after dinner, I set off on another short side hike to see the Split Rock [LEFT: Me on Split Rock]. It was simply a house sized rock with a split that formed a tunnel through the center of it. The whole rock was engulfed in tree roots and 6 to 10 inches of moss. It was cool, but the best part was the challenge of navigating the overgrown, twisting, and contorted trail to and from it in the rapidly fading light. It was barely existent in places and numerous sections required scrambling with both hands and feet.

The next morning we set off again on what was to be our biggest day, both in distance and difficulty. It was 8.6 km to Howden Hut and then another 5 to 8 hours to the Upper Caples Hut. The trail worked its way up and out of the little side valley to continue traversing mid slope of the main valley all the way to Howden Hut. From there, instead of heading out the last little bit out to the road, we started up the Caples Track.

Immediately it was obvious that the Caples Track was not as popular as the Routeburn Track. The trail was markedly smaller (1 foot wide instead of 3 feet), and hardly maintained at all. It went a short ways up the Greenstone Valley and then split from the Greenstone track. The trial crossed a small marsh which required some tricky balancing acts [LEFT: Mike crossing the marsh] and then ascended almost straight up a steep overgrown slope to reach Mckeller Saddle. The path was severely eroded and strewn with roots and slippery rocks which made the going slow.

After we topped out on the saddle though the trail improved some and the going got easier as we made a long slow decent down the Caples Valley to reach the Upper Caples Hut [BELOW RIGHT: Mike on Mckeller Saddle]. That night the rain came and drenched the entire region. In the morning we delayed leaving until approaching noon in hopes that the weather would clear. But, when it did not we were force just to head out in the rain.

The other thing besides scenery that New Zealand tramps are renowned for is being amazingly wet and muddy, and we quickly found out why. It was a slog getting out and the mud was slick making the footing tricky at times [BOTTOM: The wet and muddy Caples Track]. But, after a couple hours the rain abated and we decided to take a break to fish for an hour. We did not catch anything, but it was good to get the fishing line wet at least.

After fishing we started down the trail again confident we could make it out in good time, but as the trail wore on it became obvious that the time estimates between points on the Caples Track were not severely overestimated as they were on the Routeburn Track. Ultimately, even with some light jogging we only made it out in the minimum estimated time, which put us at the trailhead at 5:00pm.

As soon as we got there, we knew the situation did not look favorable for hitchhiking to the car, which was some 31 km away. There were only 4 cars at the trailhead, 3 of which we knew were not going anywhere because we had met their owners on the trail. So we just hoped that the owner of the last car would be coming out that night, or perhaps that someone would happen to drive down the dead end road to the trailhead. Surprisingly, someone did drive down the road, but when we walked up to their car to talk to them, instead of rolling down their window, they just drove off.

Tired and sore from hiking all day (and running back several kilometers down the trail to retrieve forgotten sunglasses early in the day) Mike was content to just wait around at the trailhead and camp there if our luck did not come though for us with a ride. However, motivated by the knowledge of a warm bed and hot food waiting back in town I decide to take a more offensive approach to solving our problem. I grabbed my fleece, rain coat, small water bottle, and some snacks to gear up. Then I headed off down the gravel road to run the 12 km into the closest town and hope to hitch a ride there.

My legs were stiff and sore from hiking all day and initially baulked at my order to run. But, after pushing through it for the first kilometer they loosened up and I got into a decent rhythm. I ran the flats, downhills, and gentle uphills; but walked the steep hills to conserve energy. Ultimately, I covered the 12 km of rolling dirt road to town in one and a half hours, crossing 3 fords along the way. Slow compared to my 52 minute Bloomsday race of the same distance, but I was happy with the time I made considering the circumstances.

The town turned out to be tiny and was dominated by a large wedding reception in progress. I asked around the reception for a ride, but found most people were to intoxicated to help. Ultimately, I talked with one of the hosts, but instead of helping he just told me off and insisted that no one at the wedding would be willing to give me a ride. Aggravated, I started down the gravel road again with still 19 km between me and the car.

I walked and jogged for another 2 km, until one of the couples leaving early from the wedding stopped and picked me up. Generously, they gave me a ride all the way to my car, even though it was some 9 km out of their way. It had taken me only 2 hours and 20 minutes reach the car. After eating something and stretching I headed back to pick Mike up from the other trailhead.

I flew down the dirt road and reached the Caples trailhead in no time. When I got there I found Mike had two other German companions waiting with him. Everyone loaded in the car and we took off more than ready to jet back to Queenstown. But, immediately it became clear that it would not be that easy. The added weight all but bottomed out the shocks on my rental Toyota Corolla. We had zero clearance and were reduced to traveling at 5 to 15 km/hour instead of 60 km/hour in order to avoid bottoming out. We also had to have everyone get out and walk across the fords so the Corolla could ford them unweighted with the necessary clearance.

On top of that I had all of the sudden been stuck with nauseating stomach pains. I don't know if it was spoiled food, or a delayed reaction to the serious exertion of running 12 km, but I was suffering and almost stopped a couple times to hurl. In the end it took us 3 hours to get back to town and we rolled in just after midnight. Fortunately, my stomach pains abated by the time we got back.

We dropped off the Germans, and then went to Ferburger for a much needed hot meal. I ordered the biggest burger they had on the menu and ravenously dove into it with reckless abandon. It was a well earned end to a great New Zealand tramp.

As always,
-Russ

[Pictures from
ROUTEBURN & CAPLES TRACKS]