The Hillary Trail Anthology; Part 1

---

The Hillary Trail Anthology
Part 1

November 3rd

After a substantial shopping trip at the local Pack and Save, the lucky find of some warm New Zealand made thermals at the thrift store, and a trip into town for a Camelbak bladder for my pack, we were nearly ready for our hike! Fern and I spent the night before her last final exam packing (she studied too, don’t worry) EVERYTHING into our packs. We’re Girl Scouts so we take the oath of “always prepared” very seriously. Then more weight was added when we topped up our water bottles. We carried about 4 liters of water to drink a day, each. And we drank every drop!

Wednesday afternoon after Fern had finished her exam, we drove to Fern’s cousin’s place in Auckland. (A location closer to the start of the trail) I made us a picnic style dinner to eat in the car as we dashed off to make it there before dark. We got there without much trouble only to discover that Fern forgot the matches and her pocket knife. Luckily, Stefan (Fern’s cousin) had both those things. We walked down to the bus stop where we’d be getting on in the morning to check the times. By the looks of it we’d be up by 5am! Stefan showed us around town a little before we went back to his place and hit the sack.

It was quite a luxurious night before our trek due to Stefan’s upscale hotel style accommodations! There are few men indeed with his level of decorative skill! I went to sleep on an exquisitely made bed with gold embroidered decorative pillows and several Van Gogh prints hanging on the walls. The guest room I was in had at least 3 clocks, all telling different times and little decretive boxes on various surfaces around the room, all with nothing in them. I know. I checked. I was so excited that I couldn’t really sleep and for some reason when beds are too fancy I have trouble sleeping in them.

Five thirty AM came mightily early but I had no trouble getting up. I was already wearing my moisture wicking, quick-dry hiking shirt.

November 4th

Three busses and a trail-mix breakfast later we were at least in the right town to start our hike. We’d already been warned by the locals twice after asking for directions and it wasn’t even 9 o’clock yet. The visitor’s center were we were meant to start was allegedly up the hill a ways so we started walking towards it. Six kilometers later we’d finally found it. We were sweating a bit and when the lady at the desk heard we were destined for the four-day Hillary Trail she tried talking us out of doing the whole thing and cutting out early part way through. Did we look that pathetic already? We confidently assured her we wanted to do the whole thing. She smiled and sold us the trail map, a guide book, and two Hillary Trail iron-on patches. By this time it was now 11am and we were just starting the trail.

Fun Facts about Sr. Edmund Hillary and the trail that is names after him:

• Edmund Hillary was one of the first people known to reach the summit of Mt Everest. He’s a ledged in his home county of New Zealand and all around the world!
• He was knighted in 1953.
• The Hillary trail was named after him in January 2010. It runs along Auckland’s west coast where Edmund Hillary grew up.
• The trail is over 70 kilometers long (over 33 miles) and is advertized as a four day hike. As Fern and I discovered, it’s nearly impossible to do in just four days.
• The trek goes through thick rainforest, over steep mountain cliffs, and along rugged west coast beaches.
• “It ain't Everest but it ain't easy!” is the quote most commonly used to describe the trek. It’s written across the wall as you enter the visitor’s center at the start of the trail.

---