Rees-Dart Track

---

December 22, 2007

Djuke had already left earlier in the morning, but Bart, Betti, Eric, and I had breakfast together before all piling into Bart’s car once more. We dropped Betti off at a good place to hitchhike and then Bart drove us the hour and a half up the lake to the trailhead near the mouth of the Rees River.
So, the walking began again and took us through a farmland valley towards the headwaters of the river. Many places were boggy, and it was unavoidable to get my feet wet. The bogs were due to the large number of streams coming down from the mountains that would cross our path and settle in the valley before joining the Rees River. The streams were also obstacles: some were easy enough to cross on the rocks protruding from the surface and some were much deeper. One we actually took our boots off for, and put on sandals to walk through it. The current was surprisingly strong for only being knee-deep, so we’re reminded that a lot of care should be taken in the deeper and faster rivers.
Soon we climbed away from the river and through more beech forest. Past the avalanche chutes (a sign we’re in alpine territory again) we came to the Shelter Rock Hut, a very nice hut situated near the Rees saddle in a beautiful mountain bowl.

December 23, 2007

A cold front was beginning to move into the area last night, so the sunshine from yesterday had disappeared and the wind was beginning to howl. At 9 a.m. we were the last hikers to depart the hut for the push over Rees saddle.
Following the Rees River up the valley I noticed the soupy grey color of the water. Rock sediment colors it this way, and I’m sure it’s safe to drink, but I preferred to take water from the side streams instead, which we crossed every few hundred meters.
The gradual ascent took us through boulder fields and meandered through the riverbed, crossing it a couple of times. The wind was increasing in strength and would occasionally gust hard enough to knock us off course, making us look like we were staggering up the path drunk.
Within an hour and a half we reached Rees Saddle and took in the view for a short five minutes because you get very cold in these conditions if you’re not moving. On the way down the other side into the Dart valley we encountered a park ranger who checked our hut passes. This is the first time in two months that anyone has checked to see if we’ve paid to stay at any of the huts.
Back on the trail the wind was ferocious, and I thought to myself, “this is the type of wind that could bring about hypothermia if a person was wet.” Shortly after thinking this it of course began to rain.
The rain wasn’t hard, but it was steady as we descended through the valley towards Dart Hut. We arrived at the hut just before 1:00 p.m., right before the rain became intense.
Over the next few hours, the rest of the hikers in the area filed into the hut (which is very big and very nice) and we all started to get to know each other. Everyone here is planning to spend two nights at this hut we we’ll have lots of company (fourteen people so far) over Christmas Eve. It will definitely be a different Christmas experience.

December 24, 2007

It’s Christmas Eve around 10 p.m. and daylight is just starting to fade. It is a very strange feeling, and it doesn’t seem like tomorrow should be Christmas already, but I guess I have been away from home for two months now.
Today was a rest day, although I had thought we might go up the Cascade Saddle to get some good views. The rain continued through late afternoon, though, which gave me a good excuse to stay inside and give myself some rest.
So instead of hiking I spent the day in the hut along with everyone else, as well as the other people who arrived here today. At this point the thirty-two-person hut is almost full which will mean that all the people heading to the twenty-bunk hut tomorrow will not all find a bed. But that’s a problem for tomorrow.
I got a lot of reading done, played sudoku, played several games of chess with Eric and Jacob (pronounced Yah-cub), and had some good conversation with many of the other hut occupants.
This will be my first Christmas away from family, so I don’t know quite what to expect tomorrow. With the weather being summer here and me being away from civilization so much of the time, I think that Christmas could have all but escaped my notice this year if I hadn’t been aware of the date itself.

December 25, 2007

The hut was buzzing with people this morning by 7:00 a.m., but not because people were looking for presents left by Santa Claus. About twenty-two people from this hut were headed to Daleys Flat Hut today, and everyone was painfully aware that two people would not have a bed there. So in the not-so-true spirit of the holiday everyone was attempting to beat each other to the trail to arrive early enough to get a bed for themselves. Eric and I knew we were faster than most so we left just before 8:00 a.m.
The trail followed the Dart River down a valley, crossing several grassy flats along the way. Plenty of sunshine and a nice breeze kept the walking enjoyable.


About two hours in we took a break to eat a couple of Christmas oranges I’d packed in and had managed to keep from eating until today. We shared them with Liana and Rowan, which was more in line with the Christmas spirit, I guess.
We pushed on and arrived at the hut just before lunch, right as the skies opened to bring the rain. I was second to the hut so there was no problem getting a bunk. Now all that’s left to do is enjoy the day being dry inside. Merry Christmas, everybody.

December 26, 2007

We weren’t trying to beat anyone anywhere this morning, but we got an early start anyway. The trail opened up quickly from the beech forests into wide grassy floodplains with stunning mountains all around. A dusting of snow from last night coated the peaks, making it seem a little more like Christmas than it had felt yesterday.
We walked for three hours until we arrived at the Paradise carpark, but did not find anyone there so we continued down the road. After forty-five minutes, a car drove up and offered us a lift to Glenorchy, a small town where the shuttle would be taking all the other hikers from last night to in a couple of hours. So we rode with our legs sticking out of the back of the station wagon to Glenorchy, where I made a phone call back home while waiting for a ride.
When Steve and Liana from the track arrived they gave us a lift the rest of the fifty kilometers to Queenstown, where we checked into the same hostel as last time and got ready to meet Djuke and Betti for the next track. It feels so nice to have a hot shower again!

---