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Published: December 1st 2010
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peeking01
Rising peaks, falling cloud Started the walk as clouds grew along the lake towards me. Views back towards Queenstown were good but as I came up above the treeline, a wee hill or two stood above me and all else was in cloud. It's a strange experience when you're looking up to where you believe a mountain stands but not able to see any of it. It's impossible to judge scale. The hills looked fairly timid so I guess was expecting a slightly bigger timid hill.
I reached the saddle and was nearly in cloud now. The cloud above the lake had continued to build as the sun grew warmer too so I had cloud bearing down (and up) on me from both directions. I scooted up a wee hill that wasn't in cloud to get a view of Queenstown and the lake. As I turned to rejoin the track, a large, moody, impressive ridge loomed up as the cloud lifted. Much higher than I expected. And it rose and rose and rose into the cloud. My feet complained a bit as I re-started up - the cloud was lifting - perhaps a clear top after all.
Not a soul to be seen
Remarkable01
The Remarkables and Queenstown all the way up - just the birds to keep me company. I heard a Kea (alpine parrot) in the distance. Couldn't see him but heard him. I made a Kea call as they do tend to respond and come to see which parts of your kit might be edible. He didn't respond. I walked on and felt my heart skip a beat or nine a few moments later when a rabid axe-murderer let out a series of screeches as he ran up behind me. No, of course not, it was the Kea creeping up behind me and the dive-bombing me while making the most awful racket. Great animals but they do have a wicked sense of humour.
I marched up to the brow of the saddle, the summit looming high above and making my calves twitch. Beyond, hills disappeared into cloud. The path steepened and my legs began to complain. I scrambled up a couple of modest rock piles, regained a path and then looked up. A snowy peak peeked out of the cloud, the granite faces bearing a strong resemblance to a mountain that had just woken up.
I rounded the summit on approach and another peak popped up. Then another, and another, and a hint of another, and a vague outlined of a massif. All fatigue forgotten, I was all but skipping my way to the top now. The summit was modest, the views breath-taking. I sat and watched. The clouds were playing around me. Rising and falling and wisping and dipping and building and swirling. Snowy peaks stretched before me. So many I couldn't name the all - Earnslaw, Catherine, Sumnor, even Aspiring clearing every now and then. The mighty southern alps.
As I eventually (I think I stayed up there for nearly an hour) made my way back down from the summit, the face of the young kiwi I'd met on the plane yesterday came to mind. He'd been away for two years (mostly in Norway, but also other parts of Europe and the middle east) and was coming back "home". He was sad to be back, wasn't sure why he was returning. He asked me "you came all this way just for some mountains?" I smiled. These mountains? Yes, I came all this way for these mountains. You may think this pathetic but I'm getting quite emotional just typing this.
So, tomorrow some logistics happen and then I start a three day, two night tramp known as the Greenstone. This'll be my last entry before I go as my transport is early in the morning and I have to stow the bags I'm not taking with me this evening to await my return here.
P.S. First piece of lost kit. My water bottle fell out of a side pocket of my pack as I rose from a tree stump and tumbled down and away. I managed to resist the instinct to dive after it and instead watched it summersault away, over some fallen trees, then out of sight. Off to buy a replacement in a minute.
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Luis
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so much talent
Hey Matt, have you ever thought of taking your Kea calls to "Britain's got Talent" show? I would like to hear those... please record them. ;) Great stuff Sir, glad you are once again enjoying the sights of your beloved mountains. Make sure you are sitting down when you get that emotional, as with age balance is important in such moments. Once again you are making us all (or at least me) jealous with your tramping trips. I travel through your blog entries... keep it going ol'boy! LR.