Routeburn Track

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Now onto the Routeburn Track - a three day hike over some mountains. The first day was a simple short hike up to our first campsite. Some mice got to a bit of the food over the night and a few bugs got to us, but we layed out and watched the stars that night, so we were pretty at peace with it all. Dustin, Brad, Meredith, and I also ventured off the path up along the stream to some waterfalls. I had fleece pants on because it was chilly, and I came out looking like a colorful mess of burs. It was still fun and we got warm up there, so we jumped off a rock into the a pool below some of the falls. It was freezing and refreshing!
The second day was our longer hike. It was rough through parts of the uphill, but we all made it through in good spirits. There were some great views, and our next stay was along a pretty blue lake with many large rocks along it. My group arrived there first (the other group was coming from the opposite direction), so after jumping in, we all layed on the rocks and soaked up the sun. It was a nice little stop along the way, and again we watched the stars from the rocks beside the lake that night.
The third day was our last stretch out. It was a relatively easy hike out aside from one very steep hill after one of the huts. We had to get going because we had a cruise to catch at the Milford Sound, but we still took some time to stop by an 80m waterfall.
The hike wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Perhaps because Mueller had gotten us prepared. I was actually hardly sore at all after it, which was a welcomed relief. Photos to come soon!

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Photos

Waterfall Climb
A picture of Dustin and Brad as the two of them, Meredith, and I headed off the beaten path to find some waterfalls we could see in the distance. It was very mossy, we had to do some rock jumping, and I came out looking like a rainbow of burs,but it was a lot of fun. We got warm up there so we jumped off some rocks into a fresh water pool below some of the falls - a good way to cool down!

Early Routeburn
A view from early on in our longer day of hiking.

Lunch
A brief stop at one of the huts for lunch. It was pretty much a shelter only because the only water it had wasn't even suitable for drinking. However, it was still a welcomed sight because it marked the end of most of our uphill climb.

Rocky Terrain
Some rocky terrain above pretty near the top. This type of rock structure is pretty much everwhere throughout the mountainous areas of the country.

Rounding
A view of the trek before the path headed back down.

Beyond
Some of the mountains that lay beyond where we were headed. Still a neat sight to see them surrounding us.

Destination
Our destination. In the top, right-hand corner of the lake you can see a little hut area. That's where we camped out. It looks relatively close, but it was still a good 1.5-2 hours of hiking away. Downhill, but that doesn't leave the knees feeling too hot after that long.

Lake
Finally at the hut! Actually, the hike wasn't as bad as we had prepared ourselves for. The feet were still aching, but not too terribly. We went for a dip in the cool (actually very cold) lake, and then we laid out on the large rocks beside it. The other half of our group hiking in from the other direction hadn't arrived yet, so it was a nice relaxing time in the sun before we had to start cooking dinner.

Nap Time
Like I said...we were pretty relaxed!

Heading Out
Amanda and Meredith heading out for the day with only a mountain to go!

Waterfall
The lower bit of an 80 meter waterfall.

Hut Stop
A quick stop for a look over a small lake outside one of the huts before the final stage of the hike. Almost done!

Dustin Down
Dustin taken to the ground by his own as he was getting up to load up after we finished our hike.

Morning
A morning shot of the area we camped along the night after the Routeburn.

Girls
A shot of the girls from my hiking group in front the big waterfall (obviously too big to fit into this picture). L to R are Amanda, Chelsea, Katie, Lauren, Me, and Meredith.