It was gusting 30 knots (34 mph, 55.6 kph) and we were standing there on a totally exposed set of stairs leading straight up. Stairs is a kind way to put it, rather we were on a steep, rickety ladder. As my friends and I sat crouched on the “stairway”, clinging onto the pieces of wood and trying to maintain low centers of gravity, we decided to turn around. With the summit being only twenty or so minutes away, this decision wasn’t a rewarding one.
In high school, my family and I went on a hike in Seattle. The hike could hardly be compared to any hike around Mt.Cook/Aoraki, it was a small mountain hike through a forest of ferns and vines and was only three miles round trip, but a similar event occurred on the Seattle mountain as did on the New Zealand mountain. When we were visiting Seattle it was the beginning of Spring, “What better time than to go on a hike?” We thought, and when we got there we were excited because the hike seemed very doable in the misty April rain.
As we climbed up through the canopy of crying trees, the semi-damp trail turned into ice and muddy snow. My mom was the only one wearing hiking boots. While my brother, dad, and I were wearing our tennis shoes, expecting the hike to be easy. About three quarters of the way through my mom decided it was time for us to turn around. A decision that my fifteen-year-old self was not pleased about. I wanted to get to the summit. So what if it was snowy and icy? The trail was big enough that I wouldn’t trip and fall of the edge. So what if I had the wrong gear? It was only supposed to take us two-three hours to finish. I was so blinded by summit fever that I couldn’t see why my mom wanted to stop.
Standing on the edge of the Sealy Tarns track in the Mt. Cook/Aoraki area, I remembered this feeling, this needing to get to the summit despite the conditions. A large part of me wanted to continue up this never-ending staircase, but looking around at my drenched, crouched-over friends while trying to get my ungloved fingers to move made me realize what my mom realized when we were in Seattle. So when we put it up to a vote, I voted to climb back down and to give up on the summit. The vote was unanimous. We didn’t want to die on our first trip out in New Zealand on a three-hour long day hike that we could come back and do again, we’d much rather have a semester full of many adventures.
Here’s a breakdown of our entire first trip:
Day 1: Lake Tekapo
Lake Tekapo in the evening, look at the full moon in the upper left corner!
- Drove 3 hrs on Friday and arrived at Lake Tekapo.
- Walked around part of the lake at a leisurely pace
- Observed the beautiful surroundings.
- Tried to find the freedom camping ground near Lake Tekapo’s shoreline.
- Could not find freedom camp site.
- Decided to stay at the holiday park near Lake Tekapo.
- Made couscous and broccoli covered in pasta sauce and pepper.
- Needed more spice.
- Sat on the edge of the dock on the lake and gazed at the full moon lighting up the mountains surrounding the lake.
- The stars are supposed to be amazing at Lake Tekapo but the full moon was too bright to see the infinite stars, so we settled for the finite stars and the full moon sky.
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- 4 people in a tent made for 3? Perfect.
Day 2: Mt. Cook Aoraki/ Lake Pukaki
My friends and I about to do the Sealy Tarns hike.
- Drove 2.5 hrs to Mt. Cook/Aoraki
- Played Empire State of Mind by Jay Z feat. Alicia Keys.
- Watched as we drove out of the beautiful sunshine into a cloud of rain.
- Sat in our car, getting ready to do the Sealy Tarns hike in the pouring rain.
- Saw a rainbow that invigorated us enough to get out.
- Hiked for 30 minutes, then made the group decision to turn around instead of getting blown off the mountain.
- Were heckled for turning around by some kiwi hikers. They didn’t know what was about to hit them on the exposed staircase…
- Got back to car, each of us had blue lips.
- Warmed up in the car.
- Ate a lot of peanut butter.
- Decided to drive to Lake Pukaki
- Ran on the beach of one of the bluest lakes I’ve ever seen.
Lake Pukaki in the sunlight.
- Drove home
- Listened to Desert Island Discs, a popular British podcast, HIGHLY recommended.
Overall, our first trip was a lot about learning—learning how much time it takes to drive on New Zealand highways, learning how to tell each other when we felt nervous about something, learning to not beat ourselves up for turning around. I can’t say it was a bad start, we saw some really beautiful places, but I am looking forward to our future trips going more according-to-plan and being more centered around hiking.
Me, excited to hike at Mt.Cook/Aoraki.