Another bus, another early morning.. This time we’re all packed and prepared for 4 days hiking – or so we hope..
The sunshine and warmth of the past few days has devolved into a windy, rainy and generally gloomy outlook, perfect for camping! The bus drops us off at the gates to the park with the steadily increasing rain already turning the road to mud. We gear up and set off along the road towards the main trail, getting only a few wet & shivering hundred metres before Jess breaks down and refuses to go any further. Something to do with her broken boots collecting water.
Collecting ourselves we carry on and begin the march up into the hills. As we get higher the rain slowly turns to snow, the mud turns to snow covered mud and our wet clothing begins to freeze. This is the best start to a four day trek that one could imagine! Nonetheless the scenery – what we can make out through the snow storm – is amazing and a few hours later we arrive at the refugio where we’ll try and stay the night.
Inside the hut – cause that’s really all it is – we find a few other wet & weary travellers huddled around the fireplace. These guys have all been travelling in the opposite direction to us and are at the end of their treks and we suck as much useful information out of them as possible. The intrepid kiwi – hiking in no more than a pair of shorts and a day pack – shows us the photos from his campsite the night before where, during a sudden storm, a tree branch broke off overhead and smashed into his tent, barely missing his head. Mental reminder not to camp under trees..
As the sun goes down over the mountains we run outside to snap a few quick pictures before turning in for the night. The campsite that was almost void of snow on our arrival is now easily 30cm thick but quickly melting. Never camped in snow before but there’s a first time for everything!!
