“On a Mish” #26 The Lake with My Last Name (Part One). Valley of the Trolls / Lake Wilson. Mt Aspiring National Park. 20.4.2012. When walking the Routeburn Track from Mackenzie, no matter what the weather is doing the hike from Harris Shelter to Falls will always deliver. Spectacular views will greet you once you have crossed over the Saddle and they will match what you have seen while hiking the track up to this point. Not far from the track is a lake with my last name, and while the track is incredible, once you have walked it many times you start to look for alternatives close by that are just as spectacular but with far less people…
Usually, the cloud sticks on the west side of the Harris Saddle(1255m), meaning for some the first grand views of the day are of Valley of the Trolls and the surrounding area. The waterfall tumbling down from Lake Wilson into the small valley, Mt Xenicus(1912m) and Lake Harris is a desktop screensaver for many and was what I looked at when starting up my computer for years. There are some very eye-pleasing features to this part of the world!
I tend to get tied up when someone asks, ‘which is your favourite hike?’ and this leads me to usually giving the same answer, “A hike I haven’t done yet”. But if forced to make a decision I always tend to say the Routeburn Track is my favourite place for a wander. Not only is there plenty to gaze at in awe while trekking the 30km track, but there are also endless possibilities available just off the well beaten pathway. One such place is just beyond the busy Harris Saddle but gets only a tiny percent of visitors when compared to the Routeburn Track.
Crossing over the saddle 124 times as a guide means many times I have investigated the Valley of the Trolls, and many times I have dreamed of spending a night there and visiting Lake Wilson. With both of us having a couple of days off between shifts Ultimate Hiking, my fellow guide and outdoor enthusiast Jule had the genius idea of visiting the lake with my last name and camping in the Valley of the Trolls. I had briefly visited the area after climbing Mt Xenicus and always wanted to return, now I had my chance.
There was a thick layer of cloud covering the big peaks when we arrived at the Routeburn Shelter around midday. The weather is what your attitude is towards it. If you call it bad weather, then you’re probably going to have a bad time. We weren’t going to let some cloud upset our adventure, so it was packs on backs and feet on the track. The time had come to visit the valley where the trolls live and the lake with my last name…
