“On a Mish” #49 Welcome to My World (Part Two). Double Hut & Peak 1115m. Hakatere Conservation Park. 16.7.2013. For all the negative press that it gets, cold weather is pretty cool! Those who haven’t seen what snow and ice can do to an environment are missing out on a real visual treat. If you rug up with extra layers (sometimes many) and keep moving, then the benefits will show in the stunning photos you’ll take and the epic tale you will have to tell after your winter mish. Whether my buddy Cam liked it or not, we were going to head into the snowy hills, and I was going to do my best to welcome him to my wild winter world…
There were frozen chunks of snow around that had been warmed slightly by the sun, then snap frozen again at night, turning them into solid blocks of dirty ice. The tarns (alpine lakes) that are dotted along the route to the hut were completely frozen, and it gave us a chilly taste of what was to come. Crossing the refreshingly cold water of the Swin River was a real reminder that it was winter in the mountains, and thoughts of a slip into the moving chill-flavoured liquid kept concentration levels high until we had both got across the river safely. With icicles forming on our wet toes, we hurried along the last stage of the trail to the hut to get the fire roaring and to restore our body temperature to that of a living human being.
It didn’t take long for the tin walls of the hut to warm up, and we spent night one at the hut yarning and sampling the delightful delicacies we had carried in. The hut oozes history and was visited by a Mr Edmund Hillary before he climbed Sagarmatha Mt Everest and became the famous legendary New Zealander Sir Ed. Knowing a New Zealand hero had been there makes Double Hut just a little bit more special.
I think it is safe to say that my good mate Cam was a bit tuckered out after our big hike into Double Hut. After dinner he decided to climb into his sleeping bag to stay warm and fell into a deep sleep mid-sentence! I knew that we were going to have another big day, so I also retreated to the warmth of my sleeping bag and drifted off to sleep to the crackle of flame burning wood on the hut’s open fire. Just before going to sleep, I heard the light patter of rain on the hut’s tin roof. And due to the temperatures, I knew it wouldn’t stay raining for very long. Snow had returned to Hakatere, and this heightened the excitement even more and made me look forward to the next day when I would have a chance to really welcome Cam to my wonderful wintery world…
