before you read anything else. i know i say a lot this stuff is amazing, beautiful, phenomenal and all these other rather vague descriptions of scale of greatness for this place but Milford goes beyond those. it is truly astounding and gives you goosebumps just to see. it feels like another planet. i can't really try to describe it more than that.
labeled as one of the most beautiful and astounding places in NZ, Milford Sound is fjordland in NZ. What's the difference between fjords and canyons or gorges? fjords are cut out from glaciers, canyons and gorges are from erosion by water and/or wind. the result is extremely steep cliffs and deep deep valleys.
the track is a one way track, not a loop. there's no camping, you have stay in these huts along the route. all the huts have treated water, fireplaces and bunks for 40 people. during the peak season (Oct-April) you have to have a reservation and you have to hike on a schedule because the whole place is booked, 40 people in a hut every night. on the shoulder seasons, especially may, there are stories of huts with 100 people in them and people sleeping on the floor because the limits are taken off.
the place is extremely isolated. there is absolutely nothing out there except these huts. it's a 2hr+ boat ride to the trail head, a 30 min boat ride from the end to a town of about 50 people and then a 2.5hr car ride back to where the boat started.
everyone is required to carry a locator beacon with them on the track and fill out intentions form that include a "panic date" where, if they haven't heard from you, then they start search and rescue. last year an Australian woman died, she took off her pack (with locator beacon attached), stepped off the track to take a picture or a pee or something and couldn't find her way back, they found her eight days later, five miles off the track and 20 miles away from where she left the track. the day i left, they were starting a search and rescue party for a U.S. Marine who said he'd be out two day before but never showed up. nobody on the trail had seen him for two days and he didn't have a beacon with him. even if you're by yourself with a beacon, if you break an ankle or something happens that you need a rescue, it's still about 36-48hrs before they can get to you.
you get the picture now how remote this place is?
the track is meant to be done in four days, three nights.
day one: boat ride and three miles to hut
day two: hut to hut, 10.25 miles and 1,500ft incline
day three: hut through mountain pass with 1,500ft incline over three miles then 2,700ft decline over five miles to hut
day four: hut to track end 11.5 miles
because it's the off season and you can take it at your own pace, i decided to combine day one a two.
DAY ONE:
i caught the boat at 8am. there are no other boats out there. there is nothing else out there. there are three other people on the boat. a brother and sister doing the track in 4 days. a british guy doing the track in three days like me. everyone is really nice. the boat captain is a little weird. the captain tells us combining day one a two is doable, says it's only 10 miles. later he says it's only 12-13 miles. before we get off the boat he says that we should be fine, it's only 15-16 miles.
the british guy is Dan Clements. without really talking about it we set-off on the track together and did the whole thing together.
Dan is 38, worked in IT, quit and was a partner in a bicycle shop chain in England for 13 yrs before quitting to visit NZ and reevaluate. he's a trained mountaineer, knows how to navigate with a compass and map, knows how to pace, has climbed some mountains and also done a fair amount of rock climbing. he carries a garmin gps tracking device that tells us how fast, far and high we've climbed. he's about 5'6 and 185lbs. what a catch.
day one was completely fogged in with a cloud ceiling of 150ft. we started walking at 11am and got in to the hut to by 4:30 or so. the cloud level didn't lift until the last mile before the hut. the map said it was supposed to be just over 13 miles. Dan's gps said it was over 14.
when we got there, there were 4 other people at the hut for the night. all of us would be on the same schedule for the rest of the trip. Dom and Susan; Dom is from Australia and Susan is from San Fransisco. they've been together for over two years. they met traveling in Alaska. Dom is lawyer, Susan works for Google. they're in their late 20's, early 30's. the other two are two girls hiking together. one is from NZ, one is from Australia. they both work as biology/ecology researchers.
the clouds cleared when we got to the hut and Dom mentioned that sunset at the pass is supposed to be amazing. it'd be another three miles each way with a 1,500ft incline/decline. i decide i'm up for it because with the pack off, i felt like a spring chicken even though that'd put my mileage at over 20 for the day.
by the time we get up there the clouds start rolling back in and it was getting dark. it was pretty amazing. the most impressive part was 12-second drop. i didn't stick my head too far out over the edge but it looked like a straight drop. somebody needs to go base-jump that.
we made it back fine in the dark with head lamps.
dehydrated spaghetti for dinner.
DAY TWO:
up and out early. the highlight of breakfast was pre-packed pancakes with nutella i brought.
up and over the pass again. it was amazing.
dinner was dehydrated mexican chicken. i didn't realize it until i dug in but it was Cinco de Mayo. booyah. no margaritas though.
DAY THREE:
up and out by 9:30am to catch our 2:30pm boat pick-up. rain to start but it cleared out eventually. the track ends at Sandfly Point. due to the name, i wasn't inclined to get there much earlier than 2:30. we got in at 2:25. our boat drivers name was Sam. he said, "two Sams don't make a right." i replied, "two Sams make it better though."
TOTAL:
everything i read said it was 53 km (32 miles). Dan's gps said it was 60 km (37 miles). including my hike to the pass for sunset, that would have been 70 km (43 miles) in three days or 63 km (38 miles) if you're a pessimist. oof.
THE BEST PART:
