"Finished!"
The Kepler Track was one of the harder hikes I've done in my life and certainly the longest solo. The first day is all uphill, about 5 hours worth of uphill, which gets you to just under 1000 meters. The second day takes you up to 1500 meters (roughly 5,000 feet) for a total elevation gain of just over 1000 meters. Its a healthy hike. Add to that the fact that it was all along ridge line on the second day, with 120kph winds blowing over the top and you have a recipe for disaster. There were quite a few times where upon stepping down, the wind would actually blow my foot off trail. I felt like a kite at times.
Still, the rewards were worth it and no injuries sustained besides the odd blister. Heavy rains visited throughout the nights, but cleared up by the mornings, enabling me to enjoy the blue skies and visiting clouds. At the end, it was all I could do not to jump for joy - actually, it was physically impossible to jump at the end of the hike. I'm beat up. I figure I've backpacked over 70 miles in the last 10 days. I have a few days off back in Queenstown, then will finish off NZ with the 3 day Raiku Track down in the Stewart Islands.
Glad to see you are keeping with your mustache theme throughout the NZ portion of the trip. Arrggg Matey! or was it Bank Robber Jacob? :)
Posted by: Jessica | February 29, 2008 at 18:14