EPIC is how i would describe my journey on the milford track and I'm sure ull agree by the end of this blog. On Saturday mornin I began my journey 2 the start of the track first catching the bus, then boarding the ferry 2 the start of the track. Was proper excited starting the track bt the 1st days walk was very small being only a 2hour hike 2 the 1st hut (Clinton). The walk just followed the river up from the lake bt crossed a big bridge n followed a few side tracks 2 sum kl looking trees. Also went along the wetlands walk which went through a sort of bog which looked really kl n led out 2 this lookout of mountains which wasn't entirely visible due 2 the mist by looked pretty kl all the same.Clinton turned out 2 b 4 huts (2 bunk rooms n a kitchen n a toilet hut) which were actually pretty nice compared wiv wat I had in tongariro. The kitchen hut even had a wood burner 2 heat the room which got well hot since we all spent all afternoon in there and cooked food on the stoves. The afternoon was spent getting 2 no the other people who I would b sharin the huts wiv 4 the nxt 3 nites. I met sum really kl people that afternoon including 2 Aussie girls (trish n emily), who knew alot bout English tv n loved my accent, a german guy (toby) who was on his way 2 Cambridge nxt yr and around 10 israelies who were all pretty funny n a gd laugh. We were all in histairics after around 5 mins due 2 the fact that 1 of the Israel guys (alon) bought a watermelon wiv him of all things! We thought this was well funny as not only was it very heavy it was half skin which he had 2 carry out wiv him since u can't get rid of any rubbish on the track. We also played a few card games that I'd never heard of b4 bt they were pretty kl- yaniv n wist (israeli obv). Dinner was pasta (and was pasta 4 the nxt 2 nites) bt wasn't bad as I had pepperoni, tomato paste, veges (dehydrated- lol) n cheese wiv it. At 7.30 our hut warden (Ross) came in 2 giv us a talk. Ross was the tallest guy ever (I called him the bfg bt others called him treebeard) n he spoke 4 actually ages on everything we wud c on the walk the nxt day n every bird u cud pos imagine seein. Was all v borin bt noticed it gt dark while he was talkin. We had actual lights in the huts bt they were on a timer so the hut jus went pitch black at 10 o'clock (thanks dad 4 the head torch- came in v handy these 4 days).
And so the second day came n was an early start as people seemed 2 get up at sunrise n tis hard 2 sleep wen people r rustling all round u! So I got up, had a quick brekkie n left fairly early. I carried on following the river up through the mountains n the trees became less dense as I walked n there were big openings as the day wore on which meant the views got better n better. Went past the hiere falls which were pretty impressive and the hidden lake where I got sum pretty nice photos of a waterfall reflecting in the lake. Most of the scenery here was jus amazin as there were mountains on either side of the track that jus seemed 2 spring straight up frm the ground n the river running through the middle of them making the whole scene pretty impressive. The track had many warnings along the way nt 2 stop 4 the nxt 200m as u were crossing an avalanche path (there r 56 on the Milford track). There was also lots of rain the day b4 so had 2 b extra careful as this is wen the avalanches occur the most. Was pretty cloudy on the second day bt the weather held up until jus b4 I got 2 the second hut. I walked the las hour or so wiv the 2 Aussie girls who were gd 4 a laugh n made the climb up 2 the second hut (mintaro) alot easier as we powered through as they hadn't eaten lunch yet (I'd had ritz n cheese about an hour b4- tasted well gd as hadn't had ritz since England).The second hut seemed alot smaller than the 1st as was only one hut for sleeping and cooking n another toilet block. There were 3 bunk rooms tho n cus we were quite early (there were only 2 others there) we nabbed the best room- only 8 beds. That afternoon was spent jus playin more cards n warmin up after bein abit wet frm the rain (n the sweat- nice!) n the fact it was cold. Sad news came wen 1 of the israelis didnt make the walk as had a severe blister n cud barely walk- the perils of hiring boots! So she was helicoptered out n apparently there had already bin 3 people helicoptered out this week proving that the track cud b dangerous. So we all went 2 bed again wen the lights went out at 10 n we cud hear the rain outside bt all was fairly calm n got off 2 sleep fairly quickly compared 2 the previous nite. Then everythin changed...Woke up around 2.30 n was actually pissin it down (only way 2 describe it). The rain was really loud on the roof of the hut n there were proper flashes of lightning where u cud c everything in the room (since the windows had no curtains) altho cud barely hear most of the thunder since the rain was so loud. Also kept hearing the odd building sound of sum sort of rocks sliding down n the odd bang on the back of the hut where we think things were hitting. 20 mins l8r the Aussie girls left the room n bein nosey I followed. We went out onto the porch where every1 had left their wet stuff- coats n shoes hung up- bt it was so windy half of it was on the floor n the other half looked likely 2 blow away so we bought every1s stuff inside. Had 1 wryin moment where I thought my boots were gn (Ross had mentioned the day b4 that the kea's (annoying birds) steal ur shoes if u dnt tie them together- mine were tied bt thought mite hav come undun in the wind) n jus sed 2 the girls how am I gonna get over the pass nxt day in my flip flops n started laughin. Bt found them eventually- jus cudnt c properly in the dark n everythin was everywhere! Then there were a few of us jus stood there watching the rain that turned 2 hail n the lightning next 2 the mountains made the whole thing really dramatic- was only then that trish turns 2 me n says aren't u cold n I realise i jus hav boxers n a tshirt on in this huge storm- lol! It was freezin n we all tried goin back 2 bed bt we ended up all jus chattin bout how bad if was n havin abit of a torch party!
Nxt mornin we all got up ready 4 another early start n the hut warden comes in- we can't go forward as a tree has fallen on the toilet hut at the nxt hut n they didn't no wat damage the storm did 2 the track over the pass. We also cudnt go back as the river had risen 2 it's highest ever point n the track was under a couple of metres of water in sum places n 1 of the bridges had snapped in half! Was all a bit dramatic n while the people at the nxt hut got choppered out n the people at the 1st hut cud jus go back the way they came- we were stuck 4 the day. After gettin the fire goin n abit of hanging around spreading the joyful news 2 every1 in the hut, we gt the news that the storm had effected the Milford rd- the only rd up 2 milford sound (the end of the track) n if we did make it out we wudnt b able 2 get back atm bt they were wrkin 2 c how bad it was. Since we didn't no whether we wud b able 2 carry on wiv the walk the nxt day n if we wud either b choppered out or hav 2 walk forwards or back if the track was safe enough, we asked the hut warden if we cud go up 2 mckinnons pass (the highest point on the track wiv the best views n views of the whole area). He said we cud as long as we turned back if there were any signs of serious damage 2 the track so a big group of us all left together. Was totally worth it as well- even if we got 2 go on to the nxt hut the day after it was nice 2 walk without our packs on as it was quite a climb up 2 the top n the weather wasn't too bad in the day so we cud c the gr8 views frm the top. This was the main reason 4 all of us comin as was absolutely epic- the mountains, rivers, forests n even a glacier made the whole scene jus look amazin! I cnt describe it properly as it is something u jus hav 2 c 4 urself- no photo wud do it justice. It was freezin up there n pretty windy bt we all stayed there 4 a while jus admiring the scenery. It was also one of the Israeli guys nephews bday n we all learnt happy birthday in Hebrew n sung it to him on video. Was v surreal bt really nice! Once we were cold enough we made the slow walk down as was rocky so had 2 take care! The weather held off 4 the rest of that day bt there was more rain in the evenin. Played sum more cards n ido (one of the Israelis) even taught me how 2 play backgammon which is a game I've always wondered bout bt was actually pretty fun. The hut warden came in later that evenin 2 say that unfortunately we cudnt go on as the track was too dangerous n we cudnt get anywhere at the end as the Milford rd was gonna b closed 4 at least the rest of the week (it's still closed nw!). Was really gutting bt at the same time was nice 2 no that we'd gotten as far as we had n had a really gr8 time in the process. Also glad that we gt 2 go up 2 the pass as otherwise we wud hav missed out big time! Was funny as every1 had bin rationing their food that day as we didn't no how long we'd b stuck there so as sn as the talk was over every1 went 2 grab food n ate- was kind of a celebatory meal (although mostly of chocolate)! The warden also sed that he fixed the bridge 2 cross n if the track was bad 2moro we wud b helicoptered out of there which wud of bin pretty kl bt didn't actually happen! :-( A guy in my room (toby) had the best quote of the day jus b4 bed wen tryin 2 say how much he liked england he randomly said 'i like children' which we were all like wtf? N cudnt stop laughin. I was on 1 after that n so it seems was another israeli girl in our room as toby started snoring really loudly n I cudnt stop laughing n neither cud she so was jus pitch black wiv the sounds of snorin followed by lots of giggling- think it was jus 1 of those moments where u hav 2 laugh n she was makin me worse! There was more rain in the night bt wasn't anywhere near as heavy n happened all jus b4 daybreak which meant it was still raining wen we set out nxt mornin.The rain sn stopped however n we got 2 c wat the track looked like. Turns out it looks even more spectacular after the rain n since I didn't need 2 save my camera 4 Milford sound I took lots of photos on the way back 2! The reason it looked so spectacular was because the area has very steep mountains that come straight up out the ground on either side n as the rain was so heavy b4 there was massive amounts of water falling down the mountain creating hundreds of beautiful waterfalls. These carried on 4 the entire walk back even tho the weather cleared up nicely throughout the day n we even saw blue sky! The tops of the mountains were all covered in snow as well which was wryin cus we thought mayb avalanches may occur bt we were all fine. The track on the way back showed clear signs of damage n there were a few broken bridges where we were forced 2 go round n a few areas where we were forced 2 wade through rivers n areas of flooding! Was so glad of my waterproof socks as my feet stayed totally dry on the way back n didn't even get a blister showing how well my boots fit me nw! :-)
Walked on my own down 2 the Clinton hut where we all hung out 4 a couple of hours b4 the boat arrived at the ferry station as it had started 2 spit again n there was nowhere 2 stay undercover at the port. The las part of the walk I walked wiv 2 of the guys (freddy n toby) who were my age n was pretty kl as we talked bout random meaningful stuff bt also seemed 2 b a turnin point as I suddenly felt like an adult 4 the 1st time ever! That was until we had 2 go through sum forest off the track as the track had fallen in the river n one of the old ladies fell in a swamp up 2 her chest! Wud of bin quite wryin bt she was laughing n it was funny!!! Once back on the boat, was so nice 2 sit down n hav actual heating. Also had my 1st cup of tea in like 4eva n actually tasted like the best thing in the world- may turn out 2 b a tea person yet! As sn as i got back 2 the hostel i was straight in the shower which felt so nice 2 b clean after 4days!So that was pretty much it- we made a list of every1s email so we cud all keep in contact as u cnt help goin through sumthin like this wivout becoming close n we actually felt like a big family by the end of this. Wasn't the experience I thought it was gonna b bt so glad it happened the way it did- was completly unique n at least we gt 2 go on the track n up 2 the pass! The only thing I really missed out on was the Sutherland falls (and I saw a fair few waterfalls anyways) n Milford sound (gonna do a cruise of it sumtime so I can actually c it- as sn as the rd opens anyways). Overall was a v big adventure n a def highlight of my trip!!! :-)