tramping new zealand

How is this expedition to find the coldest uninsulated hut in Nelson going?

Maybe it wasn’t exactly here, but I guessed I was close.

I was wondering why so few others like to spend the coldest weeks of the year in the New Zealand backcountry.

I might have finally come across reasons:

Icy streams are treacherously slippery. The little creeks you cross get your feet wet, and your boots never dry out.
Wading thigh deep gets you wet thoroughly, and while it might seem warm at the time, later it’s not.
Sunrise: 7 30 am. Sunset: 5 30 pm. With the steep hills and forests you end up with nine hours daylight of the usable variety.
Better mention: it’s cold! Not just when you slide into your threadbare sleeping bag with all your dry clothes on, including raincoat, but during the day as well.

So, maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. Time to return to civilisation with a stop at Downie Hut on the way out.

I had a decent fire going for a while last night, but that needed the door open slightly to avoid smoking the place up. The fire may be the reason there was less frost on the windows in the morning, as some moisture was removed by the heat.

But the water bottles didn’t start to freeze either, so it must be warmer.

I hadn’t noticed.

Surprisingly, it took almost the same time to go down the valley with one day’s food as to come up with more aboard.

Okay, the lunch break in glorious surrounds was longer than usual. You have to soak up the environment, the experience. After all, isn’t that why you venture into these remote parts? I just sat there, taking it all in and just realising how fortunate I was to be able to do this, when I want.

The river flat below the Forks, out on the grassy pasture with the river close at hand, was as good a place to be as anywhere. Partly because I got there on my own power.

I just had the next four hours of plod, then another full day continuing out to civilisation.

So I left before 9 am and, for a while, thought it would be dark before I made it to the hut, but I powered through the flat bit and the last section through the forest, arriving with enough time to get water from the stream in the light.

As I mentioned, when the sun went down, it got cold quickly, and I could see the great piles of wood I’d prepared for this occasion three days before.

Time to light the fire. That made a difference, but at this hut, I didn’t need to leave the door open, since there are so many chinks in the 1905 weatherboard plank cladding on the exterior and holes in the floor, etc.

Another early night and I quickly conked out.