With Kyran n Katie OHara
Day 1 & 2
A gentle start with 1.5hr along Lake Te Anau through a beech forest. Then the climb…. 3.5 hrs switch backing up the mountain to Luxmore hut. The reality of the weight in our packs was starting to kick in, the jovial banter turned into a distant huff n puff as we spread out and got into the zone of the climb. First night in Luxmore hut was luxury! Boots off, cheese, crackers, salami, rum, steak n vege (all the heavy stuff on first night) playful kea”s and talkative Aussies we were asleep before the sun went down.
Day 2
Slightly apprehensive about the ridge crossing as the track was closed only yesterday. Hard climb straight out of hut up to 1500m then a snow climb across a ridge with no cramp on”s… Slow going with careful footage, Bindi seemed to skip across without getting his socks wet, yet Katie and I seem to find all the holes and disappear hip deep a number of times. Ridge concoured, next came the desent… First the calves and gluteus screamed but this was nothing compared to the shaky thighs, toes n boots and knee pain for our group. Less mileage today but felt like a marathon. Reaching Iris burn Hut was blessed but no way we felt like swimming in the waterfall. Another amazing meal and drank every last drop of whiskey jagermeister we had.
Irene Ground's Travels 