Skody Stody's

February 6th 

Pakituhi Hut to Stody's Hut

KM 2558

Distance: 11km

Elevation: Ascent 500m, descent 700m

Steps: 18,000

Time: 8:20am - 12:20pm

Today was an intentionally short day. For one, we were climbing to Breast Hill, which apparently has some of the best views on the TA. We got a photo of us at the top, thanks to that group of 5 friends in the hut last night:

Here is what we saw (absolutely breathtaking):

Views of Lake Hawea:

And views of Mt Aspiring, and apparently if you look closely enough, Aoraki/Mt Cook:

You may gather from these photos that we were solidly in the clouds, and you would be right! It was also quite cold and windy, although luckily not rainy. Both Vaughan and Eliza wore their rain pants anyway, knowing that the brush and grass we were going to be walking through would be quite wet. Between that and the windbreaker attributes, it was definitely the right decision!

As the day went on, the cloud began to lift a little bit, and we started to see some of the sights:

And yes, another short day saw us getting to Stody's Hut well before sunset. This is a basic hut (very basic), with a tin exterior, open fireplace, 6 bunks, and a tarp over a dirt floor. On the plus (??) side, it also apparently comes with some rodent friends, so we will see how well we sleep tonight, and also how well we are hiding/hanging our food...

Tomorrow takes us, Nigel and Linsey down to the Timaru Creek, which we will need to cross about a dozen times before we get to the next hut. This was actually one of the reasons we extended our time in Hawea... The Timaru Creek quickly raises in height after a storm, and becomes unsafe to cross. Linsey, along with Raewyn and Meredith, had attempted to cross yesterday, but found it too high and dangerous, so they turned back and met us at Pakituhi Hut. Raewyn and Meredith then decided that they would just leave this whole section of the TA for some other time, and exited back out to Hawea. Linsey decided to attempt the crossing tomorrow, with us. So we will all be linking arms and going across, if we feel safe doing so. If not, well, then we decide what to do from here.

In the meantime, we've got a bit of sun peaking out, and forecast saying no rain until at least next Wednesday, and the fire going. Right at the very edge of a beech forest that you know by now we love so much. And while there are some flies and bees, they see to be leaving us alone - no sandflies even!

Not a bad place to be, all things considered!