November 24th, 2019
After yesterday’s awesome boat ride on Milford Sound, it was
time to check out some more of the area but by foot this time. I chose to hike the Key Summit which is part
of a longer “tramping” trail known as the Routeburn Route, a 32 kilometer trail
with a number of huts along the way. The
sign stated that the hike was about 3 hours return but yet again there was no detail
as to the actual distance or elevation gain (a pet peeve of mine).
The view from my campsite in the morning:
Looking good Betty 2.0!
Gunn Lake, just north of the Cascade Creek campsite:
The trail was quite well maintained and the grade was easy
yet steady. I started around 10 am and
it was cool in the shade under the trees and it started on the south side of
the mountain so the sun wasn’t shining down on that part of the hill (I’m still
getting used to the sun being to the north!). Occasionally there was a glimpse of some of
the mountains that I had seen yesterday on the drive to Milford Sound…stunning.
Eventually the trail popped around to the west side and
climbed above the treeline although there were still some 3-4 feet tall shrubs. The late morning sun felt good as the path
began to switchback up to the summit.
What a view…everywhere you looked!
There were a few boardwalks as the high alpine terrain was covered in
sensitive mosses and small ponds. At the
end of the trail was a view of Lake Marian, a tarn in a cirque…yes, some good
geology lessons to be had!
On the way up:
At the summit:
Interesting stunted trees at the top.
It was a fantastic place for lunch and then it was time to descend. There were a lot more hikers, some in large guided groups, coming up the trail so I was glad I had started early. I returned to Deer Flats, the campsite I stayed at two nights before and had a lovely afternoon in the sun and even jumped in the chilly river…more for trying to get clean than for enjoyment!
Betty 2.0 happy back at Deer Flats.
Sunset views.
I'm enjoying living vicariously through your blog Dave. See you this spring.
ReplyDeleteThanks Terry...in the next post you'll see I finally get in the sky with my paraglider!
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