You’ll be walking on rocks without any grip. Make sure that your shoes have ample tread ( I love these). You can refill if you bring some kind of filter as you’ll be hiking along and crossing a waterfall, plus coming up to a lake. The ‘Black’ lake Things to Noteīe sure to bring along plenty of water and food for the trip. Everyone has to make their own call on what they think is safe and be honest with themselves about their abilities.Īs a commenter below noted, search and rescue is often volunteer-run and not always immediately available in sparsely-populated New Zealand, so only attempt this if you really know what you’re doing and have experience with route finding and rock scrambling. We should have followed the DOC’s advice, yet it’s hard to say I have any regrets given the views we had. In hindsight, we were pretty lucky to have seen anything at all, to have been able to find our way back down, and to not get rained on again. It didn’t sound like anyone else actually saw the view all the way to the sound who went on the same day. We were the last to attempt the route on the day, and as luck would have it, got a few moments of clarity as the fog parted. At that point I realized why it’s such a bad idea to go when the weather isn’t clear – not only could you lose the route coming down due to fog, but there’s really no point because you won’t see anything at the top. The cloud cover was too thick at the top. We decided to drive all the way to the end of the road and check out Milford Sound to let the weather clear up first, and I could see some blue sky peeking out of the clouds when we started the route in the afternoon.Įveryone coming down as we headed up reported that they couldn’t see anything. It had been raining on and off on the day that I went. This is sound advice, because if it does rain, the trail, which is already steep and slippery, would turn lethal. The online directions and the posted signs will warn to only attempt the hike on a clear day. Cables on the way Conditions to Look Out For I didn’t always use them since they’re so close to the rock and I had to bend so far down to hold on, but in some cases I did need them. Stick near them because in some cases you might be glad to have them there for assistance. Once you get to the top, there will be cables to hold onto to climb up and back down again. I also followed the route on my offline map. Instead I suggest looking for the orange arrows and poles, which will always steer you in the right direction. A few led me to an area that would have been a pretty steep climb down, which made me wonder why they were there at all. That said, I’d be careful of following them blindly coming down. On the rare occasion that it’s not, look for the rock cairns (stacks). I don’t know that you really need to be an ‘expert’ because at any given point, you can see where the next marker is. I’m not the most spatially aware person but this trail is pretty well-marked. I’ve done some hiking in the desert and route finding with a map and compass in Alaska. They really, really only want those who are fit and capable to attempt it. Plan on seeing these morbid signs over and over as you progress. The biggest issues will be getting off-trail and going at the wrong time. Since then, they’ve marked it better with more orange poles and triangles. Upon entering the hike, you’ll see signs warning you of the dangers and telling you that several people have died on the route – which is believable if one were to go off-trail on accident. Avalanche danger is very real there, but is it really an ‘expert route’? I heard a rock fall while I was there and understood why they say not to climb when there’s snow. It gets very steep on rocks that would turn slick if wet. In all honesty this route gets sketchy AF in certain places. It’s only 7km (4.3 miles) in length but it can take time due to the steepness of the route to get up to the Black Lake and the saddle thereafter. Gertrude Saddle is an out and back trail that starts flat and turns sharply upwards.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |