The Milford Track Day Three: MacKinnon Pass

02 April 2016

Thank everything Holy that day is over.  I don’t think I have ever put my body and my mind through that sort of ordeal before. It took everything I had to get through it.  500 m up and over a 1000 m down, 10 hours in the wet and the  . . . ok it wasn’t cold or windy, but it was wet.

As I mentioned at the close of my last post, I was very anxious about this day.  Not so much about the climb, but the down hill (not a surprise to anyone who has followed my  blog even casually).  So I started out early again, a bit early than the previous morning, at 7:30 am.  There was roughly 15 minutes of flat and then I crossed the Clinton and the die was cast (that’s a Julius crossing the Rubicon reference to those who didn’t pick it up – a classical education here folks!).

Looking down from half way Up

The track from here was a steady zig-zag up the side of the gorge at the very end of the Clinton Valley (I don’t know if it is really called that, but I will).  It wasn’t extremely steep, but it was a good wee hike.  It took me, I suppose about 3 hours to reach the top.  The climb starts in the same bush that have been walking through for roughly two days, but thinned out as I climbed higher and higher, up into an alpine zone where only low scrubs and grass remain.  I was passed by most everyone who was on my walk with me.  Closer to the top I decided to stop for a drink and a bite to eat.  It was drizzly, misty weather, but no wind to speak of, so quite tolerable.  But the thin air was starting to get to me.  I was literally gulping down the air, sucking it in as deeply as I could, but never really getting enough.

Head of the Clinton Valley

The view down the valley however was fantastic.

Selfie at Quintin Memorial

Finally I came around a bend and could see the first sign I was nearly at the top.  The Quintin Memorial.  Which is a large Celtic style pyre with a cross on it in memorial to Quintin MacKinnon.  A number of the people walking the track at the same time at me waited for me at the memorial and cheered as I approached.  It felt good, but I wasn’t joyous at reaching this landmark.  I was weary and worried about the rest of the day still to come.

There are some truly amazing views to be seen from the Quintin Memorial.  I didn’t see any of them.

I spent about 10 minutes at Quintin Memorial, then pressed on as the rain picked up to get up and over the summit of the pass, about another 20 minutes of walking.  There is a shelter just past the summit (called the MacKinnon Shelter) which is well enclosed and has a cooker to heat water for a hot drink.  There is a long drop toilet there which they call “the loo with a view” – it has a window on the door so you can sit and enjoy the scenery.  But there was nothing to see today.

The Highest Point

Quintin Memorial

Looking down into Fiordland from Quintin Memorial

I didn’t stay long.  Just a rest and a bite to eat.  I didn’t have a hot drink which maybe I should have.  But I was anxious to get going.  As long as the climb was, it hadn’t covered much distance and I knew there was 1000 m of down to go.  I steeled myself and set off again.

At first I didn’t think it was all that bad.  The track was ok, not to slick or steep or rocky.  But that quickly changed.  Never really got slick, my boots were grippy enough I think.  But there was a lot of crossing waterfalls which flowed over the track, and the mist meant I couldn’t see how far down I was.  Just constantly walking and walking and climbing down rocks.  My glasses were always partially misted up and wet, which made it difficult to really place my feet well; it messes with my depth perception.

The False Valley Floor

Finally I could see the valley floor.  Well what I thought of as the valley floor.  But I wasn’t even half way down.  The half-way down mark was a shelter called the Cascades Shelter, and i was confident that I was close to it when i reached this valley floor and the river flowing along it.  However my joy was soon turned to misery when a guide from one of the guided walking groups went passed and I asked her how far to the shelter.

“About 40 mins”

I was crushed.  It had taken about 2 hours (my watch had stopped so not too sure on time) and it was still over an hour away (40 mins for her would be 70 for me).  Then she made the mistake of trying to cheer me along:

“You are doing really well!” she exclaimed with false confidence in her encouraging statement

“No I’m not!” I spat back “I’m barely ‘doing‘!  ‘doing well‘ would be me at the hut by now.”

“No” she replied, not picking up on my pessimism, “there have been walkers who only got to the MacKinnon shelter after 2 pm and we have had to helicopter them out because they would never have made it to the hut by dark”.  Thinking this would brighten my day and make the whole wet miserable experience better.

I starred at her for a long moment then calmly replied “You mean if I had stayed up there until two, they would have flown me out of here!?”

The poor lady, she was only trying to be nice.

Anyway, I kept on going and soon came to the Cascades.  They are a series on waterfalls (surprise!) which the track runs along side.  They have built a long series of stairs as persumably it is far to steep to climb down normally.  The stairs are steep enough.  Any other time (i.e. when I haven’t been walking for 5½ hours already) this would have been an amazing part of the track for me.  But for now it was just another obstacle to overcome.

Cascades 1

Cascades 2

I finally reached the Cascade shelter at the bottom of the Cascades and had some more food and water.  I wasn’t in a good frame of mind, thinking I was only half way down (if they hadn’t lied about that).  So pushed on as soon as I could.

The track was more of the same, but now a bit muddier.  I was getting tired and clumsy so was misplacing my feet more often and getting angry and frustrated.  At one point i figured I was well alone, everyone I knew on the track was in front of me.  So I let out a long and expletive riddled synopsis of what I thought of the track, walking down hill, rocks, and my fat useless self who couldn’t handle it.  Then turned around to see a slightly startled Japanese woman looking at me like I was nuts.

So much for being alone.

The despair on the track is a weird thing.  I could go from feeling good and optimistic to near tears with frustration within seconds.  It really was a battle of the mind more than with my body.  My body, besides being tired, was OK.  My feet were feeling good (besides blisters), and my knees and muscles weren’t bothering me.  So I just had to get over the mental barriers and keep walking.

About 30 mins after that episode another guided group passed me.  This time the guide was quite useful. She informed me that just up ahead was a waterfall called Lindsey Falls, and then there were 3 zig-zags to go and I would be at the junction where the track turns off to the shelter on the way to Sutherland Falls or along to Dumpling Hut, my destination for the day.  I asked how long to the junction and she paused and look me over.  “Ok, how long for you?” I asked.

About “5 minutes, but it’ll take you about 20”

“What!  are you going to jump?”

“No, I just do this a lot” she replied, then (and I am not joking here) ran off over the rocks and away.

Lindsey Falls

Well, true to her word, one waterfall and three zig-zags later I was at the junction.  I turned off to the shelter for a rest.  I had wanted to go to Sutherland Falls since I planned this trip, but when I got to the shelter it was 4 pm.  It was marked as 1½ hours return walk to the falls, and I didn’t have time.  That would have me at the hut after 7 pm, and after a day of looking at water falling over rocks, the enticement of seeing more water falling over rocks just wasn’t doing it for me.

Closest I got to Sutherland Falls

Dumpling hut was set down for 1 hour from the junction, but i’m sure it took me 1½ hours, and I was just dragging my feet.  Some of the ladies had caught up with me (they had gone to the falls) and kind of walked with me, spurring me on with lies about the hut being closer than it was.  I was really thinking this hut didn’t exist, just a mean joke that DoC was playing on me when it finally appeared, as they do.  I couldn’t even cheer.

I got into the huts and collapsed into a chair by some of the guys.  I was sore and exhausted, no energy to really even get out my wet clothes.  And no appetite to eat.  I could barely get through an O.S.M bar.

When I finally got into dry clothes and forced myself to nibble a bit more I was feeling no better.  I went into the room where a bunch of the guys I had gotten to know were hanging out near the fireplace.   I sat on the floor beside them (there was no chair available) and thinking that wasn’t half bad, lay down in the corner, with my O.S.M. bar and a bottle of water. I was there a minute when Peter (an Australian buy who was luckily watching out for me, and has medical training) looked over and asked if I was alright.  I kind of vaguely waved a reply, which he wasn’t satisfied with so came over, ordered me to sit up and took my pulse:

(affect a bad Australian accent) “Crickey jingo mate! Your heart’s going going faster than a jackroo in a was-a-doo hole” (or something equally nonsensical I am sure ) 

I was actually crying by this stage. He declared I was dehydrated and made me sip water and eat and keep a close eye on me for the next half hour or so until I was starting to make fun of him again.  He sent me off to bed early (he was in the bed next to mine, he had been saving me a bed the past couple of nights so that I didn’t have to deal with a top bunk, he is a great bloke).  And I didn’t have any dinner that night, the DoC ranger agreeing that rest and water was more important than food.  And I probably wouldn’t have kept it down if I wanted to.  I was quite embarrassed about the whole thing actually.

He recommended I lose another 30 kg before I try this again

-Word!-

Before I went to bed some of the Korean guys who had noticed me limping came over and put some patches on my knees, saying they would feel good in the morning.  I couldn’t argue.

Bed felt great, I was out like a light.

It Exists