December 13

Milford Track: Clinton Forks to Mintaro Hut

When I got up at 6:30 AM, it was cloudy but not raining. Some of the mountains were now visible. I fixed the same breakfast as at Mt. Cook's Mueller Hut: fruity porridge with an orange and muesli bar and coffee. This would be my standard breakfast on all my overnight walks.

I started walking at 8:30. Since there was only light rain occasionally today (better than expected), I could take a lot of pictures. When it was raining, I used my lens hood to try to keep the lens dry on my main Nikon camera. I had fast film in my cameras because of the clouds and dark forests along this track.

The forest was lush, with moss hanging from everything. The ferns were gigantic. The path entered a broad, deep glacial valley, Clinton Canyon, with plenty of open views, alternating with rainforest. High waterfalls were everywhere along the valley, with water rushing down from the snowy slopes above the mists. There were enough clouds to create a mysterious atmosphere, but not so many that the views were badly obscured. MacKinnon Pass was visible ahead, at the end of the valley. We would cross it tomorrow. At one point, the trail passed through a knee-deep swampy area. I changed to my sandals to cross this, although the water was frigid.

The trail was mostly quite easy and level, following the valley floor. Along the way, I made a small detour to see Hidden Lake, with a waterfall plunging into it. I met Roy here, who was tramping with his son. I had met them earlier at the Te Anau YHA.

At one point I stopped to take a picture of a waterfall, resting my camera on the sign pointing to it to be sure it was steady. A while later, I entered an open field, and saw a good view ahead because the clouds were breaking up. I stopped to take a picture, but found that the film wouldn't wind. I noticed that the winder was loose because the nut goes around the shutter release button that holds it down had fallen off. This had happened to me once before, when I was hiking in the Smokies a week before going to Nepal last year. That time I was able to fix it somewhat with duct tape and find a replacement in Knoxville, before my trip to Nepal. This time, I thought I might be stuck, at least until I got to Queenstown, assuming someone there repairs cameras.

I didn't see the little black nut on the ground, but it could have fallen off earlier, so I backtracked to a muddy spot where I had slipped earlier, and may have knocked it off. I didn't see it there, so I went back to the place where I took a picture of the waterfall. I was very lucky: just below the spot where I rested the camera, I found the nut. Then I continued along the trail, walking faster to make up for the half hour or so I had lost. I caught up with some people who were looking for an animal in the woods that was grunting like a pig. It turned out to be a flightless bird called a weka.

I stopped for lunch at the "Bus Stop", a shelter built for people to wait in if the adjacent stream too deep to be crossed safely. This is the stream we had been warned about, but it was no problem today. The trail passed through a couple of avalanche zones, where stopping is not allowed. We had been warned about them last night, and there was still plenty of snow above the valley. The clouds had lifted pretty will by now, and the views ahead toward MacKinnon Pass were becoming impressive.

We passed the guided tour lodge, and then started to climb through dense forest, until we arrived at the crystal-clear Mintaro Lake, next to Mintaro Shelter, where I would spend the night. Most people were already here (I took a lot of pictures), but I found plenty of space upstairs, and put a mattress on the floor there. This lodge also had a drying room, but it was less important today. Some people's shoes were soaked from the swampy area.

It was only 3 PM, and we had plenty of daylight, so I decided to go up to MacKinnon Pass today to see if there was a view. A sign outside said it was only an hour ahead. This estimate turned out to be about right with no pack, but rather optimistic otherwise. There were a lot of switchbacks (called zigzags in New Zealand) on the climb to the pass. There were plenty of daisies near the top, and many other wildflowers. It was still cloudy, and I didn't expect much of a view, but I was surprised. When I got to the top, I found that the other side of the pass was much clearer, and the best views were in that direction anyway.

There were numerous tarns (small lakes) at the pass, and a couple of keas. A monument marked the pass as well. Occasional clouds passed over, totally eliminating the visibility temporarily, but eventually I had a view in every direction. An airstrip could be seen ahead down in the valley, but there were few other signs of civilization. This was definitely an isolated spot. After about 40 minutes on top, it clouded up again, and I headed down, passing a few other people hoping to get a view on top. They may have, because the sun came out briefly for the first time in days. I reached the shelter at 5:30 and rested a while before dinner. The kitchen would be less crowded later.

After dinner, the hut warden had a nature walk. By then, at 8 PM, the sky was mostly clear and the sun was shining brightly, although much of the valley was in shadows. We started on the helipad next to the hut, and were told about the history of the valley, and about the wildlife here. People were warned about the keas, which are mischievous and will peck on anything they can reach, so it was not a good idea to leave boots outside on the porch as many had done, or to hang anything too low or close to a railing.

There were originally no mammals until people came. Rabbits were introduced for food, and weasels were brought in to eat the rabbits, but they ate the birds too. Rats, opossums, and other animals came as well and ate more birds. Eventually many of the odd flightless birds here were extinct. The ranger pointed out the mountain next to the pass, Mt. Balloon, and said it was named that because MacKinnon, and early explorer, thought it looked like a balloon, though it is hard to imagine why. The ranger didn't like this name, and suggested a Maori name he liked better, though it was much less memorable.

The nature walk continued down toward the lake. We chewed on some peppery tasting leaves, which made your tongue hot and kind of numb. We walked out along the clear stream flowing into the lake, through a lush grassy field which was still in the sun, and the ranger told some stories. He said that until recently, there was too much snow on the pass to cross, and that early in the season, it is not unusual to make the crossing in helicopters. He also told of a time when people had to be flown in by helicopters from the previous hut, because of some floods or something, and dropped off by the river here. It was tricky, because the river was deep and wide, and there was no dry place to actually land. Later, they built the helipad next to the hut, and no longer had such problems.

The ranger said that he would be getting up early tomorrow and taking a dip in the stream here. You would have to be pretty hearty to enjoy the freezing cold water, I think. We were told that the only thing accurate about the sign outside saying it was an hour to MacKinnon Pass was that it pointed in the right direction, and that we could expect the climb to take perhaps twice that tomorrow.

Copyright Scott A. Yost, 1996. All rights reserved.