Day 98: Angelus Hut to Sabine Hut (7 km)

Tuesday, March 7

I woke up at 6 am and got everything ready to go in the dark. Even though I was ready to go at 7 I could see the rain and wind on the lake and didn't feel like hiking in it. With my schedule I could afford to take a whole or half day off somewhere and today had the worst weather forecast by far. It seemed like the best day to stay put. There was a group of 7 people from Perth, Australia that had arrived yesterday and was taking a zero day at the hut. We talked a bit, I wrote some blogs I was behind on and sat in my sleeping bag watching the weather hoping it would get better. It was chilly. Sometimes I could see my breath. 

Around noon 2 French TA hikers, John and Anthony, arrived at the hut. They were planning on making it to Sabine or West Sabine Hut today, where I had hoped to get to if I left Angelus Hut. They were really friendly, so I decided it made the most sense to leave with them. It should only take about 4 hours to get to Sabine Hut and Mary thought I could make it in these conditions. The forecast also had rain predicted for Saturday, so if I didn't hike in some rain today, I wasn't going to be able to avoid rain completely.

As they finished their lunch I packed everything up and left with them. Today I had my wool base layer on under my rain pants and coat. I've been carrying it for the entire hike and this was the first time I felt like it was cold enough to use it. I also pulled out my bright pink dish washing gloves. I had a pair of rain gloves but I lost them during the scary river incident a few weeks ago. A new pair in Wellington would have cost more than a new hiking pole. A $5 pair of dishwashing gloves would do the trick. John and Anthony laughed at them, but I didn't care. They'd keep my hands from getting too white and prune-y.

It was cloudy and rainy the entire time, but the trail was fine. I followed Anthony and John to begin with, but then John and I went ahead on the rock scrambling. When we hit the tree line John got ahead of me, but once we hit the trees the trail was easy to follow so I wasn't worried. It was just extremely steep and slippery. I fell a few times, but nothing that hurt too bad. I might wake up with a bruise or two on my shins but I'd be ok.

As I got closer to Sabine Hut a little fan tail bird came out and chirped to me for a minute. It was really cute. A little after 4 I made it to the hut. It was a 30-plus bunk hut and it was packed. The stove was blazing and keeping the place nice and warm and there were just enough beds for the three of us. Thank goodness!

I went through everything in my pack and hung everything that was wet. Everything inside was dry so I just had to hang my rain cover, rain gear, backpack and shoes. As I got all my stuff settled how I wanted it, Anthony made it to the hut too.

There were so many people in the hut it was a little overwhelming so I stayed in my bed about as much as I stayed in the common area. As it got closer to dinner I grabbed my belongings as they dried and made dinner. I talked with a nice farm animal vet from the U.K. and kept grabbing things as they dried. Before long it was time for bed. I watched a few West Wing episodes and went to sleep. Even though the bunks were full I slept surprising well!

This is the view from Angelus Hut. I couldn't even see the top of the mountain most of the day it was so cloudy.  

Looking down on Lake Rotoroa.  

Sabine Hut. It's located on Lake Rotoroa.