Day 118: Royal Hut to Camp Stream Hut (2339-2354)

Monday, March 27

It rained most of the night and continued all morning. Karolina and Noemie left a little after 8. They wanted to try to make it to Lake Tekapo.

David, Jenny and Jeremy left a little before 10. Lauren, Sam and I weren't in a hurry. This hut was supposed to be nicer than Camp Stream Hut. I'd heard it was mice-infested and it wouldn't take us long to get there. And according to the weather forecast we got when we were going around the Rangitata, the weather would stay the same or get better.

Sam, Lauren and I left at 11. The trail started with lots of Stream crossings, the norm on this leg. Because of the rain and clouds it was hard to see the trail markers, but with the three of us trying really hard to spot them we managed.

I started to get a really bad headache in the back of my head. I only ever get annoying pangs once in a blue moon so it was really weird. Lauren gave me a Tylenol when we stopped for a snack break and that helped a bit.

The trail started to incline to a river crossing and then it got a bit steeper to Stag Saddle - the high point of the TA! We did a little jog dance around the sign and took some photos. From the saddle there was an option to walk the ridge line or take an all-weather route. Since it was drizzly and cloudy we decided to take the all-weather route. We wouldn't be able to see the good views from the ridge line with the cloud cover.

The trail went downhill. We had to pay even more attention to the trail markers, but managed just fine. The sun and little patches of blue sky started to come out and I came to the realization that I might be in so much pain because of my rain pants. I had secured the extra waist elastic around my neck to keep them up. It seemed fine when I put them on, but once I removed it from my neck I almost instantly felt better.

We followed the river down the valley and made it to Camp Stream Hut. Karolina and Noemie had kept hiking, but Jenny, David and Jeremy were there. The hut had six bunks, but it was really cramped so Sam and Lauren set up their tent. I realized my air mattress wasn't perfectly patched when we camped at Potts River Carpark so I decided to stay in the hut.

There were big (maybe 5-gallon) jugs at the hut, so Jeremy had gone down to the river with one to get us all water. That was really nice because it was a bit of a walk from the hut back down to the river.

As I was setting up my bunk, Jeremy and David tried to start a fire in the cabin's stove but it wasn't venting at all and we quickly got smoked out. They started a fire outside in a fire pit instead so everyone could dry their socks. I tried to dry my pack cover and rain gear.

The six of us sat around the fire eating dinner and talking. David and Jenny are planning on going to Alaska later this year so we enjoyed talking about that.

Before it even got dark, mice started scurrying around the hut. It was probably going to be a fun night.

Once it got dark, I hung all my stuff, put in headphones and hoped for the best. Luckily we'd be in Lake Tekapo tomorrow if the mice happened to get into my food.