TA Day 20
TA Day 20: Tuesday 7 January 2025
Lake Hawea - Stodys Hut
We knew we had a big climb in front of us today, but first there would be about 7 km of walking along the lake. So the idea we had was that we would get up early, walk the 7 km and also most of the climb before it would get too hot. Then rest in the hut that was a few kms from the top before continuing.
Well... First of all we went to bed way too late, so we didn't get up that early, we got up like 6 o'clock and left a quarter to seven. Then Kim's parents wanted to talk, so we tried to squeeze it in during those easy first 7 km. So far so good, except the call went on for quite long, and we also stopped for breakfast while on phone with them. But they are planning to come here so it was an important call.
Then it was time to start the climb. It was tough, but we got the first 300 m of elevation or so in shade, so that was good. But then it got hot, and tough. We were also almost out of water so we couldn't refill until we reached the hut.
We pushed on another 550-600 m of elevation, and reached the hut. And drank water - a lot! It was such a relief. And we laid down to have a rest. The first two hours we didn't get much rest (sleep) because there were some hikers coming and going. Two SOBOs, and two NOBOs - a daughter who came there with her mum who was just joined for the day, and then later her father. The daughter and father were the ones doing the TA.
Then we slept a little bit, maybe 1-2 hours.
Once we woke up it was cloudy and windy. We started to walk towards the top, and the views were still amazing despite the clouds. The rain was in the air though, and it was hard to know if it was time to put rain gear on or not. Kim also felt a bit dizzy and nauseous, with some stomach aches. This feeling has come and gone over the past few days which has been annoying, and hard to know why it happens.
We reached the top of Breast Hill, at 1577 m.a.s.l., a new elevation record on the hike, and took some photos up at the top. Then we followed a 4WD-track down which was nice, and so the rain came. Wind and rain up at high elevation isn't the nicest, so we were happy that we followed a proper track and not just a shady trail.
Finally we reached Stodys hut and the 4WD-track disappeared, and most of the rain too. In the very dark hut there were some other hikers, it was impossible to see them in the little tin hut, we could just hear them as we said hello.
We found a small, fairly flat area where we pitched our tent and had a really nice dinner.
Today's:
Distance: 22.94 km
Ascent: 1635 m
Descent: 946 m
Tent nights: 12/20
Weather: Sunny and hot in the morning, windy and rainy in the afternoon and evening
