Date: December 10-11, 2023
Location: Lake Hāwea, Hāwea Conservation Park, Otago, New Zealand
Total Trip Distance: 13.4 mi / 21.56 km
Total Elevation Gain: 5,908 ft / 1800 m
Trip Duration: 2 days
Team: Solo
Field Notes: Pakituhi Hut is easily reached in about 2-3 hours from the road by way of a beautiful and steep ridgeline. Breast Hill and Breast Peak are easily climbed in about an hour or so from the hut. There is no water en route except for at the hut, which can apparently run dry in the heat of summer. The views from the summits are fantastic.
Rating: Hiking, on trail
Spring weather has been in full effect in Otago. The last week has been wet and very windy. I monitor the weather daily as I had hopes of trying to climb the West Ridge of Fog Peak before the route goes out of condition for the season, but nature had other plans.
On Sunday I finished work quite early and the weather was absolutely perfect. My original plan was to sleep in and do a day mission on Monday, but I couldn't pass up on a perfectly calm and clear afternoon.
Do I go for Fog Peak...? I sat with the idea and decided against it as I had confliciting weather reports. I look at two major sites for weather in the national parks - Metservice and NIWA. I find the latter to be more accurate.
Either way, I had wanted to spend a night in Pakituhi hut while I was in Hawea as it's only a five minute drive from my house! I quickly packed up my gear, fit it all into my 22-liter pack and got underway.
The DOC sign for Pakituhi hut says four to five hours to reach the hut. That felt absurd for a mere 950 meter / 5 km climb. I was able to reach the hut in two hours flat and the two elderly women I met in the hut (probably in their 60's) took three hours.
The climb is absolutely beautiful the whole way. The trail climbs up through switchbacks for the first 350 meters until it gains a spur. From here it climbs steeply up to meet the col between Breast Hill and Breast Peak. The views of the ridgelinges coming off of Breast Hill almost reminded me of something you'd see in Hawaii.
When I arrived at the hut I poked my head in two greet the two Kiwi women. I saw both of the women were wearing toe socks and that obviously got me stoked as I love a good pair of toe socks! I was telling them how much I loved my toe spreaders - Yoga Toes. I'm actually wearing them right now as I write this. My little sister used to eat me alive for wearing toe socks, but I'll tell ya...it's a thing ;)
As I unpacked I realized I forgot my stove. Classic. The one time I didn't check my gearlist. Thankfully the Kiwi women were more than happy to to let me use their Jetboil. I cooked dinner and talked with a Swiss/American woman who joined the hut soon after me.
Spontaneously, I decided to go up Breast Peak for sunset. It was an absolutely perfect night and one I did not want to waste. I grabbed my puffy and made the dash up to the peak. An hour later I sat alone atop the mountain in the dead silence of evening. It was a sensational sunset and Tititea / Mount Aspiring towered above the landscape. What a mountain.
The sun dipped below the horizon and I trotted back to the hut for a nights rest.
I set my alarm for 5 am to hit Breast Hill for sunrise. By 5:15 I was out the door and following the track through golden tussock. The sun came up out of the east and the wind came up over the north. I continued to follow the ridgeline until I stood atop Breast Hill about an hour since leaving the hut. More stunning views over the Makarora and I could even spot Mount White from just a few days ago.
To get out of the wind, I hid behind a big rock and snacked on some venison salami, goat cheese, and crackers before wandering back to the hut for breakfast.
It had been a good trip and I was looking forward to getting back down to my car early so I could have the entire day to relax. I bid the women farewell and left Pakituhi Hut around 9 am. I made my way down the ridge in a stiff breeze, passing a hiker doing the Te Araroa heading for Stodys Hut.
Less than ten minutes from my car I saw a hiker heading up through the switchbacks. "Heyyaa!" he called out from below. Although we weren't close yet, I could feel his energy. He was stoked on life. It immediately drew me in. As he got closer I stepped just off the track to allow him to pass by and have a chat. His name was Brin and he was doing the TA as well.
It was nine o clock on a Monday morning and Brin was in the zone. I began to ask him about his experience on the Te Araroa trail which ultimately led to talking about thru-hiking. I shared my experience doing the John Muir Trail when I was around twenty and how it still is possibly the most transformative experience of my life. Brin spoke of things that stirred emotions in my soul - daily life on trail, simplicity, unbridled connection with nature, new relationships, and mainly - the openness, mentally and emotionally, that comes when one sheds that cloak they have been wearing for so long.
It was obvious that Brin wasn't chasing anything. He wasn't on the trail to "find himself." He wasn't running from anything. Brin was here and now, open to whatever life presented to him, with no expectations or preferences, and enjoying it all along the way. That is freedom.
That short conversation left quite an impact on me. What is crazy (but not crazy as this is how life goes), is that I was thinking about these things on my way down the ridge. Brin was the one to bring it full circle. I'm not even sure Brin was real... was I hallucinating?
Over the last few years I have observed myself in a very particular routine. To be clear, I love my life. However, it is so easy to find oneself constantly optimizing for comfort. Comfort is very dangerous. Deep down, I have had a calling to go do certain things, to have a massive shakeup. I have delayed some of these decisions due to liimiting beliefs around money, work, and mainly my health. Comfort.
This trip was special, but even more special was that encounter with Brin. Because of this, I have aleady set new plans on motion.
Happy days...
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