From Hut Hiking to Ridge Hiking

So, without much thought, today I set out for the Mt. Robert Circuit. It started quite early; I woke up around 6:45. I'm really glad I left that early because there was a roadblock, and it added about 40 minutes to my drive. Of course, it was again the most terrible gravel road leading to the trailhead parking lot. After I packed my snacks and everything I needed, I set off with the goal of reaching the bushline hut, which I expected to take about 2 hours. Don’t ask me how, but I got there in about an hour. In between, I felt like my life was flashing before my eyes; it was a constant uphill climb the whole time. Okay, yes, there were insane views along the way, which made it absolutely worth it. But it was absolutely humbling because at some point, you could see the markers for how much further you had to climb up that huge mountain. At that moment, I didn’t know that, for some reason, that wouldn't be enough for me, and I would keep going much further. I eventually arrived at the hut, from where you couldn’t see the lakes, but you could see the mountains. Oh yes, the sun was shining; it was a perfect day for hiking in just a t-shirt. Then I had my first snack break, and after a chat with chat GPT, I decided to keep going, all the way to the ridge—do you say it that way? No idea. At first, it was a steep climb, and I was really thinking, come on, Carina, this should be enough, right? But no, it wasn’t, so I continued, and at some point, it just became a straight path through bushes with barely any views. Then on the right, there was something like a rockslide? It went steeply down, and there was a view of the lake, and being that high was breathtakingly beautiful. But I was determined to reach the first viewpoint on the ridge; I should note I had never done a ridge hike before. So now there were warning signs: watch out, alpine zone, etc. I thought, it’ll be fine; I don’t want to go too far. Upon reaching the viewpoint, after nearly collapsing from the steep ascent, I somehow still wanted more, so I trekked up all the way for photos. The view was absolutely insane; I thought, wow, maybe the most beautiful hike I've done so far. Okay, so then it flattened out a bit, and I had a view of the mountains I hadn’t seen before—it was pure madness; I couldn’t believe my eyes. From this point on, though, it became noticeably more dangerous to walk, and I didn’t have the right gear for it. Moreover, it was still 4 hours to the next hut where one could stay overnight, but I hadn’t reserved anything. So I went as far as I felt safe, and then it was time for me to head back. I enjoyed the view and fully absorbed the absolute silence except for a few animals and the peace—really soaked it in, lol. Then I thought, come on, feeling a bit adventurous, I’d take a different way back. Well, I found myself in the middle of a forest with no markings, nothing. It got a bit ridiculous, so I turned around, being completely lost, which made me waste a lot of time, and then I retraced my steps down the original path to my car.

After desperately needing to change, I continued driving for about 2-3 hours with a short gas stop, where I found the cheapest gas price so far, a dream, and additionally, a beautiful sunset at the harbor of Motueka.

Now I’m at the camp for today, and tomorrow is another packed day.