Gertrude Saddle

Hey everyone,

This blog post is about two weeks old and I apologize.

Rowan, Jamie, the two wwoofers from Boston– Alice and Zoe– and I went on the Gertrude Saddle hike. It is one that we recommend when working lodge reception so it was about time we experienced it for ourselves so we can describe it to our guests better. Gertrude Saddle is just over the other side of Homer tunnel and down the hill for a short drive. When we got there, there was a Department of Conservation (D.O.C.) employee waiting in the parking lot. She was stopping people like us who were about to start the hike. She asked us if we were headed all the way to the top. We told her we were and she showed us some pictures of the melting snow that you have to cross over to get to the top. She said that it had been melting for many days (as it was around the time we had almost an entire month of warm, sunny weather) and had been avalanching lately (about a day or two ago). She said if we didn't have any experience traveling on snow that we should consider stopping before we got to it. We said we could consider it, thanked her, and left.

The hike begins with about an hour's trek through a beautiful green valley with bushes, rocks, grass, and mountains on both sides. It is nice because about half the hike is flat and easy (so long as you don't lose the trail a lot). It is amazing that even though many people hike the trail daily, you can still lose it. I think the more people hiking on the trail, the more false trails are made as people make wrong turns.


At the end of the flat part, you reach a couple waterfalls that cascade down into this basin that seems like it was made by the ground opening up into a crumbled mass of rocks and crust.


I liked this picture because it looks like Jamie decided to leave the group and go hiking on his own and everyone is like, "No Jamie, we love you. Please stay and hike with us! :(" But actually, he was just maneuvering himself to get a better picture... er something.


This is the gang hanging out. We spent a while taking pictures here and then Zoe and Alice decided to turn back because the steep part got pretty intimidating here. We later realized that we were well right of the tail and that the trail ascent was pretty well broken and much easier to climb.


This is a picture taken from above that climb looking back at Milford Rd. in the distance.


On our way up, we passed a blond, Dutch couple on their way down. We asked them about how bad the snow situation we were warned about was. They said that they just avoided the snow and climbed on the rocks around it. That is what I ended up doing, but I took a picture of Rowan and Jamie giving the snow travel a try. They eventually gave up and went my way on the rocks.


About 2/3 of the way up, there is this beautiful lake with emerald water. It is poorly named, Black Lake. We went swimming in it, but it was so cold that we could only stay in the water for as long as it took to quickly get out of the water.


In this picture, we are not actually walking. We are just looking like we are walking. Can you tell?


This picture is also staged. Since the there is little in this picture to give you perspective cues, you can make it look steeper than it really is. That one Batman show did that too, remember? BAM!!!


And this is what it looked like when we were walking normally.

These rocks vary in steepness and are very smooth from glaciers sliding over them for thousands of years. At the top, you could see scrape marks from the glaciers.


And here we are at the top. The view was beyond words. This picture probably represents about a 12th of how astoundingly beautiful the view is at the top of Gertrude Saddle. I took a 360-degree movie of the view from up there, but can't put it on this blog because of my megabite restrictions.


If you look in the far distance, you can see Milford Sound. If you look really really hard, you can see Sterling Falls. The sound was so far away that the atmospheric perspective made the water look like unmoving drifts of sand.


Here is a zoomed-in view of Milford Sound. Can you see where the ocean meets the sky? You can see a very large cruise boat sailing out of the sound. It was really cool because we don't get huge cruise liners of this type very often so it was really odd to see it from this far away. Side note: I looked at a map and, as far as I can tell, the sound was 10km from where we were. I was surprised since it seemed so much further away.

Here are some potential Facebook profile pictures:
The cliff was so steep. It would have been a great place to go hang gliding. I was not daring enough to get close enough to judge the height, but I would have guessed it would be around a thousand feet high.



This is the view of Black Lake from the top of the saddle.


Here is an artistic photo Rowan took of us trekkers on our way back down. Our shadows were long at the end of the day and we still had about a two-hour hike to go.


Another great picture Rowan took of our walk back down Gertrude Valley. The sun was low and our day was long and tiring. We were ready to return home for some much needed peanut butter and honey sandwiches.

I think it was about a 5 hour return hike with a leisurely stop on top for photos and lunch, and a stop at Black Lake for a swim and drying out on the warm rocks.

New Zealand Sandflies

If you have ever spent more than two minutes outside in the summer sun while vacationing in the south island of New Zealand, you probably have become well acquainted with the sandfly. Having spent almost three months living in Milford Sound, I can say without any doubt that these little fellas have become a close part of my daily life. That is to say, they are the reason why I try to minimize my time outside during the day, and why, when I am outside, I am constantly speed-walking in circles while flailing my arms spastically. Here is some general information about the sandfly:


Introduction
The sandfly (“namu” in Māori) is the regional common name New Zealanders refer to two species of black fly: the New Zealand blackfly (Austrosimulium australense), and the West Coast blackfly (Austrosimulium ungulatum). At only 2–3mm in length, they look the same to the naked eye. The common name, “sandfly,” originates back to the voyages of Captain Cook between 1769 and 1775. The earliest known written reference of the name dates back to March, 1773 at which time, Captain Cook’s ship, Resolution, was anchored in Dusky Bay on the south-western tip of New Zealand. During their six-week stay, Cook and his men suffered miserably. The common name, “black fly” is thought to have North American origin.


Life-cycle
Sandflies, like mosquitoes and other flies, are members of the order Diptera, and belong to the family Simuliidae. Like mosquitoes, sandfly females bite because they need blood to get sufficient nutrition to produce eggs. Males are vegetarians. Also like mosquitoes, sandflies reproduce in water, which is why their numbers are worse near beaches, and at the edges of lakes, rivers, or swamps. There is one main difference between sandflies and mosquitoes, though: sandfly larvae require swift flowing water to survive because of how they eat. Sandfly eggs are laid on rocks or plants near or below the water surface. When they hatch, the larvae form masses fixed to the surfaces of submerged stones. They feed by catching morsels of organic particles, algae, and bacteria as it flows by. Generally, the duration of development from egg to fly averages six to seven weeks, of which 12 days are spent as the pupa.



Sandfly Behavior
Light intensity is the most important factor for sandflies to detect their hosts. Consequently, their numbers diminish as the sun goes down, and they nearly vanish at night. They seldom go indoors unless the room is lit well enough. Sandflies bite from dawn to dusk, but seldom at the same frequency throughout the day. During the day, morning peak numbers come from young sandflies that have recently emerged from pupae, and the higher evening numbers are often the result of sandflies taking blood after laying eggs earlier in the day. Higher activity can be conjured after a heavy rainstorm has depressed biting. Sandflies mostly thrive during overcast, calm, humid days. On these types of days, sandfly numbers are consistently high all day long. Their activity is high before rain, but is suppressed by strong wind. A sudden change in atmospheric pressure, like that seen before a thunderstorm, provokes increased biting activity.


Biting
Sandflies don’t suck blood like mosquitoes do. Instead, they use teeth to cut into the skin and feed from the bleeding well they create. The saliva of sandflies contains anticoagulants which are injected into the wound to keep the blood flowing. It also contains agglutinins that help prepare the blood for digestion in the fly’s stomach. It is these contents of the saliva that cause an allergic reaction in the skin characterized by itching, redness, pain, and swelling. This reaction is made worse by rubbing and scratching, but can be somewhat relieved with antihisamine cream or calamine lotion. Although the bites are quite annoying (and far more irritating than mosquito bites), they don’t do any long lasting damage or transmit disease in humans.


Detecting their Hosts
Sandflies find their hosts by detecting their profile, breath, odor, movement, size, shape, shininess, and temperature. The color and shininess of skin and clothing attract sandflies. Black, blue, and red seem to be the most attractive followed by brown, purple, maroon, and dark green. White, yellow, mid-grey, and green are not as attractive. Matt surfaces are more attractive than glossy ones. The fact that sandflies appeal to shaded parts of a host is a response to their attraction to dark colors. Smell is secondary to sight in detecting a potential host’s location. Carbon dioxide, octenol and other compounds that make up sweat and body odor appeal to sandflies.

I’ve noticed that sandflies love to bite you on your hands, arms, ankles, and feet. They particularly focus on the worse areas to be bitten: knuckles, wrists, elbows, and on the underside of your forearms. Bites in such areas are constantly irritated as you move throughout your day. These areas work out well for them because there is minimal hair to climb on, which gives away their presence (swat!). It is also possible that you give off more chemical indicators in these areas.


Preventing Bites
The best way to prevent bites is to cover up. Insect repellent works as well, but don’t stop biting completely. I find that DEET works over botanical repellents.

A sign in a shop window in Karamea on the West Coast of New Zealand explains another great sandfly remedy:

Purchase a bottle of good quality whisky.
Rub liberally on arms and legs.
Dust sand on skin whilst still wet with whisky.
The sandflies come along, get drunk, and throw rocks at each other.

It’s worth a shot!

Milford Helicopters Ltd. Grand Tour

I would like to announce that after my experience yesterday, I am going to change careers and become a helicopter pilot instead of whatever the hell I was originally planning; I can't remember.

Yesterday was our third day of awesome, sunny weather and, since the kayaking trip I wanted to go on was full again, I decided to try my luck in helicopter flights. The benefits of working at Milford Lodge continues: since I sell tickets for helicopter flights, it is Milford Helicopters Ltd.'s best interest to take me up in one (or many???) of their flights so that I can sell their products better. I am able to do this for free if I wait for a spare seat in a flight that is already leaving. Some people just call and hope that they call them back when there is a spare seat but, due to our cell phone-less situation here in Fiordland National Park, I decided I would be better off waiting there. I also thought it would be cool to talk to the pilots if I got a chance. So, I packed my backpack with food, water, and a book and was prepared to wait several hours before the opportunity arose to hop on a flight.

There was a group of 5 Australian people who just finished walking the Milford Track, and I was talking to one of them (I think her name was Julie) while they were waiting for their flight and I told her why I was there. She asked me whether I would drive them back to the lodge if they let me on their flight with them. I said, "hell yeah I will!" The helicopter we took, I gathered, is called a B2, but I don't know what company makes it. It seats 7 people tightly– thee in front, four in back– and the guy working at Milford Helicopters Ltd. was reluctant to let me go with them since it was potentially going to be so cramped. This is where befriending Julie came in handy. She convinced the rest of the group into letting me come along. Thanks Toyota Estima! You have already come in handy countless times and I haven't even owned you for a month yet!! So the Milford Helicopters Ltd. guy let me go along as long as I sat in the middle so the paying customers got the window seats. I told him I would hang from the heli ski by one arm if it got me on the flight (actually, I didn't tell him that. I just came up with that now). I enthusiastically agreed to sit in the middle and the deal was complete.


This is the woman I sat next to; she sat between me and her husband. Before we took off, she warned me that she was afraid of flying and would probably nervously grab onto me several times throughout the flight. I assured her that it would be fine because I would be throwing up all over her anyway... (also kidding; I told her I wouldn't mind if she grabbed onto me). She surely kept to her word. As we were flying, the pilot would approach a mountain ridge and it would look like we were going to fly right into it, but he was really just following the terrain upward so that we would pop up over the top. The view of the other side would hit you and you would feel like you were going to roll over the top and drop down the other side like a roller coaster. It was then that she would tense up and grab her husband and my arms while inhaling through her teeth. But the pilot would just let us down lightly only to repeat the scary event at the next mountain ridge.


I realized that I didn't get any picture of Sutherland Falls proper, so I found this picture on the web. We flew over the falls, did an awesomely tight turn over Lake Quill (which freaked out the woman next to me), and plopped down right next to the falls, on the left bank.


We crawled over to an outlook (making sure not to get decapitated by the helicopter) to get a beautiful view of Lake Quill, the short river to the falls, and the surrounding mountains.


This is our helicopter, rotors still turning, waiting for us on the side of the mountain. Isn't it cute? It looks like it is smiling at us and wiggling its ears. Aw!


This is the crevasse from which the water plummets as it falls over Sutherland Falls.


Here I am posing in front of the beautiful mountain ranges seen from the falls. The pilot told us not to go too far that way or we would plummet to our dooms. I didn't.


Then we flew over to Mt. Tutoko and landed on a glacier. Mt. Tutoko is the tallest mountain in Fiordland National Park. Here I am posing in front of the peak of the mountain. Whenever I pose by myself in a photo, I never know what to do with my arms so I end up just letting them hang down awkwardly. Has anyone noticed that?!?


"Hey there, helicopter. Flying in the sky so fancy free."


"Hey there, helicopter. Why do all the pilots just pass you by? Could it be the way you fly or is it that you have no wings?"


"You're always sitting there at the most awkward times. So shed those dowdy feathers and fly - a little bit."

[Close eyes for Instrumental Interlude]

Fin

Climbing Mitre Peak

Hey All,

Last week Rowan and I decided to climb Mitre Peak as part of Rowan's 25th birthday. We expected good whether for two days which gave us enough time to stay the night on the mountain.

In this beautiful photo taken by Rowan, Mitre Peak is the big pointy one in the middle of the photo.



I also added this picture so you can get a better sense of depth. So, starting from the nearest point of the green mound, we climbed up and basically followed the ridge all the way to the summit.

Since the mountain is located on the other side of the sound, we had to kayak there. That is one perk locals have because normally tourists are not able to take out kayaks without booking a guided trip. We just tell them where we are going and off we go! I couldn't take any photos while kayaking because my hands were tied paddling, plus I was wearing a spray skirt, which prevents the ability to reach pockets (where cameras are kept). We kayaked to the base of Simbad valley (the U-shaped valley to the left of Mitre Peak in the photo above). On our way there, we came across some other locals on their way back from the mountain. They told us they had to turn back before reaching the summit because they didn't pack enough water with them. Mitre Peak doesn't have any water sources. Since you hike along the ridge the entire time, you don't pass any streams. It was a warning that we took seriously so Rowan and I each slammed an entire bottle of water and then refilled them from the Simbad river and treated them with iodine tablets before we took to the track. We also had to pull our two-person kayak into the bush to hide it from the tourists (since some of the guided trips stop there for lunch). We didn't want the tourists to find the secret trail.

Referring to the pictures above, this picture was taken from the top of the nearest green mound, probably 1.5 hours into the hike.


I brought my 85L backpack because it is the only one I have, but it is way too big for a one-night trip so I cinched it down so it was as small as possible. For food, we packed some bananas, apples, peanut butter and jelly/honey sandwiches, and some grapefruits that Rowan thought were oranges. We also brought a small stove to make tea. I had a total of 1.75L of water and Rowan had 1.5L. It wasn't enough!


Here's another pretty outlook looking back at the town of Milford from the mountain.


During the hike, we came across a question mark carved on a tree trunk. We thought it was funny so I took this picture of Rowan making a funny face next to it. What we didn't know was that it was a warning sign telling us to turn back. Since the trail we were following is not used very often, it gets overgrown by the fast-growing rainforest making the trail blend into its surroundings. You end up either following what you think is the trail but is actually either part of the forest that looks like the trail or a trail that someone before you made when they took a wrong turn. I can't tell you how many times we followed a trail only to have it dead end. This was one of those times and it really sucked because it was very steep and by the time we climbed down a muddy, wet, mossy, section, we realized we had to climb back up to find the trail again. We were probably set back 45 minutes trying to find the tail! Once we found the trail and compared what we had just endured with the correct route, it was pretty embarrassing.


This picture shows what we had just accidentally climbed down after the question mark. The correct route is along the ridge, but we veered to the left of it. You can see how steep it gets!


This picture is taken from where we camped for the night. Normally it won't have been a very good place to pitch a tent because it is really exposed to the wind, but we were blessed with a very very calm night. Our tent didn't flutter at all. It was sooooooo beautiful!


What a great place to use this tent for the first time! You can see what we had to climb the next day– curving around with the ridge to the right and then ending up on the peak in the distance.


This is what it looked like when we woke up at about 8:00am the next morning to start hiking toward the summit. There I am putting on my pants, meaning business.


Here Rowan is looking very serious. It is a good thing too. Any wrong move and you fall a very long way down!


Here's a good view of the ridge we needed to follow to get to the summit. Some parts were really steep and I must admit that the thought of turning back was always looming in my mind. We knew we had to race the weather that day and I was worried we would get caught in the rain that would make what normally would be catchy rocks slippery. The closer we got to the summit, the more the rock turned to loose, layered, shale. We had to continuously test our hand and foot holds before putting our entire weight on them.


This is a good picture looking back at what we had already climbed. Our tent was still pitched in that yellow-green patch in the lower left. If you click on the picture and look hard, you can see it as a light dot in the middle of it. It gives you a sense of scale.


Here is one of the steep scary parts you had to climb down in order to continue up to the summit. This part was basically rock climbing. Right before this picture, I was telling Rowan that I had no idea what I was going to do to get down. He was like, "hold on and let me take your picture!" Thanks Rowan!

Here I am drinking some water when I arrived at the summit. I was pretty tired, but I knew I had to conserve water so we had some for the hike down.


This is looking back at the town of Milford. You can see Bowen falls as a white streak to the left of Milford. Look how far you can see!!!


Looking down from the summit at a tiny cruise ship passing Sterling Falls.


This is looking down at the ridge we passed, our tent, and Simbad river.


I should also mention that we were not at the proper summit of Mitre Peak. This is a picture of the summit. Where we went is where most people go. The very summit requires a final steep ascent that we didn't think we had time to do before the weather hit us. I was glad Rowan didn't make me do it!


And just like that, we were on our way down again.


Even on the way back down, when we had already seen the trail on the way up, we still managed to lose the trail and find ourselves in some sticky situations. This part was funny because Rowan insisted he was going the right way, but I was skeptical so I shimmied over to the right and found the trail again. I took this picture showing the steep situation Rowan was stuck in. We learned that bunches of grass and bushes work as strong hand holds.

We ended up running out of water with another 2.5 hours of hiking to go. We were so thirsty by the time we got down to the bottom that we didn't even treat the water out of the Simbad river before drinking it. It was the best tasting water ever! During the last couple hours of hiking, it started to rain, which made our thirst worse since we were surrounded by water, but couldn't drink any of it. Rowan even tried to sip drops of water off of leaves.

Summiting Mitre Peak was one of the most physically and mentally challenging things I have ever done. I am very glad I did it, but I have to say that I prefer hiking on well broken trails. By the time we got home, we were soaking wet, tired, muddy, and our forearms were bleeding from scrapping past branches and fern leaves. Rowan also had a cut between his eyes because he wasn't looking and walked into a branch.

Fin