By the middle of August we decided it was time for a winter adventure and with the temperatures around Christchurch being quite moderate we planned a trip into the Alps for a few days. We drove up to Mount Cook National Park on Friday night after work and settled into the lodge there. We woke on Saturday morning to beautiful views of the Hooker Valley where we hoped to hike, although the low cloud hanging over the valley meant that the light in the valley looked quiet eerie.
With the promise of better weather, we decided to get ready for our hike as planned and as we arrived at the trail head the clouds were starting to lift off of Mount Sefton allowing us to admire the snow packed on the upper slopes of the mountain.
Our trail followed the valley floor, crossing the Hooker River on the first of three swing bridges. This is quite a popular walking track and so the swing bridges were a lot more sturdy than some of the ones we have crossed on the less well walked trails.
From the bridge we had great views of Mueller Lake and the Mueller glacier beyond. We were surprised that, despite the cold temperatures the lake wasn’t completely frozen.
After following the rocky trail over the moraine from the Mueller glacier we eventually came to the second swing bridge. If you look carefully you can just about make out Eric in his blue jacket on the bridge.
The trail followed the river up the valley and after a while the landscape started to open up, before we crossed the final bridge.
The track continued through patches of tussock grass and broom, despite it being almost the middle of winter here the track remained pretty clear of snow. There were a few sections where we needed to step carefully where ice had formed in the shade, but where the trail was in the sun we were easily able to pick our way through the patches of snow.
As we rounded a corner we got our first view of Mount Cook at the head of the valley. Here the trail consisted on a number of board walks through what would probably be pretty marshy ground in the spring.
The trail ended at the shore of Hooker Lake, at the end of the Hooker Glacier. From here we had great views of the mountains to our west. Despite being in the heart of the Alps here, we were only 900 metres above sea level (about 3,000 feet) meaning that we were still more or less under the snow line.
Looking across Hooker Lake in front of us, we were able to sit and watch the changing light on Mount Cook at the far end of the lake. We had our picnic on a large rock on the lake shore and enjoyed listening to the sounds of the ice creaking and groaning in the surrounding valleys which seemed to echo around this upper section of the valley.
After enjoying sitting in the sun for a while and listening and watching the mountains around us, we retraced our steps back down the valley hoping to pick up another quick trail before continuing our journey on to Wanaka.