Actually that's not true, my Willamette class just started last week so I've done two "blogs" through that recently, just none here.
I just got back from Milford Sound in the Fiordland national park. 8 of us went on this trip and we rented two small sedans to do it. We stayed one night in a hostel in the actual sound, then left the sound and camped the next night next to a river in the Fiordland. We made our own meals each day, and managed to see some super super cool stuff. Every day was an amazing adventure. Since it's currently the offseason, the place isn't very crowded so it felt like we had most the National Park to ourselves. It was pretty sweet. Milford Sound is probably one of the coolest places on earth.
The first day we got into the heart of the Fiordland (this place is actually pretty big, takes around an hour and a half maybe to drive from the Sound to the edge of the Fiordland) and did a hike up to a summit. At some point along the way we crossed the snow level and we found ourselves hiking through snow covered paths. There were no tracks to follow, as the snow was fresh and undisturbed, and no view at the top because the clouds were too thick.
That night we walked from our hostel (the only one near the Sound) right out to the edge of Milford Sound and stayed there until it got dark. It was a scary walk back, but it was totally worth it.
The second day we checked out the warm hostel (remember it's just turning to spring right now so things are still pretty chilly here, think mid-March) and went on a cruise through the Sound. The cruise took about 2.5 hours and took us all the way out to the mouth and you could see the vast ocean that Australia was hiding somewhere behind. During the cruise I had myself a little scare when I looked at the ingredients of a bar I had just eaten and noticed that I had somehow missed the fact that peanuts were an ingredient. Then I thought I was going to die. I informed my friends about it (but not of the possible severity of the reaction) and they sat with me for awhile to see how I progressed. After like 30 minutes nothing had happened yet and I started to think I was somehow in the clear. We got off the cruise and went to find lunch and still no reaction. Strangely enough, throughout the day I experienced no reaction at all except a slight tinge in my side for a few hours. I honestly have no interpretation for this and am still dumbfounded about the whole thing. But I'm very happy that I'm still alive.
We then did a hike that one of the girls with us said was super cool when she was last there, though it might be different because of the snow everywhere. Turns out we couldn't do much of the hike at all because the snow elevation was too low, and the walk out to the closed off area ended up being over feet and feet of snow on shrubs, making it actually pretty dangerous. Someone would be randomly falling through the snow every few seconds, and my foot even got stuck once and needed a couple people to help me get it out. Nobody sustained any serious injuries so it was alright. Since there was a lot of snow there we stayed for a while and had some snow fights and rolled some massive snow balls down the hill. We also got to watch more than a few avalanches roll down the mountains surrounding us.
Then we hit Lake Marian (I think that's what it was called) and sort of spontaneously went on a 3 hour hike. The trail wasn't really a trail and would go from super steep climbing-with-hands hills to jumping down from ledges to slopping through mud in a matter of minutes. We started to worry that we were cutting it close with time and everything since it would be dark in a couple hours. Not knowing exactly how much farther we had to go didn't help either. But we eventually got there and the view of the Lake was amazing. We had each shed probably 3 layers throughout the hike and at the lake shed another couple and one guy even took all his clothes off and took a dip into the lake. Sounded pretty cold. After resting there we headed out.
We camped next to a river that night. It was really cold. It warmed up though since we had 4 people in each tent laid like sardines and packed for warmth. Dinner that night was mostly cold.
We came back the next day. One the way we stopped at a place that makes some pretty well known meat pies. They were good. I also snuck into a public bathroom that charged a $1 entrance fee (right? what the hell is that?). It was a pretty good trip.
Here's some pictures of it. I haven't even put these on facebook yet. I'm excited to see what other people have.
Try not to be too jealous.
Love you guys,
David
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