DAY 77: Mueller Hut Track

Bright eyed and bushy tailed (if not a little cold) and ready to hit the trail!

FUN FACT #35: Mt. Cook is the tallest mountain in New Zealand at 12, 316 feet. It's height was reduced in 1991 when 33 feet fell off the side. Although first seen by the explorer Abel Tasman in 1642, it's named after Captain James Cook who first surveyed and circumnavigated New Zealand in 1770. It's official Maori name is Aoraki. Technically, the mountain is called "Aoraki/Mt. Cook".

Emma and I met a guy on a bus who had hiked Mt. Cook. He told us it was the most terrifying experience of his life. From what he said, hiking that thing is like hiking Everest. You need a guide and lots of training and equipement. He said one of the guys we went with fell and broke his leg and needed to be airlifted out. He also told us he had to spend 4 extra nights up there because of a snow storm. 3 weeks after he summited, 2 people fell off and died. Yeeaahh... so I decided to give Grandma a break and NOT hike that thing.

After almost freezing my butt off in the tent that night, I woke to find everyone cuddling for warmth. Lizzy and Jaime actually tried to sleep in the car after noticing that Jaime's water had frozen in the bottle while they were in the tent. We packed up the campsite and got ready to hit the trail.

FUN FACT #36: Mt. Cook was first summited by 3 New Zealanders on Christmas Day in 1894.  They did it in a race to make sure it was Kiwis who did it, and not some Englishman with his eye on the title.

Mueller Hut track takes about 4 hours one-way. The start of the hike is stairs. And some genius decided to write on the first one "ONLY 1,810 STAIRS TO GO!" But wait, he neglected to tell us that the stairs were only the first third of the hike.

I have to say, by the time we reached the top, I felt about as accomplished as I had when I climbed Mt. Doom. It was pretty unreal, and the views were spectacular.

FUN FACT #37: The current Mueller Hut is the 5th to be built in that spot. The past four either deteriorated or were swept away by avalanches. The current Mueller Hut was built in 2003 bu Sir Edmund Hillary. It overlooks Hooker Valley and the Hooker Glacier as well as most of the major peaks in Mt. Cook National Park. You can stay in Mueller Hut for the night for about $35, or you can do like we did and risk freezing to death.

Mt. Cook behind me!

FUN FACT #38: Sir Edmund Hillary was born in Auckland, New Zealand. He climbed Mt. Cook in 1948 in preparation for Mt. Everest which he climbed in 1953 .  He is on the 5$ note.

We ate lunch at the hut, then scampered back down the mountain. We packed up the car again, and we were off to Wanaka! On our way out of Hooker Valley, we had an incredibly cliche New Zealand moment when a couple hundred sheep were crossing the road. It was so cool as they swarmed around our car. That night, we found a nice little motel for the 5 of us in Wanaka where we cranked the heat and slept like babies.

FUN FACT #39: The mountain range Mt. Cook is a part of is known as The Southern Alps. They rest on a alpine fault and continue to rise, having last moved in 1717.

Aoraki/Mt. Cook