I slept until 7, which is unusual. We were the last to leave the hut aside from the two older guys who were just doing a day hike and returning to that hut.
There were some open fields, but most of the way to the next hut was birch forest with tons of ferns. It was delightful!
Jayden and I reached the Lower Wairaki hut around 2:30, had second lunch and waited for Holger. Holger got there around 3:30. The forecast called for high winds and guthooks reviews said the Telford campsite that we were trying to get to was particularly bad in high wind. To top that off the trail notes say it’s 4 hours from the hut to the campsite, but the DOC sign says 8 hours, so we weren’t sure how long it would really take and if we didn’t leave until 4 and it takes just 4 hours, we wouldn’t get to camp until 8. So we decided to stay and do a really big day the next day.
The rain started and we were cozy, just the three of us and a couple mice in the small hut (there are mice in most huts, as long as there are no rats, and not so many mice that they run over you in the middle of the night, I’m fine).
