Today I will leave for the Kepler Track. This time the walk will take four days. It’s the afternoon here and I only have a two or three-hour walk until I get to my campsite right next to the lake. Tonight will be the only night that I will have to camp out in a tent. The other two nights I will be in a hut.
This will be my first time properly camping outside in the wilderness. I’m not overly anxious about it. More excited to learn something new. It rained earlier today but it looks like the weather will hold up for the next few days. That would be ideal because the second day is supposed to be quite beautiful. As long as it isn’t cloudy I should be able to see for a long distance.
The second day will be the toughest day. Similar to the Tongariro Circuit I will have to bypass the second hut and trek all the way to the third hut. In short, I’ll be hiking up the mountain and down the mountain on the same day.
My plan is to wake up early, maybe like 4 AM and get going shortly after. If I can break through the treeline before 7 AM then I’ll have a good chance of seeing a very beautiful sunrise. And that way I’ll be able to get to the Iris Burn hut well before dinner. I’ll need some extra time to recover before I start off on the third day.
I’ll eat some lunch and organize a few things before starting off in a few hours. Be back in four days!