Top Timaru Hut - Studys Hut

Natten i teltet havde været kold (2 grader), og jeg havde kun fået sovet omkring fire timer. Jeg fik derfor hurtigt pakket mine ting sammen om morgenen, inden der ventede endnu en længere dag med op- og nedstigninger og en del mindre flodkrydsninger.

Det startede ud gennem skoven, hvor meget af stien var skyllet væk. Derfor blev vi ofte nødt til at gå langs floden, indtil der igen var en sti at gå på. Efter at have gået omkring 700 højdemeter op og 900 højdemeter ned i løbet af dagen kom jeg til et sted, hvor det gik 2 kilometer op mod Studys Hut bestående af 600 højdemeter ren væmmelighed! De første 300 meter op var noget af det stejleste, jeg har gået i meget, meget lang tid, og det var så modbydeligt! Udsigten til gengæld fejlede ingenting!

Lidt over to timer senere ankom jeg til Studys Hut, hvor jeg lavede aftensmad, inden jeg havde planer om at tage videre mod næste hytte. Jeg vidste, at Svea var gået videre mod næste hytte sammen med en hollænder, vi havde mødt to dage forinden, og jeg havde også umiddelbart planer om det, da Studys Hut er en af de mere rustikale hytter, eftersom den ikke har noget gulv og har en del huller. Efter aftensmaden kunne jeg dog mærke, at tre til fire timers yderligere vandring med flere højdemeter ikke var det mest lokkende. Samtidig havde Svea skrevet, at det var begyndt at blæse meget længere oppe af bjerget.

Jeg besluttede mig derfor for at blive ved den meget autentiske Studys Hut, som havde rigtig mange muse-lorte! Jeg kunne også læse i hyttebogen, at mange havde haft besøg af flere musefamilier i løbet af deres overnatninger. Det skulle dog blæse en del om natten, og i stedet for en blæsende nat i teltet besluttede jeg mig for at tage en overnatning med selskab!

Ved 21-tiden dukkede der to andre op, som var lige så begejstrede som jeg over en eventuel nat med mus. Vi hang derfor mad og tasker op i loftet for at minimere risikoen for, at musene lavede huller.

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The night in the tent had been cold (2 degrees), and I had only managed to sleep for about four hours. So in the morning, I quickly packed up my things before another long day awaited, with lots of ups and downs and several small river crossings.

The day started by heading through the forest, where much of the trail had been washed away. As a result, we often had to walk along the river until we could find a proper trail again. After hiking around 700 metres of ascent and 900 metres of descent throughout the day, I reached a section where it climbed 2 kilometres up to Studys Hut, consisting of 600 metres of pure misery! The first 300 metres up were some of the steepest terrain I’ve walked in a very, very long time, and it was absolutely brutal. The view, on the other hand, was flawless.

A little over two hours later, I arrived at Studys Hut, where I cooked dinner, initially planning to continue on to the next hut afterwards. I knew that Svea had continued on towards the next hut together with a Dutch hiker we had met two days earlier, and I had originally planned to do the same, as Studys Hut is one of the more rustic huts, with no floor and quite a few holes. After dinner, however, I could feel that another three to four hours of hiking with additional elevation gain was far from appealing. At the same time, Svea had messaged to say that it had started to get very windy higher up the mountain.

I therefore decided to stay at the very authentic Studys Hut, which had an impressive amount of mouse droppings! I could also read in the hut logbook that many people had been visited by several mouse families during their overnight stays. It was, however, supposed to be quite windy during the night, and instead of a windy night in the tent, I chose to spend the night with some company!

Around 9 p.m., two others arrived, just as enthusiastic as I was about a potential night with mice. We therefore hung our food and packs from the ceiling to minimise the risk of the mice chewing holes.Read more