routeburn-caples track - november-december 2004

On our second trip to New Zealand, we toured the South Island while Winter's stronghold on the country had extended far into late Spring. We had booked to hike the Routeburn Track, one of New Zealand's finest walks, but the Routeburn had been closed because of avalanches on the passes. They reopened it the day before our booking - and it closed the day after we hiked out. Read about day 1, day 2, and day 3.

day 1: routeburn track trailhead to lake mackenzie
1640 - 3280 ft. (harris saddle: 4265 ft.)
15 miles

day 2: lake mackenzie to upper caples camp
3280 - 1640 ft. (lake mckellar: 1960 ft., mckellar saddle: 3280 ft.)
15 miles

day 3: upper caples camp to caples-greenstone trailhead
1640 - 1150 ft.
9 miles