We woke to sunny skies so our plan to head over to Arthur Pass was put into motion. We did some shopping here before leaving since we need groceries and this is likely the largest town we will see for a couple of days. Then we headed south from Greymouth.
The drive would not be too long (about an hour) but by the time we got organized and on the road it would be too late to go up Avalanche Peak in Arthur Pass. We knew that the climb will be 6 to 7 hours so we want to start early in the morning. So to set this up we are going to a campsite that is about 30 minutes from the trailhead at Jackson’s. Turns out that this is a one store/hotel/pub town, and all three are in the one building. However the campsite is very impressive. This is the first campsite that we have come to which has several types of campsites as well as a few ‘motel’ units. The most interesting is the campsites that are under cover like an equipment shed where you can park your tent, trailer or RV under cover and out of the sun or rain. We took a tent site for the van.
Since it was only 11:30 by the time we got organized at the campsite we decided to head over to Arthur Pass Village and stop at the Information Center to learn more about the area. The road is very steep upward to the pass and the signs recommend that vehicles towing trailers should not be attempting the road. It was steep, narrow and windy so I could appreciate that totally.
We learned at the Information Center that there was a 2 ½ - 3 hour hike (return) up Temple Basin which is a ski hill. This trail is not long, but it is steep with a 500 meter elevation gain. The path was very interesting since it was loose rocks that reminded us of a river bed. We had to watch our steps closely as we headed up the steep and switch-backed trail. At the top of the trail we found the ski hill buildings with a common building and lodges. As we climbed up the 500 meters we wondered where the skiers came up in the winter since could not see any ski lifts or roads. Well apparently even in the winter they must come up on foot on the path we just used. Their gear is brought up in a cable cart that starts beside the road and arrives at the buildings. From the buildings there are several areas to ski in the basin but none of the runs were very long. When we talked to a fellow who lives in the area he explained that these types of hills are organized, built, managed and run by volunteer societies and are run as non-profit.
Another thing we learned about was the type of ski tows used which start at the buildings, and they are ropes that run on a continual loop. Each skier has a belt on with a ‘nut cracker’ gadget which is used to clamp onto the rope and get a tow. The skier goes to the rope, opens the nut cracker (called this because it resembles the nut crackers we use to crack open nuts), sets it over the rope and closes it by holding it tightly to the belt. The grip is made and the tow begins. Sounds exciting to me!!! (NOT)
The views from here are beautiful and today’s sun makes the mountains stand out sharply. Across from us is the route we will take tomorrow as we ascend to the top of Avalanche Peak which will be a 1100 meter climb in a 2 ½ km distance – yep very steep! That will be the story of tomorrow.
We returned to the campsite and took a rest until it was time to walk up to the waterfall which is behind the campsite. This 30 minute hike up the hill is through very dense woods and the path is really only a trampling of the under brush. However, the trampled path is easy to see so we were not concerned about getting lost. The waterfall is really worth the effort.
Along this same trail after dark we have been assured we could see glow worms in the trees. However, the path is such that neither of us really wants to try to stumble along to find the glow worms so we have given this a pass. Tomorrow will be a big day and we are going to have to get lots of sleep in preparation, but that will be another story to tell.
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