23 Jan 2011 – Mount Cook

This morning we woke to a clear sky above us but clouds still clinging to the mountain tops around.  We plan to hike up Hooker Valley today and hope that the clouds will move off so we can see the top of Mount Cook.  It is a 20 km drive from the campsite to the trailhead so we left after breakfast.

We got to the trailhead still looking at clouds shrouding the mountain tops but decided that we would do the 3-4 hour hike to Hooker Lake with a few stops on the way.  In the parking lot we talked to a young couple from Germany who are on their honeymoon and heading off in the same direction we were going.   As it turned out we spend the entire hike together enjoying chatting and walking along.

The first stop was the Alpine Memorial in memory of hikers who were caught in an avalanche on Upper Linda Glacier in 1914.  However the memorial is also in memory of anyone who has died in this area.

Our second stop was at an viewpoint overlooking Mueller Lake.   From this same viewpoint we were able to see the first suspension bridge on the Hooker Valley trail below us.  This long bridge really was fun to walk over but if you have a fear of heights you would have wanted to walk carefully.

We continued along this trail until we got to Stocking Stream where there was a second bridge to cross.  This was not a large bridge but the name for the creek and the glacier above is based on the fact that this stream had to be crossed, before the bridge, with bear feet.  Thus stockings and boots had to be taken off.

We continued up the trail along a narrow ledge along the cliff edge to the final suspension bridge.  The hand railing was comforting along the cliff since it was not very wide and we were constantly stepping up or down on the rocks.  Below was the raging river from the Hooker Lake.

We arrived at Hooker Lake to enjoy a view of the Glacier and the Lake itself with icebergs floating around.  We were not able to see the top of Mount Cook which should have been right in front of us due to the clouds but we did enjoy the trail. 

We returned to the carpark as a group and actually added another German hiker to our group in the process.  We went in different directions once back and Wes and I considered going on another hike but it was a bit much for today so we headed over to check out the Sir Edmund Hillary Alpine Center.  He was a native of New Zealand and did his first major climbs in this park.  We enjoyed looking at his statue and walking through the museum in his honour. 

We are back at the campgrounds earlier but needing to take a bit of a break.  Tomorrow we plan another hike in the morning and then we will head towards Christchurch and see what we can find there.  However, this evening Mount Cook finally made an appearance from behind the clouds.