New Zealand gifts hikers with Great Walks, single or multi-day hikes that go through its spectacular scenery. There are huts (bunk houses) and camping enroute for those who do a several day track. Reading up on tracks we felt that there’s a tie for the best track: The Routeburn or Milford Sound. We chose the Routeburn because doing the whole track’s 20 miles was do-able in 3 days for us. Milford is a 33.2 mile tramp and would have taken 4 days at least, which is a few too many showerless days for us.   

The gear we each carried included all food, a cook pot, tableware, clothing and a sleeping bag. Because they say in New Zealand “be prepared for all 4 seasons in the same day” choosing what to bring was a challenge. Even though the weather forecast was sunny for all 3 days, it was a slim guarantee, so we stuffed our sacks. Tracks don’t provide trash bins, so whatever we brought in had to come out with us. Art’s bag weighed in at 33 pounds and mine at 24.
We boarded an 8 am, 1-1/2 hour bus out of Queenstown to the Routeburn car park. (For the return 3 days later, we were picked up at The Divide – the separation between Mt. Aspiring National Park and Fiordland National Park. The return ride was 4 hours.)
At 10:11 am we took our first step! And it was ALL UP HILL from there. The forests we walked through were amazingly green and heavily moss covered. (Totally confirms why The Lord of the Rings was filmed in New Zealand.)  

The last 2 hours ramped up in steepness, and we arrived at our overnight spot, the Routeburn Falls hut at 4:23 pm. After picking our bunks and tossing in our bags, we headed out to explore our new surroundings and the impressive triple falls. 

      
We scarfed our first night’s dinner of sweet and sour chicken with fresh red peppers over rice, cleaned up and headed for our bunks, most everyone was asleep by 9:30 💤💤💤.
Now sleeping in a bunkhouse with 22 other unwashed trampers is an experience in itself, a chorus of snores, snorts and errrr “other noises” prompts quick insertion of industrial-grade ear plugs. 
The next morning, we were up, semi-washed with cold water, breakfasted with nutty muesli and UHT milk and out by 9:10 am. Little did we know what the day held in store for us. We started with an even steeper, 2 hour, uphill, rocky climb above the tree line to the Harris Saddle which is theoretically the divide between when you ascend the mountain range and when you descend. Along the way the views were overwhelmingly and emotionally breathtaking! My thought in this pristine, raw and beautiful nature was, If I never hike another mountain it is okay because I am complete. I tear up again as I write this. 
Reaching the saddle was the first high for the day but not nearly how good we felt when we reached the Lake MacKensie hut, our second night’s accommodation 9 hours after we started. Fellow hikers know how much harder downhills are due to the “help” of gravity! So even though we were descending, well above the tree line, we continued to negotiate rocks, bigger rocks and small boulders while stopping to take in the beauty of what was all around us.

   
We arrived at 6 pm (9hrs of solid hiking), and we both agreed it was the most strenuous hike we had ever accomplished! We had our choice of top bunks so we grabbed two and headed outside to relax shoe-less on the front lawn overlooking the lake. Thank goodness no bugs!  
Dinner was a spicy marsala paneer over rice. Another hungry hiker helped us finish our meal or we would have had to carry out even more garbage. 
This bunkhouse was a bit noisier due to a younger crowd but all were miraculously silent by 9:30/10. Thank goodness for those good ear plugs 🙂
Day 3 started with mixed feelings. You can’t help thinking about warm water from a sink, a shower, your pillow, cleaner clothes, lights, walking barefoot on carpeted floors, privacy and at the same time you’re not wanting to re-enter life as you know it. Our final leg started at 8am, back in the forest with trees filled with the sound of birds again, and of course more rocky paths, but mostly downhill. The glorious 6 -1/2 hours went by way too quickly! Our 4 hour bus ride back to Queenstown found us in and out of sleep.
After showers in our hotel, and with the laundry going, we unanimously voted on a dinner delivery rather than a .7 mile walk to the Queenstown restaurants. We had a celebratory bottle of a New Zealand red wine with an amazingly delicious Italian meal. Dessert was a couple of Motrin. 
Our take away from this life-changing, tramping experience is the reminder that: Nature is awe-inspiring, beautiful, surprising, gorgeous, stunning, fabulous, and breath-taking.