I woke up at 2:59am … no time to hesitate getting up. We wanted to leave at 4:00am to start our ascent at 5:30am. Herwig should take the car and watch the sunrise from up.
Kjell and myself thought we’d make it walking in 3 hours, a distance of little bit more than 10k, to admire the sun rising by the Waiau lake. What an overestimation of our own capabilities!
To the very summit it took us 51/2 hours. The experience will stick to our memories for ever.
The light, the view, the decent traces of life and deep insight into the world’s coming into being, you are so close to the beginning and the end of it all. The saying „from dust we come to dust we go“ becomes so evident, so undoubtedly seizable.
Well, we knew that we had start very slowly to get tuned in. Especially me, who has been climbing and hiking in the Alps expected a far easier walk. Never, I thought that I would reach my limits in a way completely unable to jump over them.
My fingers turned blue the higher up we came telling me that the periphery of my blood circulation was more and more closing down, my fingertips felt undernourished with this typical tickling, my heart was pumping like crazy, bouncing up my throat, my head started aching and my steps became slower and slower … We had to accept all the signs of the reduced oxygen supply, no way to ignore or even override them.
When the trail ended and we had to take the last 100m on the asphalt road to the summit, I thought this piece of the path will never end. You get this feeling that you may lose your balance at any time and your system may collapse. Finally after all these hours we were standing up there on the summit with its breath-taking view, happy, but exhausted and emotionally touched.
Thanks, great post. How long ago did you get a picture of Lake Waiau? I was concerned when I found out it was shrinking at one time. Thanks so much. I am so happy you were fortunate enough to enjoy that experience.