Key Summit - We didn’t reach the summit!
Probably the most picturesque spot on the Key Summit track on this day. I was in my element, despite the rain.
Things don’t always go to plan when you're hiking. This was the case for our trip to Key Summit in March of 2023. This trip had been on my list for so long, I'd seen so many photos and it just looked like the most incredible place to catch views of the mountains in Fiordland National Park, as well as give me a taster of the Routeburn Track, which is of course on my list being a great walk!
I had my friend Aliesha with me and this was kind of her introduction to hiking. We'd been on a couple of smaller walks together, but no mountains and no rain. Turns out I didn't pick the greatest day for our walk and we debated for about an hour in the morning whether we were actually going to go or not, especially because we had to drive for at least an hour to get to the trailhead. It wasn't forecast for torrential rain or anything like that, just light showers, so we decided to give it a go. I wasn't too worried as I'd hiked in far worse and also held onto hope that the rain would clear, making way for some good views later in the day.
The first part of the hike was okay, starting with a manageable uphill gradient. It wasn't slippery and we took plenty of breaks to take in the lush wet forest around us as well as listen to some kākā birdsong from the tree tops. There's just something about the forest in the rain, it's another kind of magic. I hadn't really thought about it too much at this point, but Aliesha had left her hoodie in the car and was wearing only a t-shirt. As we were tracking uphill though we were still warm and I had plenty of spare thermal layers in my pack, should they be necessary.
We reached the fork to go up to Key Summit in the time listed on the signs and we were in high spirits as we burst out into the foggy landscape. With an hour left for the full loop around the top we knew we weren't going to see a lot, but hoped we would still get picturesque tarns to photograph as we enjoyed the loop track and then headed back down to the car - which we did. Then came the lookout track. At this point Aliesha had borrowed my jacket a while ago and I had swapped into a thermal. It was getting colder by the minute and visibility was lowering. Although I had the strong pull of summit fever rushing through me, I knew that there was no point pushing forward for views of nothing in the wet and cold - it would be stupid, and so about 5 minutes from the lookout point we turned around. We had no way of knowing how far was left to go, and although you'll see in my video below I'd said we had about one minute left, looking back I realise it would have most likely been further.
This is the reality of hiking in the mountains in New Zealand. Weather can change for the better or worse at any point and as well as being gear prepared it's important to know when to make the call to turn around. It's much better to get home safely than be stuck up a mountain with a difficult job for Search and Rescue teams should anything go wrong. I am a confident and fairly experienced hiker, but I still know that I could have made better decisions and turned around earlier.
I still had a great time, especially while under the canopy of wet trees, just being outdoors is a great mental health booster. However, I probably should have left the hike at the treeline today while hiking with someone new to the sport, less experienced and with less gear. I know that it will be back to do the full Routeburn Track at some point and will definitely be waiting for good weather to do so. Also high on my list is taking Aliesha back so she can see the track in all its glory!
Key Summit on a good day!
Photograph by Candace Adams.
