Hiked the Ben Loman peak out of Queenstown today.  Literally, about 5 minutes from the trail head, I passed 2 young men and 1 woman, all appearing in their early 20s.  They had stopped so the woman could get a drink of water and as I passed by the woman said to the guys "I hate this f------- hike!", a sentiment I often mutter to myself on my hikes, though I usually wait until I am at least an hour or so into it...

It turned out to be a day of some.. errors and miscalculations.  I had selected the Ben Loman hike, as I had thought it would be a fairly moderate hike, somehow thinking that it would be around 2500' of vertical- a good warm up hike..  However, as I was hiking, I found it to be quite a difficult and long trail.  As I hiking, I was- thinking 'man, I must still be feeling the effects of jet lag (I was), out of shape or age or something, but this just seems a lot tougher than I thought'.  Of course, when I got to the top with a lot, I glanced at the verticals and determined that 'no Ken, this is not 2500', but actually about 4900' of vertical'- not exactly the moderate day I had planned (for perspective, it was a little more vertical than climbing Mt. Washington).  Not sure how I misplaced 2400' of vertical- where is Craze when I need him?  I wish I could say it was the first time I had miscalculated a hike....

But it was an absolutely beautiful day, with nary a cloud in the sky.  Picture perfect you might say.  That is, it would have been 'picture perfect' if I had remembered to recharge my camera.  I had just enough battery for....3 pictures (all lower down).   Of course, last night I had charged my laptop, phone and tablet, which were all sitting fully charged in my rental car at the bottom.

The lack of photos of what was a truly stunning scene of the lake, Q and the Remarkables would have made me weep, if I weren't already doing that from the blisters on my feet.  That, of course, occurred when I left my band aids in the car next to the fully charged devices.  (Not sure why I got blisters- the boots were fully broken in).

When exactly am I going to become smart?  It seems to be getting late in the day.

The lack of photos was a real shame as it was a spectacular day, both weather and scenery wise.  There were a number of people on the trail of all ages.  What I found most interesting is how many people hike alone, both male and female.  While there are plenty of pairs hiking, I would guess that roughly 30% of the people were alone.  Interesting.  But most interesting of all was passing the 3 young people I mentioned at the outset as I was coming down and they were nearing the peak- I never would have thunk that...

The photos-

I finally arrived in Queenstown in Southern New Zealand today after only 24+ hours of flying, etc.  Not sure why I dreaded the 14+ hour flight from Houston to Auckland.  Dinner, a movie, a little snoozing and presto! I looked my watch and almost 5 hours of the flight had gone by.  Sure, the last 9 or so hours seemed to drag a little...

Speaking of which, why is it whenever I have a somewhat long haul flight I seem to get stuck next to some overly large person?  It seems the longer the flight, the heavier the person sitting next to me (some sort of fixed ratio).  I think in my seat preferences the airlines have me down for 'window plus super sized person on longer flights.'  In this case, the hefty woman next to me seemed to spill into my seat and sort of pin me to the window much of the flight, especially as we rolled (she literally) with the turbulence..  I was glad I was not in an exit row as the pressure might have caused a door malfunction and I would have ended up in the South Pacific without my swimming trunks.  I don't expect to see this woman on the hiking trail.  

Upon arrival in Q, it being lunch time, I immediately headed right for.... Ferngbergers (which Sam and Craze know as the best hamburger place in NZ and maybe the world).

 It was like I had never left- people were yelling 'Hey Ken!  Welcome back Man!'  With the expected backslapping all around, etc.  Craze and Sam were missed, but I told the folks that- kind of like Everest and 'Into Thin Air' that they 'just didn't make it' (bit of an inside climbing joke).  In any case, we certainly put the place on the map 5 years ago, as it was mobbed (and is still very good).  I think once some Japanese tour agency put Q on the recommended list... well the Japanese don't seem to do anything alone or in small groups.  They were all over the place.  Still, as this sign in the bathroom indicated, the place does seem to attract something of a quirky crowd-

Finally, I had almost forgotten how beautiful and indeed unique are the Remarkables (mountains) and the Q setting, even right outside the airport.