Mt Cook & the barren flats

This morning was so great!  We woke up to clear blue skies and a mirror-still Lake Pukaki. I was glancing out of my terribly-pitched tent just waiting for the peaks to start coloring, and as soon as they did, I was up with oatmeal in hand. 

After packing up, Rose and I set out for the third day of road walking. This time, we were largely adjacent to farm land, and we got several hours walking straight at Mt. Cook ( which was marvelously clear and quite majestic looking).  A bit before Braemer Rd, we separated, but this may have been for the best. 

The five hour walk on Braemer Rd was hot, dry, exposed, scrubby, and altogether unpleasant. Water sources were few and far between - most of the marked creeks were dry and many were either fenced off or chock full of cow pies. And the sun and wind were relentless. I just kept my hat pulled down and did my best to plow ahead. 

After that 20+ km of a forced march, hitching the last 3km of highway was an easy choice. I'm just glad that one place in town could accommodate me.