Routeburn Day 2

     It's snowing! I can't even begin to describe how excited I am to see snow. It's just the best thing ever! The temperature is pleasant, the snow is lovely, and it even smells good! 

     The wind picked up once we crossed over Harris Saddle, so we ended up putting our hats and gloves on. It made me very glad that I packed them, and my long underwear. I wish I had packed my tent booties, even though it's (supposedly)summer here.

    Someone said today at the McKenzie Hut, where we stopped for lunch, that Mark Twain was quoted saying, "The coldest winter I ever experienced was summer in New Zealand." For me that is not true, but it has been much colder than I expected. It has rained a lot, cold rain, and been cold every single night so far. Then I think about how cold it is in Michigan and I laugh, because this is not even close to cold, comparatively. This is probably shorts weather for a Michigander.  It's not even snow, but rain, at lower elevation places like the McKenzie Hut.

    I'm a little sad we're not staying at the McKenzie Hut because we met a few really neat ladies there who were a lot of fun to talk to. Two of the three are from the US, and one even from Washington. She hikes in the Olympics all the time. We exchanged contact info, helped them start a fire in the wood burning stove (which was actually a great deal of fun), and then we continued on to Howden Hut, where we are staying for the night. 

     When we first got here it was very quiet and almost gloomy. Everyone was sitting in small huddles, separate from each other, at opposite ends of the three tables that are placed in the shape of a T, only the top line is longer. Since there was only space left in the middle that's where Luke and I sat, and it seems we were the missing link between communications for all the groups. Now we're chatting with everyone on all sides, dinner is cooking away on the side counter, and the four behind us have started to play Euchre. They're all native Kiwis and I grew up thinking this was a Michigan game, so I'm excited. I'm finishing my writing now in hopes that I can join in.