Rain started at night became steady in the morning. Got up at 6:00. Planned to start at 7:30, but was still overcast and dark. Waited till 8:00 and started.
Repeated walking up and down on steep, muddy & slippery hillsides, and hurried the way. As the altitude getting higher, cold wind got stronger with occasional snows. If physically feasible, had a plan to walk all the way down to Arrowtown today to avoid the risk to traverse the saddle with snow tomorrow. But weather turned worse and it became a mid winter condition.
When arriving at Roses Hut at 12:30, we all got drenched and freezing. Wore dry clothes, snuggled in a sleeping bag, and had a hot soup... felt relieved. Just stayed in the hut quietly all afternoon to wait the storm to be gone, hearing the sound of rain getting harder, gusts and thunders.
The hut did not have a fire place and it was cold. But more than that, felt so much appreciated staying inside of the hut to shelter ourselves from terrible weather. Also must have felt worried if I was by myself - being together with friends made me feel secure. How great friends are... again, truly appreciated they were walking with me under such a crappy weather condition. Went to bed after 21:00. Walked 4.5 hours, 10km.
夜の間に雨が降り出し、朝には本降りになってしまった。6:00に起き、出発予定にしていた7:30になっても厚い雲のためまだ真っ暗なので、8:00近くまで待って出発。
ぬかるんで滑りやすくなった急斜面の登り下りを繰り返し、先を急ぐ。標高が上がるにつれて寒風も強くなり、雪も時折混じるようになってきた。余力があれば、明日積雪の峠を越えるリスクを避けるためにも、今日一気にアロータウンまで歩いてしまおうという案もあったが、11:00頃から天気が更に悪化して真冬の様相に。
12:30にローゼズ小屋に到着した時には三人共ずぶ濡れで凍えており、そのまますぐ乾いた衣服に着替え、寝袋にくるまって暖を取りながら、温かいスープを飲んでやっと一心地つけた。午後はそのまま山小屋で、さらに強くなった雨足や暴風、雷の音を聞きながら、大人しく嵐が通り過ぎるのを待つことに。
暖炉がなく寒いが、それでも山小屋の有難さをしみじみ感じた日となった。こういう日は友人二人と一緒なのが心強い。一人だときっと不安を感じていたことだろう。こんな天気の中、自分に付合ってくれた二人に改めて感謝しながら、21:00過ぎに寝床に入った。本日の歩行4.5時間、10km。
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