Lovely day today. Got up early, rolled out after a decent breakfast, had a nice walk.

Part of the way in to today was a pass, Anne Saddle, which I took quite a bit faster than I expected. I was quite surprised when I got to the top of the hill.

Anne hut is super nice. The surrounding area is just beautiful. There’s a nice wood heater with plenty of chopped wood, lots of counter and seating space, huge windows with screens to take in the view, and a radio I can use to call for weather reports.

Which I’ll need to do. A couple of hours after I got here it started absolutely pouring rain outside. There were 2 people behind me and they were taking a long time so I was a little worried since it was raining so hard. A southbounder showed up soaking wet and said there were 4 more behind him. We lit the fire and got it roaring and it’s nice and toasty in here and everyone’s wet clothing is hanging up to dry.

In an ideal world, I’d be up and over Waiau pass the day after tomorrow. But I’ve been told, and plan to do, go over the pass only if it’s clear. The views are amazing, and in rain it can be rather sketchy since a good portion of the climb is very nearly mountain climbing more than hiking. So in the morning I’ll be using the radio to get a weather report and if it looks good I’ll move on, otherwise I’ll be hanging out here for another day. I’m not optimistic about the weather so I only had one dinner tonight, opting to preserve some of my food in case I’m here for an extra day or 2. I have plenty of food, but no reason to eat too much of it!

Lots of pretty mountains today.