January 17, 2026
Upper Travers Hut to Blue Lake Hut
TA km marker 2023.3 to 2038.7
Hiked today: 15.4 km

With a long ascent on the agenda for today, we were up early and out of the warmth of the hut by 6.30, trudging up  to the saddle. Each marker in front looked to be the top and each time we reached the marker, another loomed up ahead. As we finally summited, the sky was clear enough to offer snowy mountaintop views.

Then over the other side we had a slow, steep descent which started on the exposed rock and continued then through to forest, still at a very steep slippy angle. We had a few slips, but again no significant injury incurred.

After a long 6 hours we arrived at West Sabine Hut where we sat on the porch and ate our lunch. The sun was out and we had started to warm up. After food we had enough energy to push on to the next hut which is located close to Blue Lake – some of the most pristine water in the world. We had to spray shoes and any gear that might be contaminated with algae before leaving the shores of Rotoiti Lake.

The last few hours of hiking took us on a path close by a roaring river, the path was dotted with stretches of mud and we were alternately muddy, then had our shoes washed clean while wading across a mountain stream.

We made it finally to Blue Lake Hut where we are sitting down to dinner and catching up with news from Stu and Don. We booked bunks in this hut but Pete has opted to camp. Tomorrow will be a big day – another steep climb with some exposed sections and a steep difficult descent. Hopefully we sleep well tonight.