My absolute favorite part of New Zealand is its collection of backcountry alpine huts scattered on the island’s most remote mountaintops, impressively maintained by the Department of Conservation. They’re the only accommodation in the world that gives you 5-start views for under $25/night. With Wanaka as my homebase, there was no shortage of tramping options (Kiwi term for backpacking), and my selected was based on a combination of time constraints, weather forecasts, and my poor habit of undertaking adventures I’m not fit enough for. The French Ridge track in the Matukituki Valley and Mount Aspiring National Park is a 24-mile roundtrip journey with 1000m elevation gain. The Department of Conservation rates it an ‘Advanced’ tramping track, which in New Zealand terms is conceivably impossible for mortals like me, but I was convinced nonetheless by a fearless friend Mike who had just returned from a 2-week mountaineering expedition that had ended with a helicopter rescue. For any backcountry trip in New Zealand, a Personal Locator Beacon (PLB) is a non-negotiable. I rented one from the DOC in Wanaka and dutifully strapped it to my waist to serve (if anything) as a psychological security blanket. Studying the map before we set out, the trail looked to entail a 2-3 hour hike through the valley to Aspiring Hut, another 2 hours across the Matukituki Valley to Pearl Flat, a 90-minute vertical tock and tree scramble, followed by another hour of full exposure along the ridge to the hut. A little creative thinking later… and we were fastening mountain bikes to the back of the car and making our way the trailhead at Raspberry Creek.
Part I: Raspberry Creek to Aspiring Hut
Instead of tiring out our legs on the mostly-flat trek into Aspiring Hut, we mountain biked it! Brilliant, right? We thought so, and flying by the fellow trampers en route to French Ridge in that first section was a thrilling start to the adventure. (Though it would be a lie if I said we didn’t get passed back by some of those same hikers on the later sections…) Aspiring Hut is a 33-bunk historic stone hut with walls of windows facing up the mountain, a fireplace, and an unbearable colony of sandflies. Many spend the night here before continuing towards French Ridge or Liverpool huts. We locked up the bikes here, fueled up, and checked in with the hut wardens.
Part II: Crossing the Matukituki Valley
From Aspiring Hut, the track meanders through beech forest then drops us into the Matukituki Valley, surrounded by waterfalls and towering glaciers. Instead of forging through Liverpool stream, we opted to hike a bit further and take the swing bridge. At this point, the track splits to Liverpool Hut or French Ridge — into the forest we went!
Part III: Rock & Roots Scramble
The part we were most nervous about, and ended up being indisputably the most fun section of the trek. Climbers, not hikers, created the trail, so it’s not too surprising that they swapped out leisurely switchbacks for 3,000 ft in the direction of up. A full body climb ensued, scrambling over exposed rocks and tree roots and propelling ourselves up with the help of branches and tree trunks and sheer force. It was exhilarating and precarious and kept both hands much too busy holding onto dear like than to take any photos. We emerged onto French Ridge proper to outlandishly beautiful views. Across the valley you could make out Liverpool Hut (see left) and its equally fabulous toilet — situated at a bit lower elevation than French Ridge.
Part IV: Ridgeline to the long-drop toilet of dreams
With the toughest part behind us, we didn’t mind traipsing along this exposed ridge for another hour (peering around every corner in search of that red hut). The first thing to spot was the long-drop toilet perched on a ledge; truly a vision at that point, and easily the most spectacular toilet I’ve ever encountered or had the pleasure of using. We were the second party to arrive at the hut — beat by a team of ultra-marathon runners who were recovering from a recent race. Right. We were joined by more hikers throughout the evenings, some who had already stopped by Liverpool hut, which had run out of free bunks, and decided to sprint over to French Ridge (insanity, if you ask me). With 20 open bunks, everyone had plenty of space. We all celebrated our respective journeys with dinner and hot chocolate and soaked up the last light on Mt. French and the glaciers surrounding us. At 7:45PM, the warden radios into each hut to check that everyone made it and provide the latest weather forecast. Once the sun had set and the dance of pinks and oranges gave way to deep blues and eventual blackness, the stars revealed themselves and treated us to an expansive, spellbindingly beautiful night-sky. The kind you could chase again for an entire lifetime.
Most of us rose at sunrise and dragged our sleeping bags up the mountainside to watch the rock faces and glaciers illuminate in front of us. Tough place to say goodbye to. Begrudgingly, by mid-morning we started our descent — the 7 hour rock climb — tramping — mountain bike adventure back to Raspberry Creek. One for the books, I think.
