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Mt Zealand - page 5 of 5

I had to be careful on the way back down. The temperature had warmed up a bit, and the hard-packed ridge of snow had softened, making postholing even more of a problem. And, being tired, I was more prone to making careless mistakes, and tripping and hurting myself. There were more than one sharply-pointed broken branches poking out of the trees around the trail waiting to impale me.

I helped Muffin down the ladder, and we passed the spot where I had to dig myself out of a stubborn posthole. When we reached the spur trail to Zeacliff Pond, I was elated, as I knew the going would get easier beyond this spot. But I was still too drained and in too much of a rush wanting to avoid the storm that I passed up the chance to see the pond.

After going by Zeacliff and descending a steep section, we once again dropped below the snowline where we could really sail along. Finally, back at the crossing of Whitewall Brook, we had to stop. The waters had risen a bit during the day. They had washed away one of the branches I had dragged there, and the remaining branch was partially under water. I managed to find another branch to replace it, but when I tried to cross, it snapped and I had to back up quickly to avoid a spill in the brook. To be safe, I found three more branches, all of them slightly rotten, and crawled across without incident.

Back at the hut, the hospital group had long since left and hut was empty. Only the caretaker was still around, working outside stacking wood. While we rested for a few minutes, I told him about the trail conditions so he could advise others, then said goodbye and headed back down to the tent to take down camp and hike back to the car.

After resting at the tent for a few more minutes, I quickly took it down and packed up. Some of my things were slightly damp, and my pack had gained a few pounds. On the way back down the Zealand Trail, we passed several groups of hikers headed for the hut. A couple of people in the first group were very tired, and not too thrilled when I told them they still had about twenty minutes to go. I was afraid to mention the 200-ft rocky climb just before the hut. 

Partway back, we stopped so I could take a picture of Mt Zealand and Zeacliff and its connecting ridge. From down here, you'd never know about all the snow still up high. Thunder began booming as we neared the end of the trail. Then, as we were coming out of the woods, a few drops began to fall. Just after we opened the car door and got in, the rain came pouring down. We had made it just in time!

After stopping in Lincoln to pick up some fish and chips for me, and a hamburger for Muffin, we drove home carefully on the rain-slicked highway, getting home tired but safely around 7:30.

Zealand ridge from the Zealand Trail. The rounded "peak" to the left is Zeacliff. The peak in the middle is Mt Zealand.

Zeacliff and Mt Zealand from the Zealand Trail.jpg (49548 bytes)

Map

  Zealand page: 

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