Mount Luxmore, New Zealand - Polarsteps

Peter and Ben WORKED my ass today. Had an early start today to hike. Started in the town Te Anau. A perfect gateway to Fiorlands National Park. We wanted a longer adventure to a great view. Kepler track would give us just that. 28.6 km with a steep incline.. The first hour of the hike was through the forest before hitting the incline section. Came across a bird that looked like somewhat like a rustic parrot. It was super chill and just starred us down for a bit. We trekked back and forth uphill through the woods more until we emerged past the tree line. There was now snow on the ground. Stopped for a very scenic lunch then pushed on further towards Luxmore hut. This is a building near the summit that you can stay overnight in. Found out that we indeed did see a parrot... A Kea. The world's only alpine parrot! They are endangered and at risk from tourists feeding them human food, it messes with their natural diet.. this has lead them to no longer be afraid of humans, probably the reason the one we saw starred at us and showed no fear. we were more scared of it then it was scared of us. More on our encounters with the Keas later on... Checked out an amazing cave near the hut as well. Pretty neat-o as well as scary to say the least. Since the sun sets around 5 PM, the smart decision would be to head back down the mountain soon.. ecpesically considering i forgot my headlamp and our phones were all on the low side. But the boys have this issue... if they see a mountain that is even in the slightest higher then they are at that exact moment.. they MUST trek to it. So... despite my attempt at being motherly and providing an opinion based on mountain safety, onwards we went up to the next summit. The snow was getting deeper and deeper. As my legs started to feel more and more like jello. I tried by best to keep up with my friends though it became tough when they started HERO RUNNING to the summit. I stopped for a minute to just watch them sprint upwards. It looked epic to say the least. movie worthy. from where I stood, I just saw two boys, in running shoes, sprinting uphill in the snow, on the edge of an epic mountain with an insane snow covered mountain range in the back drop. I was too far back at this point to even meet them at the summit before it got dark.. So I turned around and hiked back towards the hut. Talked to a lovely DOC lady whom recommended I warm up while working on the giant puzzle. Most scenic puzzle view ever.. The boys showed up looking somewhat defeated. They couldn't reach the summit due to the time/daytime factor.. The mountain had won and that was not very good for their self esteem apparently.. BUT it was now time for the trek back down. It felt like it took close to forever but we had some good storytimes. Noteable story lines included going through each person's dating history from preschool days til present time.. By the time we got back to the carpark I honestly could barely walk. We stopped at a grocery store to pick up dinner before our drive to Milford. While attempting to bend down to pick up a broccoli I quite literally collapsed and basically laid down in the produce section. Worth it, of course. Basically died in the back of Jucy while the boys drove towards Milford for the night. Solved a bunch of Pete's riddles and dodged suicidal bunnies the entire way. Cooked up some rice and curry which was delishhhhh. Pete took some chamomile tea from the counter which he thought may have been communal for the campers but nope it belonged to 3 german travelers whom may have given us dirty looks while we enjoyed our sleepy time tea which lead to a great slumber. thz germans xoxo Highlights of today: - alpine parrot - Avalanche warning .. Peter and Ben wearing sneakers - Drastic changes of climate and environment SO. MUCH. SNOW. - I ate a bar with yogurt on it.. Apparently this is a highlight and apparently the vegan gods are coming to get me - Pete's riddles - German tea - "Buffet of dicks" jokes getting old