I groggily approached the gondola area at the head of the Ben Lomond Track in Queenstown. Today, the gondola wouldn’t run, meaning the potential to shave an hour off our hike was gone. But, this was at a time when my motivation was high, and I approached the several-hour hike to the peak with a fair amount of optimism.
The southern New Zealand spring still held a chill in the air, and I began my hike in layers–too many, as I would soon realize. The steep trek upward, through forest opening sporadically to intensifying sun, quickly extinguished any sense of cold I’d felt. I was left with a constant layer of uncomfortable sweat on my skin for the rest of the day. After the first hour, the trail truly opened up. Forest behind us, sky surrounding us, and Queenstown spread out to my left.
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