- Distance
- 54.9km
- Total Ascent
- 4191m
- Time
- 5-6 days in good weather (this trip took 11 due to poor weather)
- Grade
- Moderate/Difficult
- Accom.
- Camping at Theatre Flat, Park Pass, Cow Saddle, Fohn Lakes, Dart River
- Access
- The walk begins and ends at the Routeburn Shelter
- Map
- CA09, CB09
Under the jagged edifice of Mt Chaos in Mt Aspiring National Park stands an isolated lake that shimmers with mystery: Lake Unknown. David Bonham embarked on the classic Five Passes route in a bid to stand on its secluded shores
Up the valley it came, a thundering tidal wave of sound as a furious wind ricocheted along the pass and smashed into the side of my tent. I cowered inside, as I had done for over 50 hours, a prisoner to the wind’s relentless whimsy. I contemplated disaster. Hours before I’d been flooded, and mid-storm I was forced to re-pitch amidst the dips of twisted tussock tufts. Exposed and vulnerable, I didn’t know where I’d go if it happened again. Nobody can hear you scream on the windswept desolation of Cow Saddle, a pass perched in the backcountry of Mt Aspiring National Park. For two-and-a-half days I sat in my tent listening as rain lashed so violently I wondered if it would rip my canvas. Two creeks, both bone dry on arrival, had burst their banks. Waterfalls on the mountain opposite had increased their flow fivefold; on the rare occasions I managed sleep, the noise of cascading waterfalls filled my dreams with tsunamis. Fear eventually subsided into reverence. Nature is always in control. She can take us out whenever she pleases. The storm was a humbling reminder of that ever-present fact. Cow Saddle marked day six of an 11-day mission to reach Lake Unknown. Steve and I were traversing the circuitous route known as the Five Passes, of which Cow Saddle was the third. The start of the trip was a stark contrast: a rare period of five consecutively sun-kissed days. Veering off the Routeburn Track after roughly 500m, we’d tracked up Sugarloaf Pass before descending into gnarled and mossy beech trees beside a tumbling creek. We’d squelched across plains alongside the Rock Burn and onto Theatre Flat, a huge arena surrounded by mountains that glowed as the sun set on glaciers. Park Pass waited after that, and a steep, scrambling detour to the aquamarine depths of Lake Nerine had me wondering if weather that good could possibly last. Weather changes moods. We’re creatures of sun, thrivers in the light, and after 60 hours of Cow Saddle canvas confinement, Steve and I were overjoyed to finally be outside again. We climbed over boggy ground towards our penultimate pass, Fiery Col, which at 1546m was the highest point of our walk. The sun sneaked out of the clouds and my excitement at spying a fleck of golden light bordered on ecstatic. Sunshine fosters hope. Its dappled tones beam possibility. Just a few hours previously, in the midst of prayer (funny how extreme weather events turn me temporarily religious), the prospect of reaching Lake Unknown looked as bleak as the weather. Getting there requires an off-track scramble up steep slopes packed tightly with centuries-old beech forest. A hiker familiar with the area told us the 1.5km ascent took five hours when approaching from the Dart River side. We were warned it was an arduous endeavour, a frustrating snag-fest at times, but it all sounded worth it. Mist spiralled as we scrambled up the final part of an unstable scree slope to straddle Fiery Col. We descended out of the mist, over slippery rocks and alpine grass, and between the courses of two creeks. Eventually the mist lifted and more marvellous mountains stood as serrated sentinels that dominated the horizon. [caption id="attachment_22878" align="aligncenter" width="1280"]
