Today’s plan was to head back to the Fiordlands National Park for some hiking. Although we had done the same drive the day before, it was still stunning a second time. Clouds had come in during the night and frozen, covering the land with a layer of frost that glistened in the morning sun.

That said, finding a hike was a bit harder than I thought it would be. My first choice was a hike to an alpine lake (Marian), but we discovered that the hike was closed for trail maintenance. Still, we got a chance to check out a pretty great bridge over a glacial stream.

Our second choice started higher in the mountains, and we got to the trailhead we decided that it was too snowy and icey to hike. The chance of turning an ankle were too high, and we’d hate for an injury to hold us back later in the trip.

But the third time was the charm! We found a great 3-hour hike that we could extend along one of the multi-day “Great Walks” (the Routeburn Track) for as long as we’d like. We soon parked the car and were off to hike the Key Summit Trail.

The trail passed through more red beech forests with lots of ferns, with waterfalls interspersed along the way.

After a little more than an hour, we were above the trees, and the views were stunning.

We hiked in our typical Team Hubbard formation, with Lydie and Cassie well in front, and Julie running sweep at the back.

Julie’s in this photo. You just have to look closely. The weather today was perfect. We all shed layers as we hiked, and our checks were red with exhilaration.

I waited for Julie to catch up, while the girls raced ahead.

The girls are in this photo in the lower left. We managed to get them to come back long enough for a quick family photo.

The trail continued to climb gently, passing by small bonds and alpine bogs, where carnivorous plants grow in the summer.

It’s probably worth noting that I was *thoroughly* enjoying myself on this hike. The weather was perfect. The hike was amazing. Despite the hiccups in finding a good hike, I can’t imagine it going any better than it did.

The path on the top of the mountain meandered through low trees, and we spotted rabbit tracks in the snow.

Soon, the path started to head back down.

After we descended a bit, we decided to extended our hike another hour by going down part of the Routeburn Track.

The steep trail passed through forests with moss-covered trees and snow-covered ferns. We were soon back to the car. The hike was close to perfect.

-Will