9.30am - bus to the control gates to start the Kepler Track.
An hour in to the walk - rain! It was flat for the first hour to Brod Bay. Then there was a continuous climb up to Mt Luxmore and the Luxmore Hut. This leg takes 5-6 hours according to DOC but we made it up in 3 hrs 30 minutes. I was worn out! As soon as we got to the treeline I got really cold and had to march/run acorss the last half an hour to the hut. I was very happy to see the hut, get inside it and put warm dry clothes on!
The afternoon was spent reading, drinking hot drinks and eating! Also watching the snow, which was not settling at this stage. Occasionally there was a break in the clouds so we could see across to the south fjords and the mountains on the other side.
The night was very cold, and it was snowing inside the hut and settling outside! I put all my thermals and clothes on, hat, gloves and two pairs of socks inside my sleeping bag and I was just about warm enough. Temperature was probably around 2 degrees.
