Mountains and TreesMountain, trees, and water of Lake Wakatipu. Queenstown, New Zealand.

We headed out at 11:00 for the hike to Ben Lomond. Another beautiful day. The trail started through woods, but was up above treeline in no time.

We were both feeling good, moving well, and enjoying the great scenery, which kept getting better the higher we got. We had lunch in the saddle, then continued up to the summit, at about 5,700’. All told, we climbed 4,500’, pretty good for 2 old men who got a late start! My ankle gave me no trouble at all, and I had only 1 minor twist. I think hiking without the camera bag is a big help.

We had 360º views from the summit. So easy to see so far. All above treeline, some peaks are snow-covered! We were a bit dehydrated because we were carrying minimal water. Perfect weather. Great for shorts, a bit of a breeze, few clouds—a good tanning day.

Roy’s knees weren’t too bad for the downhill, but we did cheat the last 900’ and took the gondola. It was still a long contour walk back to the hostel.