Epic Hikes of the World ( PDFDrive )

Alate morning sun appears and disappears through a patchwork of high
clouds, revealing a huge bushy expanse stretching hundreds of miles over
hilltops and shaded valleys, surrounded by jutting peaks of grey rock.
This is the tail of New Zealand’s mighty Southern Alps, a vast spine of sandstone
and granite reaching nearly 300 miles (483km) along the South Island’s western
coast. It is remarkably isolated. No roads connect the mountains ahead to the rest
of the world. Instead, to explore the peaks, lakes and river valleys that stretch from
here in the Fiordland National Park to Mt Aspiring in the west, I must make my way
on foot via a thin, winding hiking trail known as the Routeburn Track – a 20-mile
(32km), three-day journey through some of New Zealand’s most spectacular
landscapes.
In a sloping green valley known as The Divide, the track begins. I set off with
boots crunching into skittering gravel and packed earth. The path leads through
thick stands of beech trees swathed in drooping moss, crowded in by the