Serpentine Traverse

A 5 day alpine traverse of the Serpentine Range.

This route had no trail or markers, so it was quite fun to follow a map (grateful for the TOPO50 app!). We got caught by some big rain and hunkered down at Lake Nerine for 24 hours over Christmas. I rationed out our food to see how long we’d stay alive for if the weather didn’t clear. I realised that rationing food for survival has got to be one of my favourite pass times! I was sure I could stretch 1 sachet of two minute noodle spice over 3 days as a nutritious soup.

Trip stats: Day 1: Routeburn Shelter to Wilson Lake via Valley of the trolls Day 2: Wilson Lake to North col Day 3: North Col to Lake Nerine Day 4: Lake Nerine to Park Pass Day 5: Park Pass to Sugerloaf Pass Day 6: Sugerloaf Pass to Routeburn Shelter