Big Bend National Park

Big Bend National Park is tucked into the, uh, big bend in the Rio Grande that forms the boundary between western Texas and Mexico. There are three distinct ecosystems here: the river, the desert, and the mountains. The Chisos Basin is in the middle of the park; plants and animals were stranded here in this relatively green, cool, moist pocket at the end of the last Ice Age as cooler temperatures receded north.

Memorable Moments

The highlights of my trip:

~Really tasty camp cooking... except for "cooking" a dehydrated Mountain House meal with solar "heated" water that was barely lukewarm, but hey it was still technically edible!
~The views from Toll Mountain campsite overlook...

~The Camelbak shower, stark naked in the middle of a desert, washing off five days worth of sweat and dust...
~Roadrunners, javelinas (like little wild pigs), miniature deer, coyote noises at night...
~Full moon, amazing night sky, zillions of stars...
~Dave's 27th birthday chocolate bar at the top of Emory Peak...
~Finally learning how to use a Whisperlite stove...
~Views from the South Rim...
~Spending most of an evening pulling those damn tiny, irritating cactus needles out of my arms, legs, and abdomen...



Ok, if you want to know more details about what we hiked and where we camped, read on...

Merry Christmas, from Bethlehem

I was talking to my Mummers on Skype a few weeks ago, just chatting about holiday plans and the usual.  In her usual motherly brilliance, she suddenly suggested that I visit Bethlehem for Christmas.

Nice idea, Mummers!

Since Christmas fell on a Saturday, and Saturday is the Jewish Sabbath, and Israel is a Jewish State, and therefore buses wouldn't run on Saturday, we took an Arab bus most of the way to Bethlehem (see below for details).

In a strange way, it felt great to be in Bethlehem.  It's an Arab village now, and it feels that way.  Thing is, I've gotten used to feeling like the "different" one wherever I go.  In Israel, I'm constantly mistaken for Israeli.  And I haven't been in a place so similar to the United States since leaving Australia.  Going to Bethlehem was like leaving "civilization" again, going back to a place where I'm the oddball.  This is normal to me now.

the mosque opposite Manger Square

When we got to Manger Square, there was a group of Latin American pilgrims playing "Hallelujah, Alegría," absolutely rocking out on guitars, drums, trumpets, whatever.  People were dancing in a circle, waving their arms in the air, and generally having a grand time.  It was a lot of fun!

The Church of the Nativity is nice.  Not the largest or grandest church I've visited, but probably the most crowded--it was PACKED with pilgrims.  A long line stretched from the back of the church all the way to the Grotto of the Nativity at the front of the church.  Somehow, Davo and I managed to get to the front of the line by going to the opposite side of the church, then getting waved through to cross the apse.  The actual spot where Baby Jesus was supposedly born is just a silver star on the ground.  You can see it on Wikipedia, if you're interested.

sooo crowded!

I've had a few people say to me, "Wow, to be in Bethlehem on Christmas...  I'm sure that must have been very moving, very spiritual."  Well, it felt like a big festival.  Everyone around me seemed quite happy.  But the atmosphere wasn't particularly spiritual.

christmas tree at manger square

The most touching moment of the trip was in the actual Grotto of the Nativity.  There were three or four monks down there.  One said, "Merry Christmas" to each and every person entering the grotto.  The others gently took each person's shoulders and moved them along, single-file.  One smiled and said quietly to me, "I'm sorry, the line is very long," as he moved me along.  I thought it was very touching that these monks were trying their best to make the experience special for each individual visitor, all 90,000 of us.  I guess I'm more interested in these simple, kind human touches in the present moment, rather than obsessing over legends from 2,000 years ago.

Merry Christmas!

For future reference, here's how to get from Jerusalem to Bethlehem.  You'll need 13 schekels for the round-trip fare.  Don't forget your passport.

Independent Trekker's Gear List

I carried my own bag for the entire Everest Base Camp trek--from Jiri to Gorak Shep, back down to Lukla.  I was pretty ruthless in cutting out any nonessential weight, and I'm pretty pleased with my gear list.  I used everything, and other than extra antibiotics, I wasn't missing anything essential.  In the hope that this information might be useful for other independent trekkers coming to Nepal, here is my gear list for a 25-day trek.

Notes:  I am female, age 28, medium build, not freakishly strong but certainly accustomed to carrying a backpack.  I was trekking in October, so the weather wasn't too wet or too cold.  I was not climbing or mountaineering.  I estimate that my pack weighed about 7 kilos total.  The stuff that was totally necessary is shown in bold.

Clothing:

--2 tee shirts (one merino for hiking, which I wore constantly; one spare poly-blend for camp)
--2 long-sleeved shirts (one merino for hiking, which I wore constantly; one spare poly-blend for camp, which I probably didn't need)
--2 fleeces (one lightweight, one heavyweight)
--1 down jacket (necessary even in October at high altitudes)
--1 rain shell (necessary even in October for rain and snow protection)

--1 long skirt (so comfortable, great temperature control, love hiking in it!)
--1 pair nylon hiking pants (probably could have replaced with wind/ rain pants)
--1 pair fleece pants (for sleeping and warmth in teahouses)
--1 pair long johns (for warmth while hiking, especially under the skirt)

--5 pairs underwear (take up little room, nice way to feel cleaner even when you're not)
--1 sports bra, 1 comfy bra (probably could have left behind the latter)
--2 pairs hiking socks, 1 pair liner socks, 1 pair heavy socks for evenings
--1 pair hiking boots, 1 pair fake "crocs"
--1 wide-brimmed sun hat, 1 fleece-lined wool hat
--1 pair fleece-lined wool mittens
--1 handkerchief, 1 bandana, 1 buff, 1 fleece neck gaiter (new, hopefully it will help the cough!)

Toiletries:

--toothbrush, floss
--soap
--2 hair elastics
--1 complete med kit, with enough antibiotics to supply a small hospital, also diamox
--1 travel towel
--"climb on" skincare bar, chapstick
--earplugs
--glasses (worn all the time)

--deodorant (will probably leave behind on the next trek--merino doesn't stink, I do!)

--hairbrush (ditto above)

--cotton buds (ditto above)

Gear:

--headlamp and spare batteries
--2 hiking poles
--1 water bottle
--0 degree C sleeping bag
--internal frame pack (nothin' special) with rain cover
--boot wax and boot glue (lame attempt to keep my boots together, I'm giving up and going with holes on the next trek)
--2 plastic bags (one for my vomit, one for Dave's)
--trekking permits and tickets
--safety pins

Personal Items:

--journal and pen
--wallet, credit card, and tons of rupees
--camera, spare batteries, spare memory cards
--passport and copy of passport
--insurance information and emergency numbers
--my good luck charm

Davo Carries Group Gear:

--steripen and batteries
--battery charger
--hand sanitizer
--toothpaste
--combo lock (no need to carry a key to our room!)
--sunscreen
--small amount of laundry soap (to keep our hiking socks from hiking away from us)
--knife
--compass
--map

Angkor Wat: The Macchu Picchu of Southeast Asia

A lifetime ago, when a copious supply of toilet paper was available in every bathroom and I didn't eat rice three times a day, i.e. when I was living in the United States and thinking about traveling, I assumed I would visit Angkor Wat in Cambodia.  I knew barely anything about Cambodia, only a little about the country's turbulent political history, nothing about the language or the cuisine, but I sure knew about Angkor Wat.  Everyone knows about Angkor Wat!  Even teenage boys--yeah, that's where Lara Croft did something-or-other in the Tomb Raider movies.  Angkor Wat is the Grand Canyon of the United States...  the Macchu Picchu of South America...  the Great Egyptian Pyramids of the African continent.

And here I am:

whoot!

Hands down, my favorite parts of the park have been as much natural as manmade.  This is a tree-lovers paradise!  Various species of tree have grown on top of, into, and around various ruins.  The shapes are stunning:  a juxtaposition of man's straight lines with nature's curves.

As I wandered around, I reflected on impermanence.  When these monuments were created, they were so solid.  At the time, it must have seemed like the construction would last forever.  Even now, the ruins have an eternal feeling to them.  But everything that is built will eventually crumble.  Maybe not tomorrow, maybe not this millenium, but eventually it will change and fade away.  That's just the law of nature.

Speaking of nature, I also sensed how everything that arises from nature goes back to nature.  Humans borrowed these stones and piled them up.  Now, nature is taking back what was always hers.

On a less dreamy note, the problem with everyone knowing about Angkor Archaeological Park is, well, everyone knows about it!  After the jump, a little rant about mass tourism and a few suggestions for future visitors...

Paradise!

Written Monday, September 20, 2010.

After leaving Malaysia, we headed north toward Thailand.  It was my first overland border crossing in Asia, and it went really smoothly.  Some crossings, like Thailand into Cambodia, have a long-standing, well-deserved, terrible reputation for scams, bribery, long waits, and other travel hassles.  But Malaysia to Thailand was so easy!

We took an overnight train from Kuala Lumpur to Butterworth (still in Malaysia).  In Butterworth, we walked across the street from the train station to the bus station, where we got a ticket for a mini-bus bound for Hat Yai in Thailand.  At the border, we got out of the mini-bus, went through immigration (already had a tourist visa from Kuala Lumpur), and got back in the mini-bus.  In Hat Yai, we got some Thai baht out of an ATM and got onto another local mini-bus bound for Surat Thani.  By that evening, we were walking around Surat Thani, looking for a way to Koh Tao.  We bought tickets on the overnight ferry, and I slept like a baby in its mother's arms.  In the morning, we payed a small fortune for a pick-up truck to bring us from the ferry to a deserted bay on the far side of the island.  And what did we find there?

Totally worth the 36 hour journey.

There are so many beautiful tropical islands on this great dewdrop, but I've never had the pleasure of visiting one.  I'm so glad that we found ourselves on Koh Tao.  It was random, actually--I did a quick google search to find a place that wouldn't be terribly affected by the monsoon season.  Koh Tao, along with the more famous Koh Samui and Koh Phangan, are off the eastern coast of Thailand.  The full moon fell during our visit, so most of the backpackers left for Koh Phangan and the infamous Full Moon Party, so we had the place to ourselves.



The hiking was like the other hiking I've found in Malaysia and Indonesia.  The paths aren't very well marked, and no one really knows the way, but it was refreshing to wander in the woods for a day.

We also went climbing one day.  There is a local shop, "Goodtime Adventures," that rents out shoes, harnesses, draws, and ropes.  The gear seems to be ok quality, good enough that I felt safe using it.  According to Dave, some of the fixed anchors are suspect, core showing in static line (he brought this to the attention of the staff).  Lesson of the day:  know what you're doing.  This is why Davo built all our anchors.  :-D

The climbing is mostly granite slab.  There's just one technique:  SMEAR.  Seriously, there are no hands, and you don't need to think about any sequence.  Just slap your shoes on the super-rough granite and smear your way up the wall.  Toward the end of the day, I was getting the hang of it.  It was great to climb again, even for a day.  I've only climbed twice since leaving the United States.  It definitely made me think of my friends at home, and I was very thankful that the Gunks are only a 3.5 hour drive from Ithaca!

more climbing porn here :-)

My other big adventure:  I went scuba diving!  This was pretty big for me.  Even though I used to like being in the water as a kid, I've gotten more nervous in the water as I've gotten older.  I get freaked out when I can't see what's underneath me, can't see my arms and legs in murky water...  basically, I'm afraid of sea monsters that might bite me in half.  :-)  As I stood on the edge of the dive boat and started panicking, I wasn't sure if I was going in the water at all.  I had to take off my fins and, with a white-knuckled grip, lower my self down a ladder.

Once I was in the water, it was great!  I had prescription goggles, so I could see everything.  The water was very clear, so no sea monsters could sneak up!  Plus, I had fins and was wearing a wetsuit, so I felt pretty well protected.

What a world, under the water...  just as there are so many insects, frogs, skinks, butterflies, birds, and all manner of critters in the forest, there are big and small fishes, sea slugs, prickly things, smooth things, skinny things, fat things, and every manner of critter under the waves.  I had never fully realized how much lives in the water!

Not only is there tons of wildlife in a reef, but the coral forms all manner of underwater shapes.  I imagine there must be entire mountains under the ocean.  I think of mountains all the time, but they usually have trees or snow on them.  Neat to think this exists under the sea (minus the snow).

Plus, scuba diving itself is really neat.  You can stay underwater for so long that you can really take the time to appreciate what's happening around you.

I probably won't dive again, but I'm really glad I did it once.  And that's what I can say about Koh Tao:  I'll probably spend a lot more time in the mountains than I'll ever spend on a tropical island, or even on a beach, but beaches and tropical islands are still quite nice.

Suggestions for visiting Koh Tao:

Malaysia? What's in Malaysia?

Written September 22, 2010

I'll be honest:  the reason I ended up in Malaysia was because of a cheap flight.  Denpasar, Bali to Kuala Lumpur for about 100 greenbacks.  I needed to leave before my visa ran out, so I figured, "Why not?"

Malaysia was an interesting place.  Just like Singapore is the most un-Southeast Asian city in Southeast Asia, Malaysia is the most un-Southeast Asian country in Southeast Asia.

The standard of living is quite high; Wikipedia tells me that the per capita GDP is roughly USD$14,800, the only country in SE Asia to beat the global average of USD$10,500 (except Brunei, which beats even the United States).  And you can tell it's wealthy, too.  The public transit is clean, efficient, and relatively expensive.  People are well-educated; most speak at least two languages, as English is a compulsory subject in schools.  While I did see some people living on the streets in Kuala Lumpur, the city felt just as modern and clean as Singapore.

Malaysians are an interesting ethnic blend of Malay, Chinese, and Indian.  So even though Malaysia is an Islamic country, defined as such by the Malaysian constitution, there are significant minorities of Buddhists (~19%), Christians (~9%), and Hindus (~6%).  We were in Malaysia for the start of Ramadan, but it didn't affect our travel plans at all.  We simply ate in Indian or Chinese restaurants for breakfast and lunch.

We spent our time in three places:  Kuala Lumpur, Taman Negara National Park, and the Cameron Highlands.

The Easiest Mountain I've Ever Climbed

Mt. Bromo:  hands down, the easiest mountain I've ever climbed.

Dave and I were planning our next move, and we realized that booking a package tour from Yogyakarta to Denpasar in Bali, with a stop in Bromo-Tengger-Semeru National Park, would be nearly as cheap as going independently.  Sigh.  So, we joined the tourist herd for 48 hours.  In retrospect, even though the mini-bus was cramped and the air-conditioning didn't work and the whole shebang was incredibly disorganized, it was probably better than the multiply public transport buses, mini-buses, and bemos we'd have to take.

We got up at 3:30 a.m. to catch a jeep up Mt. Penanjakan to see the sun rise from the north of the volcanoes.  The sunrise wasn't anything amazing, but holy guacamole, those are some pretty pretty mountains!!!

almost like looking at a painting

We piled back in the jeep and headed down into the "Sea of Sands," the inside of the massive crater from which rise the three volcanoes in the foreground above (Semeru, the tall mountain in the back, is outside the crater, to the south).

View Larger Map

So, this is how I climbed the easiest mountain ever.  The jeep drops you off about 1-2 km from the mountain itself.  You walk across the sand, avoid the local Tengger people selling bottled water and horserides at the base of the mountain, then climb 253 steps to the top.  Yeah, there's a staircase.  But the crater at the top is pretty sweet!

holy smokes...  literally!

Here are the rest of the pictures from the day:

Here's what I'd do differently, if I visit again:

Birthday Bash: Borobudur or Bust

Borobudur, a 9th century Buddhist monument/ temple/ mandala (no one is really sure of its original purpose), is Indonesia's Number One Tourist Attraction.  This is the Macchu Picchu, the Eiffel Tower, the Opera House of Indonesia.  I've heard that it's quite impressive in person, and since I have a personal interest in Buddhism, I thought it would be the perfect place to spend my birthday.

Davo and I set out on the afternoon of the 19th to catch a bus to the area, with the intention of finding a room for the night and experiencing sunrise at the monument.  We found the block where Bus 5 was supposed to come.  Two Indonesians, middle-aged guys, kept the buleh (white foreigners) company.  We waited...  and waited...  and waited...  for the bus which supposedly comes every 20 minutes.  After 1 hour 15 minutes sitting in the sun with our fully loaded backpacks with two Indonesians yapping in our ear the entire time, we gave up.  Defeated, we returned to our hotel for the night and booked private transportation to the monument the following afternoon.

We did make it the next day, along with 190,397,239,374 other tourists.  The monument itself, with the intricate carvings and mandala symbolism, is very special.  Dave and I walked clockwise around each level of the temple, in imitation of pilgrims who circumambulate each level three times, absorbing as much as we could in the short time we were given.  Unfortunately, it was distracting to see parents sitting their children on the 1,000 year old carved stone lions, to hear shrieks and laughing around every corner, and to pose for pictures with every teenage Indonesian girl within a 500 meter radius.  Not exactly a time or a place for contemplation.

As I approached the forest of stupas at the top, though, I still got the sense that I was approaching something very special.

At the top, I noticed a hillside about 500 meters away.  It seemed like a good place to get away from the tourist hordes.  I was right--apparently, this hillside is not mentioned in Lonely Planet, which means it either (1) doesn't exist, or (2) isn't worth visiting.  We had the terraces, pavilions, and greenery to ourselves for a quiet moment.

The rest of the photos are here:

A few suggestions if you go...

Sweating in Singapore

Our flight left Darwin nearly three hours late, so we arrived at Singapore's Changi International Airport long after the trains to the city stopped running. Since the cost of a taxi was about one day's budget for Indonesia, we wisely decided to take advantage of the free wi-fi, air-conditioning, and spotless floors by sleeping in the airport.

zzzzzzzz...

We wanted to chill out in Singapore, so we didn't attempt to arrange a couchsurf host. We walked around Little India the first day and Orchard Street the second day. We skipped the tourist attractions, like Sentosa Island, and I don't feel like I missed out on anything. Otherwise, we slept, caught up on email, tried new foods, and Dave played pick-up ultimate frisbee one evening.

little india streetscape

Impressions of Singapore: it's clean, orderly, logical, hot, well-planned, hot, a melting pot of ethnicities, surprisingly easy for English-speakers, hot, wealthy, and hot. I've read that it has the highest quality of life in Asia, and 11th highest in the world.  Singapore is right at the equator, which means it's 80-90 degrees year 'round. Fortunately, air conditioned spots are easy to find.  Read the Wikipedia article for more basic information about Singapore.

super orderly public transport even tells you how to board and alight from the MRT

My favorite memory of Singapore is the awesome availability of fresh, cold juices and drinks, especially sugar cane juice.

sugar cane juice on the left; glass jelly juice on the right

I also tried mee goreng and laksa. I thought both were typically Singaporean, but I've seen "mie goreng" everywhere in Indonesia, so maybe not. Mee goreng is rice vermicelli noodles in a spicy sauce. Laksa is a spicy soup of noodles, tofu, and rice cake.

laksa:  this is delicious

Photo Journal:

Some recommendations if you plan to visit Singapore:

Outback Adventures

We spent our first full night in the Northern Territories aboard Inti... a yacht! We met Rob in virtual reality through Couchsurfing. He invited us to spend a night in his home, which happens to be a boat. We talked about life as nomads, philosophy, politics, economics, and all the other things that make the world go 'round. I feel like I met a kindred spirit in Rob. It was inspirational to meet someone who has lived according to his own vision and values well past the age when certain pressures to "grow up" subdue even the most dedicated idealist. Rob, you have a home wherever we are, and I look forward to the day when our paths cross again!

Darwin turned out to be much more expensive and crowded than we anticipated, as we didn't realize it was peak tourist season (one potential downside to showing up in places randomly). We tried one night in a hostel, but even though we didn't arrive until 3:00 a.m, still I barely slept. So, it's back to sleeping outside! We rented a "ute," or a utility vehicle, actually a small pick-up truck, for only a few more dollars per day than a hostel booking for two. Grabbed a canister of butane for the camp stove and a mosquito net and it was back to nights with nothing but clouds between my closed eyelids and the universe.

(Side note: we obtained two camping mattresses via legal but dubious means. The first night we used them, we spent +/- 3 hours determining whether they were infested with bedbugs via careful application of the scientific method. No, not kidding. Verdict: no bedbugs!)

We spent a few days wandering around Litchfield National Park, which was crowded with mostly Aussie vacationers. Memories... every night, there was a very bright object in the sky, perhaps a planet. One night after dinner, a teeny tiny frog hopped up my skirt and landed on my thigh. Once I was done screaming and hopping around like a frog myself, that was pretty funny. Wild cockatoos are enchanting and goofy. It was so hot that everything slowed to a crawl: my thoughts wandered out of my brain, my feet simply refused to get a move on.

The most memorable tourist attraction in the park was a non-tourist attraction. It wasn't on any map. We stopped to explore some interesting rocks. They reminded me of some sort of ruins, the way they were stacked up in the middle of an otherwise flat, dry landscape. Clumps of grass switched at my calves as I tiptoed around, putting footprints in sand that hasn't seen human feet in a long, long time. One potential upside to showing up in places randomly, I'd say.

On the way back to Darwin, we stopped at Territory Wildlife Park, sponsored by Northern Territory government and featuring only species native to the region. This was the single touristy thing we did, and I'm happy with that. Highlights for me were the wedge-tailed eagle, the "saltie" or saltwater crocodile, and the rock wallabies.

On our last night in Darwin, we drove out to what we expected would be a quiet, dark, deserted park. Imagine my curiosity when a group of flashlight-weilding, rubber-glove-wearing, plastic-bag toting adults and children started wandering around the truck! I approached one of the kids, Brandon, who eagerly explained that they were searching for cane toads to grind into mulch.

What?!

Turns out cane toads are a non-native pest animal here, interfering with hermit crab populations, like possums and stoats interfere with bird populations in New Zealand. "Do you wanna join me? Please?" little Brandon asked. As if he had to ask! Dave got a pair of rubber gloves to protect his hands from the skin irritants in the toads' warts and I got a plastic bag. Brandon entertained us with his stealthy yet showy ninja toad catching moves as we wandered around the park. And thus we caught toads until it was time for bed.

Photo journal:

Here are a few suggestions for Darwin and Northern Territory:

Sydney: 24 Hours

We left Tuateawa for the last time on Sunday afternoon, taking the ferry from Coromandel to Auckland. On the ferry, Dave and I met a new friend, Alex (age 7), who was very upset at leaving her mother to visit her father in the city. We played cards, walked around the deck, and admired her school portfolio, and she seemed much happier by the end of the ferry ride.

In Auckland, we had a quick Thai dinner at Food Alley per Bexie's tip (thanks, Bex!). We took the bus to the airport and found a nice bench to spend the night (the first of many nights spent in interesting places).

Once in Sydney, we headed for Circular Quay, home of the Opera House and Harbor Bridge, via the train. The Opera House is much cooler in person than in pictures... it's an amazing work of architecture! The Harbor Bridge was, uh, a bridge. I don't understand why folks get so excited about it.

After a lunch with one of Dave's friends from a 2005 semester abroad in Sydney, we wandered around in the drizzle, wrapped up in our rain shells, backpacks tucked into rain covers. At one point, I found myself eating ice cream in front of a neuron-shaped modern sculpture while watching some parrots and thought, "This is a little bizarre—but I would rather be no where else right now!"

We noticed a crowd of people standing at the waterfront and went to investigate. Someone said it was a free ferry, so we decided to hop on, without really knowing where it went (why not!). It went to Cockatoo Island, a former penal colony/ ship yard that has been turned into a home for contemporary art. We wandered around, watching video of tap-dancing men in white suits feeding meat to wild dogs, contemplating Balinese-style wood-carved sculptures of suburbanites as Eastern-influenced gods, and realized the day couldn't get weirder. Or more awesome.

The next morning, we met up with Dave's cousin Jess, who happened to be in the city for a vacation. We got breakfast, wandered around, and chatted for a while. She's a lot of fun, and I'm happy I got to meet her. After saying our goodbyes, it was time to take the train back to the airport... ready for more adventures!

A few recommendations for Auckland and Sydney:

Ten Backpacking Recommendations for New Zealand

I'm leaving New Zealand in 30 hours after being here 4.5 months.  Here's a collection of recommendations I wish I knew before I arrived.  May this assist you, anonymous fellow traveler!

The Pinnacles

On Saturday, 4/17, Dave and I took a trip down to The Pinnacles for a day hike.  Most guidebooks recommend this as an overnight trip, with the overnight happening in The Pinnacles hut, and The Pinnacles themselves as an optional (!) side trip.  (Ladies and Gentlemen, this is why I don't read guidebooks!)  The hut is sweet, though; maintained by DOC (Department of Conservation), it is complete with 80 mattresses on bunks, a full kitchen, and even (cold) showers, for a cost of NZD $25 per person per night.

On the way up, we took the Moss Creek trail.  It starts out as a wide, relatively flat trail through lush, green bush (Kiwi for "forest").  There are a few stream crossings, complete with suspension bridges:

The trail then becomes steeper, with lots and lots of rock steps.  This goes on for a few kilometers as you traversely climb a ridge.  At one point, an enormous tree trunk (kauri?) sits alongside the trail.  I think every tramper uses it as a photo op!

It took us a little over two hours to reach the hut via the Moss Creek trail, and another 45 minutes to the top of the Pinnacles.  The reward at the top was sweet:

Unfortunately, the weather worsened, as some clouds rolled in and the wind picked up.  We decided to take the Moss Creek trail straight back to the carpark.  Alternately, you could take the Billy Goat trail, which is a little longer, but has different types of scenery.  We made it back to the carpark in great time, and I regret a bit not taking the extra time to descend via the other trail.

Because of the DOC hut, the well-maintained trail, and the stairs on the moderate grades, this would be a very accessible first backpacking trip or a great trip with children.  I can see why this tramp is so popular and so highly recommended in the guidebooks...  and why the carpark was so full.  (Seriously, there was a group of ~40 Asian adult tourists all tramping together.)

My recommendations:

• Definitely make the "optional" trip up the Pinnacles
• Decide whether it makes sense for you and your group to stay in the hut--this can be a day trip, but if you've got the time, the hut is very nice
• If you use them regularly, bring hiking poles
• As always, bring a fleece and/or rain shell and sun protection
• Start early; avoid the crowds (you'll see them heading in the other direction, leaving the hut)

Photo album here: