Alex Knob Trail – Franz Josef Glacier, New Zealand 2/3/25

Monday, February 3, 2025

Alex Knob Trail – Franz Josef Glacier

Cloudy, cool, mid 50s

Ian, Court, and Doc

8.09 miles

Franz Josef is a neat town in the valley below the Franz Josef Glacier. It was named after the Austrian emperor in the 1800s. Court also had her favorite meal of the trip here, an Indian restaurant with Jalfrezi.

When we woke up for the hike, the clouds were very low and would remain so the entire day. It was very surreal walking through a rainforest to views of a glacier.

We hit the trail in the morning and started the climb up through the forest. We would stop a bit short of the summit and turn back, but we heard from other hikers that there was no view at the top due to the clouds anyway.

The trail was well maintained at the beginning and would get very rooty and rocky later on. One annoying aspect was the constant stream of tourist helicopters that buzzed our heads the entire time, taking people up to the glacier. There is something to be said for wilderness without the sounds of human interference. There is a great book and research project called One Square Inch of Silence that explains the importance and beauty of quiet spaces that I highly recommend.

As we climbed up the mountain, the trail became more challenging, but more beautiful.

There were all these red filaments on the ground that were from flowers from the trees known as Christmas Trees. I don’t know the real name of them, but it made the forest floor very beautiful, with pops of red everywhere.

A couple of hours later we made it to our turnaround point at Christmas Lookout, again named for the red trees. The view was somewhat obstructed by clouds, but still beautiful.

We headed back down and were excited to go find food at the aforementioned Indian restaurant. I was especially impressed with Doc on this hike, as it was not easy by any means and he made it the whole way without much trouble. Good job everyone!

Bonus pics of the Fox Glacier that we took the next day on the way to Queenstown.