📍Queenstown, New Zealand. Queenstown Ben Lomond Saddle/Summit 1748 meters

Finally, we successfully completed the challenging One Day Track - Ben Lomond. The highest point is 1748 meters, offering a 360-degree panoramic view of Queenstown, Lake Wakatipu, and the surrounding snow-capped mountains. The journey was arduous. Because we started late, we opted to take the Gondola to save an hour of travel time. We started the trail at 11:30 am and arrived at the viewpoint at 1:30 pm. However, most people choose this trail for the unobstructed 360-degree panoramic view from the highest point. This last section takes about one to 1.5 hours and is practically not a path. You have to carefully observe to find your way, and you almost have to use your hands and feet to move forward. On the ridgeline, all you hear is your own breathing and the wind. The magnificent mountain and lake views are like a still painting. Along the way, we encountered several foreign hikers with light steps. They all greeted us warmly and told us: "You can do it!" "It's worth it!" "You're almost there!" We saw tiny figures slowly moving along the ridgeline in the distance, until we finally became tiny dots in their eyes, slowly advancing. Perhaps our pace was slow, but we were still moving step by step towards our goal. The moment we finally reached the summit, the view before us was truly breathtaking. We stayed at the high point for over an hour, despite the bright sunshine, we were reluctant to leave, because this is a challenging trail, usually not chosen by tourists. Therefore, Ison and I were the only two Asians on the trail. Thanks to my roommate, running buddy, dining buddy, travel buddy, hiking buddy, and comrade-in-arms, who occasionally even acted as my alarm clock ⏰ Hahaha! - A minor scare 👀 On the way down, we went the wrong way. Because this section of rock climbing was difficult to discern, we ended up on a mountain goat trail, not a human trail... Caught between a rock and a cliff, we could only grit our teeth and slowly slide down. I led the way, clinging tightly to the only safe patch of grass, climbing through the crevices. Because it was all rock, I was terrified of rolling down, so I moved very slowly, searching for the right path. It was indeed dangerous; we only encountered about 20 other hikers along the way. With no one to turn to for help on the cliff face, we could only rely on our survival instincts. But secretly, I felt excited, because this was a path no one had ever walked before, and in the end, it proved that "paths are made by people!"