Ditto from yesterday.
Rain first thing, ie, 5 am and onwards, so I wasn’t going anywhere immediately. If it cleared, as the forecast suggested, I would head to East Matakitaki Hut tomorrow for a night or two. That would mean I would have to miss out on Bobs Hut this time.
At 9 am, the low cloud cleared enough to see that a waterfall I could pick out yesterday with a good flow was barely visible, so if it wasn’t raining heavily, I should have at least made a dash for it.
But I’m getting too old and wise to spend a full day soaked, unless I’m walking homewards and can change into dry clothes.
In any case, I was managing to find ways to fill in the day. Yesterday I split wood. Then I filled the small lake at the front door with gravel from the nearby stream, carrying it up in a bucket. That got my step count up. I still had a few trips to go to achieve the grand entrance vision I imagined.
Having two big power banks meant I could listen to podcasts and make little videos without concern of running my phone flat.
I caught the mouse that had been scuttling around the hut with the mousetrap I carry and some mayonnaise I found here. Sorry, bud.
By 11 am, the wind had finally shifted south, the rain stopped, and blue sky appeared.
I’d been down to the river to see a modest rise, but also plenty of new snow on the hills. It was down to around 1100 m with Downie Hut at 525 m. I looked at the Downie Creek outflow, and it didn’t seem too high.
It turned out I could have spent the day walking to East Matakitaki, but the forest was wet, although that changed slowly during the day.
I spent the afternoon chopping more wood and cutting the track up to Downey Creek. Then collected some flat rocks for the doorstep as the gravel kept coming inside on my boots.
By 4 30 pm it was time to light the fire, and with the wood drier, it got going more easily. Started cranking.
Tomorrow, I’ll head to East Matakitaki Hut. I think I found another day’s worth of food, so it might not be such a rush if I decide to go to Bobs Hut as well.
A guide to the night’s accommodation: Downie Hut
