After yesterday’s Little Adventure, today was just the slog to get back to Nelson.

I walked this route a few times and for once I’m destination focused. My food is at a low ebb, I do have two lunches remaining, they will come in handy today, plus a spare brekkie but that’s it.

Day 6, and I’m outta here.

Well, not immediately, after half an hour down by the river, that pool just downstream from the hut is remarkable in its clarity, a chunky triangular rock in the middle, a long, but not deep trout patrolling its environment.

It’s steamy as, warm and humid, my glasses don’t work well in these conditions, I put them in my pocket, then I put them back on, off, etc.

Straight up to Rocks by 1 pm, and then amongst the alternatives I decide that making for the Maitai River might be the way to go. Blaze a new trail for once, rather than the overly familiar Dun Mountain Walkway.

It’s out in the cloud near Dun Saddle, gloomy, not much of a vista. The track down to the dam is now most commonly used by mountain bikes, it’s been realigned to suit their needs, some weaving around the contours rather than a more direct A to B route.

Eventually I get to the road, it’s a Friday afternoon, there should be some traffic. The first car does stop to give me a lift into town but I had managed to walk half of the gravel section, maybe another 5 km.

After a resupply at the supermarket, loading the pack back up, it was just the 2 km trudge back up the hill to my own bed, an 11 hour day. I’ve climbed more than 1300 m and cranked out around 31 km.

This could have been a five day jaunt had the weather been better early on, just the one less than totally energetic day hopping from Mount Fell out over to Richmond Saddle.

It might have taken decades to finally complete the circuit but somehow I get the feeling this won’t be the last time I do variation on this route.

← Day 5 | Roebuck Hut, Mt Richmond Forest Park