tramping new zealand

Rain or continuing drizzle in the night.

The weather forecast I picked up on my transistor radio was for clearing weather in the afternoon. That would be great.

Hopefully the next day would be good enough for a trip across the tops to Nardoo Bivvy.

I still had the chimney and west elevation to assess.

It drizzled most of the morning and even parts of the afternoon. Wind gusts came through. The temperature dropped further, still clearly single digits. Clearly it was not yet summer.

I finished measuring up the chimney and bench and got to work with the shovel to allow water to drain around the hut. Plenty of small beech leaves had built up and slowly turned into compost.

I started writing up my findings and scope of work, and that somehow filled the day. It’s easier when you are on the job, and everything is still fresh in your mind. You can remeasure anything that doesn’t seem right.

In the end, I made dinner and slid into my sleeping bag before 6 pm.

No drizzle after 4 pm, and I was hoping for a change of weather before my rush across the tops to Nardoo. Rain and wind wouldn’t be fun on an exposed ridge that goes all day at a height that reaches over 2000 m.