So it kept raining, often just the typical West Coast wetting drizzle, at other times torrential.
I was okay about an enforced rest day, didn’t need to make any excuse.
26 hours later I noticed a brightening in the sky, look, a patch of blue, then it closed in again.
There is a comfortable bunk here and I rigged up a backrest for the day, ensconced in reading a dense book I bought over from Crystal Bivvy.
A pool of water blows under the door, the slope to the floor is the wrong way.
I’m cozy enough in my sleeping bag with many of my remaining dry clothes on, including hoodie and soft shell jacket. I have plenty of food left, five days, except perhaps for coffee. I can eek it out.
Zit Creek has an extensive catchment but it is steep so will drain quickly. 12 hours after the rain stops should be okay for crossing. If it continues to rain in the night I’ll be here for a third night.
It’s not far from Zit Creek to the swingbridge over the Toaroha River and then the two huts are close by. Cedar Flat is a modern DOC-style hut, with a wood burner, double glazing, etc, and the older New Zealand Forest Service two bunker is immediately adjacent if I have company and determine that solitude is the way to go.
If the weather is good tomorrow morning I can probably leave after lunch, it will all be downhill in a big hurry.
Now time for dinner and an early night.
The hut is really a leaky unlined shed, 3.6 × 5 metres, with a couple of steel sheet lined benches and four timber bunks on one side.
All my clothes are hanging to dry.
It is not quite situated on the ridgeline, maybe about 100 m over to the east, so phone reception available at the top of the hill yesterday has disappeared when sitting in the hut. The radio reception was poor, and while I could pick up the score of the Melbourne Boxing Day cricket test I was unable to hear the weather forecast for this country. This northerly does not seem to be completely drying out. Maybe tonight.
I have a recharge booster for my iPod so those no shortage of music, or in this instance, podcasts to listen to.
I think my body has appreciated the break from physical exertion for a day or so.
A guide to the night’s accommodation: Yeats Ridge Hut
