tramping new zealand

Another day just wandering along. On what turned out to be a cloudless day. Not windless however.

If I hadn’t plastered my face and backs of my hands with sunscreen before I left I might have turned out well razzled.

The entire day was on well-maintained farm tracks which made for easy walking. But I still have at least a week’s supply of food so I’m still lumbering. I guess each day my pack is going down in weight, and I hope I am too, although I see limited evidence.

Maybe less than five hours walking to cover more than 20 km distance, even if you include the 500 m vertical climb to get over Saxton Pass.

At least I have decent food, and sufficient as well, even a handful of nuts when I get to a hut, all sorted for each day in its own Ziploc bag.

Today was a day of contemplating my route. That was about time.

I had thought I could zip up the Acheron River when I got there, over Port Cooper Saddle, 1690 m, and into the top of the Saxton River. But there was a big NO ENTRY sign that couldn’t I couldn’t really ignore. There was a marker post for the East West route which goes over to the Saxton River, so I took that instead. That got me back onto the Molesworth Road briefly then I was heading up the Saxton River.

Again all easy enough walking.

There were three river crossings, but with my gaitors and boots, and a speedy crossing style in just over ankle deep water, with five or six leaps I was through without water inside my boots.

Saxton Hut has had a varied life. It was built in 1968 at Quartz Creek in Mount Richmond Forest Park, then relocated to the nearby Boulder Stream in 1983. In 2012 the hut was again relocated, here, and extended from four bunks with an open fire, to a six bunk with a wood burner, even though it’s totally in grassland. Ain’t nothing to burn around here. It has new piles and subfloor structure, a new door and three new aluminium windows, all double glazed, insulated and relined internally, new floor, new bunks and benches, and a porch that has a 1000 litre water tank under the roof. Is it still the same hut?

I’m not complaining.

As with all huts on this trip I have stayed on this trip I’m on my lonesome.

The plan tomorrow is to scoot up the valley, over the 1419 m Saxton Saddle, not such a big climb when it’s more than 10 km away and I’m already over 1000 m.

I’m hoping the weather might continue in this glorious summerness.

Yeah, blue sky. I could do with a continuation of that.

Fingers crossed.