tramping new zealand

Overachievement. It’s been nine days since I left Nelson, and I’ve certainly been cranking out those steps, even if many of them haven’t been carrying a pack. Ditto with the hillclimbing.

My body seems to be holding up okay, although that can change abruptly. A loss of weight is probable with all that exercise and oxygen, so they may help with the buildup from a more sedentary existence over the last year.

I’ve changed to lightweight hiking shoes for the first time, and they seem to have good grip on the slopes. And I’m not changing back to leather boots until the snow comes at this rate.

A commercial jet flying over the hut reminded me that civilisation is not far away, and that is where I was heading to resupply fresh food. Most of my tramping food for the next two months is loaded into the boot of my car, but some salad items or fruit would be appreciated.

The nor’wester was ripping through in the morning. No dew on my tent. The wind is drying out an already dry forest, so that’s not good for the fire season across Canterbury.

It was time to pack up and skittle.

It always seems simpler and quicker to return over a track, and I’d better get used to that in the next month. There’s gonna be a lot of parking the car, and then having to get back to it.

So it proved, although there’s 200 m of elevation loss, which assisted with my departure from the area. It’s clear that the slopes had been burnt off at some stage in the past and sheep introduced, but it’s been at least 30 years since that ceased. The forest is predominantly manuka with some mountain beech sprinkled through.

Some erosion of the track and the height of detritus a long way up from the current river level shows how huge the river could get. It’s like 6 m up, or more.

A new bench track has been chiselled across the steep slope in a few places, making escape easier. Still, some clambering up slopes was required, but that is almost entirely in the first half.

Three women out training scooted past with a dog, then later a trail runner.

At the car park, a Subaru with a bike on top hinted she was training for the coast-to-coast.

It was great to take my pack and wet trail runners off. Get seated.

Time for a change of scene for a few days in Christchurch.