Goat Pass Hut, eh?
I haven’t come as far as I’d earlier imagined but then when you don’t get away until 10 am what do you expect?
Early on I lay in the tent for a good well past my standard get up time, mostly due to the damp tent and sleeping bag, and that’s not at all like me, I guess my body was complaining.
No worry, a shorter day was planned, Upper Deception Hut, but in the way things work out when I reached Goat Pass and the nearby hut it was right on 4 pm and showering off and on. If I had any hope of drying things out I’d better stop now. It’s an hour onto the next dry accommodation, might as well make the most of having 20 bunk hut to myself.
There’s a few stray Wilderness mags around, plenty of reading, there are you. What’s the hurry?
It’s stated as 8-9 hours down the Deception River, then you have to deal with the Otira for a while, so I’m reconciled to Locke Stream Hut in two night’s time, camping in the Taramakau/Otira somewhere tomorrow night.
I’ve had a couple of spare days up my sleeve with my timing into Boyle Village, five nights after tonight, but it seems I’ve used one up already at Julia.
It wasn’t really your standard summer’s day, overcast and cool, and there were a few river crossings to rinse my feet, those new boots have been wet almost constantly since I bought them and, like the rest of my damp kit, are starting to get seriously on the nose.
I ran into Ron who was camped directly on the track, he apparently takes even longer to get started each morning, often the afternoon in fact, tending to spend a bit of time playing his guitar down by the river or wherever, he’s also on TA and heading in the same direction.
The precipitation is mostly intermittent drizzle rather than even showers, but I’m thinking the Deception won’t be up too much higher unless there’s a big downpour. That’s my theory.
The Goat Pass Hut is in a dramatic location, looking across the top of the Deception River to some fairly steep bluffs.
Now, just on dark, Ron has arrived so time for some conversation.