1.04.2016

Aparima to Te Anau

Alright, so today was tough. The terrain was ok, the weather was pleasant, and there weren't any major elevation changes. But I am developing a strong aversion to tussock. Specifically, neck-high, packed, stupid-tufts-of-grass-that-obscure-everything tussock.

In addition to the full body workout that dragging your body and pack through thick mats of grass requires, navigating through tussock also requires laser vision, which I currently lack. There are branches, brambles, ankle-wide/calf-deep seeps, knee/hip-deep troughs, and, of course, ankle-twisting tussock bases that all litter the spongy ground on which you must walk. And you can't see any of that because you're in a field of tussock.

Needless to say, though the terrain was a mix of the typical TA woods and bad tussock, travel was slow today. I twisted a knee about 3 hours in (in tussock), pulled a quad while being chased by a nesting pair of raptors (through tussock), and proceeded to scrape the inside of my elbow pretty well on a marker sign (which I couldn't see due to - surprise - tussock).

The vistas were lovely today, though. And the second half of the walk mainly stuck to the woods. Granted, TA-style woods are still rough with two sore legs, but at least they weren't tussock!

I hobbled out through the woods about 4hrs after I thought I would, but managed to get 6km down the farm road to a highway in one piece. The flat ground even helped me recover a bit!  Now, I just need the zero day to take care of the rest. 

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