No swimming out of my tent this morning, though within a km or two I made it to a pristine spot right at the south end of South Mavora Lake. Ah, well. Rest and food in a mossy sandfly divot is better than collapsing from fatigue on the trail.
Today, I made it another 23km/8hrs up the Mavora lakes and rivers to Boundary Hut. Every hut I've stayed in has a slightly different layout, and this one has an indoor tap!
The walk today was my favorite yet, though the weather was overcast and most of it was on a foot-bruising 4WD (large gravel/torn up) path. I stayed mostly in the woods along South Mavora Lake. The views I did glimpse were of incredible, rugged mountains guarding the sides and head of the valley I traveled through. There were plenty of singing water fowl - including Canadian geese, of all things. There were also two folks in sea kayaks out on the lakes. I think we each gave each quite a surprise since it seemed like such a quite morning in such a remote spot.
After the deceivingly small southern lake, I crossed a very sturdy suspension footbridge over to the incredibly popular Mavora campground. Ok, so maybe this wasn't such a remote spot. However, as soon as I got a few km north of the campground, hiker population dropped to just me, again. North Mavora lake is stunning. I know I've said that a lot so far, but this is prettier than Milford Sound and more aesthetically pleasing than anything I've seen so far. It's also incredibly serene. I'm just starting to relax into this hike, and this is the most peaceful I've felt in a very, very long time. My body and mind are adjusting to the rhythms of waking up each day to mind-blowing splendor, and this kind of scenery makes it so easy and appealing to mimic the deep wells of strength, beauty, and peace by which I am surrounded. Sounds cheesy, but it is what it is.
I followed the 4WD track for 10k along the lakeshore while the blustery winds drove some clouds in from the west, and then, both I and the track turned into yet another stunning valley for the last 6k. With the wind at my back, I wandered along the foot of a ridge, well above the very serpentine river that carved out this particular valley. Though rain threatened, it rarely fell. The rays of sunlight that occasionally escaped the racing clouds did provide quite the dramatic lighting.
1.07.2016
1.06.2016
Mossburn Highway to the Mouth of the Mavora River
Whoo boy, today was a doozie. After a trip to the ranger station for a hut pass and a 1.5 hr wait for a hitch, I set off along the Mavora Lakes Road for what was supposed to be 11km of road walking. Thanks to one short hitch from a chatty farmer (i.e. maybe 100m) and one more hitch from a hiker on his day off (to get me back to the trail after I walked past it), I finally reached the Mavora River.
Following another farmer's instructions, I ended up crawling 5-10m through bush lawyer and devil's tongue to reach the river and my orange TA poles again. (These farmers are nicer than I expect. I usually expect shouting/shooing rather than trail-finding advise when I'm standing lost in the middle of a patch of dirt when the farmer comes to plow. It's not their fault that they don't think the orange marker poles just across their boundary fences mark a footpath. They can look as well as the next person and tell you there's no worn tread there.)
The river "path" was reasonable, though. It went through reasonably low (knee-high) grasses with only occasional prickly bushes and thistle barring your way. There were tons of yellow-flowering shrubs, and lupine dotted the banks of the Mavora. As long as I kept to the poles, there was even a beaten footpath that showed up from time to time. If you went away from the poles in hopes of following the river rather than winding back and forth between river and farm fence, you ended up in hip-deep bog. (Ask me how I know.)
After 2-3hrs of moderate progress along the banks, the trail forded the lower calf-deep river (full of algae-like gunk and didymo) and headed to a super-fast path through the woods. Older, well-spaced trees + drought = zooming trampers. There weren't even a ton of roots to keep me from a 4km/hr rate! There was some nifty rotting wood along the path - it didn't have signs of lichenous/mossy fuzz, but it was turning a nice teal/turquoise color as it decomposed.
Unfortunately, the terrain was so nice that I passed 5 quality camping spots and ended up on a bluff above the river (and away from a water source) before I got tired. After another hour of hiking, I've made it to a little divot in the land near the mouth of the Mavora. I've covered 30+km today (and that doesn't include the piecemeal hitches, since I wasn't walking then). I'm glad that I covered good ground today, there's some nasty weather hitting the fiordlands, and who knows how far inland it will come. I'm just hoping there won't be rain tonight, as my tent site is a prime pond spot.
Following another farmer's instructions, I ended up crawling 5-10m through bush lawyer and devil's tongue to reach the river and my orange TA poles again. (These farmers are nicer than I expect. I usually expect shouting/shooing rather than trail-finding advise when I'm standing lost in the middle of a patch of dirt when the farmer comes to plow. It's not their fault that they don't think the orange marker poles just across their boundary fences mark a footpath. They can look as well as the next person and tell you there's no worn tread there.)
The river "path" was reasonable, though. It went through reasonably low (knee-high) grasses with only occasional prickly bushes and thistle barring your way. There were tons of yellow-flowering shrubs, and lupine dotted the banks of the Mavora. As long as I kept to the poles, there was even a beaten footpath that showed up from time to time. If you went away from the poles in hopes of following the river rather than winding back and forth between river and farm fence, you ended up in hip-deep bog. (Ask me how I know.)
After 2-3hrs of moderate progress along the banks, the trail forded the lower calf-deep river (full of algae-like gunk and didymo) and headed to a super-fast path through the woods. Older, well-spaced trees + drought = zooming trampers. There weren't even a ton of roots to keep me from a 4km/hr rate! There was some nifty rotting wood along the path - it didn't have signs of lichenous/mossy fuzz, but it was turning a nice teal/turquoise color as it decomposed.
Unfortunately, the terrain was so nice that I passed 5 quality camping spots and ended up on a bluff above the river (and away from a water source) before I got tired. After another hour of hiking, I've made it to a little divot in the land near the mouth of the Mavora. I've covered 30+km today (and that doesn't include the piecemeal hitches, since I wasn't walking then). I'm glad that I covered good ground today, there's some nasty weather hitting the fiordlands, and who knows how far inland it will come. I'm just hoping there won't be rain tonight, as my tent site is a prime pond spot.
1.05.2016
Zero Day!
Oof, what an incredible week! Well, after three days of beach and four days of woods and farms, I've hitched a long ways into Te Anau, tourism capital of the fiordlands. The town is pretty decent, especially considering that it's at 600% of its off-season capacity. Lots of cafes and outdoors stores, and a handful of very patient locals.
I took a bus/boat combo in to see Milford Sound, which is a quite spectacular fiord. I'd love to grab a sea kayak and paddle around some of the other areas in the 3 million acre national park. The 4000 ft peaks here plunge straight into 180 ft deep water. The mountain faces are so rocky and steep that they're subject to the occasional "tree avalanche." Under windy or rainy conditions, a trees roots will give way, and its fall will wipe out everything below it - like a mudslide without mud.
All in all, the Te Araroa's been reasonably kind so far. The long days on the beach toughened up my feet first thing, and the terrain's steadily increased in difficulty. I've only had one difficult spot as far as navigation goes; shoulder high tussock doesn't mix well with stomach high trail markers. (Or, for that matter, with finding good footing.) One of my knees seems to be balking at tough inclines and declines; hopefully, it'll get the hang of things soon. Regardless, I'm planning to split up hikes longer than 25km for at least the next 7-10 days. I really, really enjoyed the days that I could finish early and have some down time in camp. That may have to change eventually, but I don't mind having more R&R for now.
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.
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.
1.03.2016
Lower Wairaki to Aparima Hut
Another short one today! Jaunted through the woods to Aparima Hut. It was 17/16.5/13.5km, depending on which sign or notation that you trust, and thought the trail notes said navigation would be tricky, the trail was clear and well marked.
The rolling terrain was largely split into open mossy forest or open-ish bracken woods. The weather was poor - cold and wet with mostly just a light, steady mist and a bit of a breeze. With the help of the weather, the ferns and grasses kept me soaked from the knee down, while everything covered by my rain shell and skirt barely got damp. I kept my gloves and my fleece beanie on nearly all day.
I must have seen well over 100 different types of moss today, and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if that guess is an order of magnitude too low. There was stuff that looked like tiny ferns and tufted evergreens and other stringy mosses hanging from the birches. The mosses were a gazillion different hues, but my favorite was a pale green-white moss that hinted of edelweiss. I didn't stop for anything more than a few sips of water and two nut bars all day, and so I made it to the hut (complete with pot-bellied stove!) for a late lunch of melty cheese quesadilla around 3ish. The fire's warming everything up now, but this hut is big and new and drafty. Thank heavens for whoever filled the wood pile so well!
Oh, and while they weren't yesterday's Telford Tops daisies or the little shrubs with tiny white flowers, today's prairie did have some evergreen-looking shrubs/trees that adorned themselves with a rather attractive small, white flower. Up close these guys have tiny round leaves that rotate around projecting stems, and they (or something that tends to share similar habitat) every now and then smeel just faintly of allspice. They almost look like self-decorating Christmas trees. (I've since learned that those trees are Manuka trees, and those small flowers produce a pretty tasty honey.)
The rolling terrain was largely split into open mossy forest or open-ish bracken woods. The weather was poor - cold and wet with mostly just a light, steady mist and a bit of a breeze. With the help of the weather, the ferns and grasses kept me soaked from the knee down, while everything covered by my rain shell and skirt barely got damp. I kept my gloves and my fleece beanie on nearly all day.
I must have seen well over 100 different types of moss today, and it honestly wouldn't surprise me if that guess is an order of magnitude too low. There was stuff that looked like tiny ferns and tufted evergreens and other stringy mosses hanging from the birches. The mosses were a gazillion different hues, but my favorite was a pale green-white moss that hinted of edelweiss. I didn't stop for anything more than a few sips of water and two nut bars all day, and so I made it to the hut (complete with pot-bellied stove!) for a late lunch of melty cheese quesadilla around 3ish. The fire's warming everything up now, but this hut is big and new and drafty. Thank heavens for whoever filled the wood pile so well!
Oh, and while they weren't yesterday's Telford Tops daisies or the little shrubs with tiny white flowers, today's prairie did have some evergreen-looking shrubs/trees that adorned themselves with a rather attractive small, white flower. Up close these guys have tiny round leaves that rotate around projecting stems, and they (or something that tends to share similar habitat) every now and then smeel just faintly of allspice. They almost look like self-decorating Christmas trees. (I've since learned that those trees are Manuka trees, and those small flowers produce a pretty tasty honey.)
1.02.2016
Telford Burn to Lower Wairaki Hut
Telford campsite was just magnificent last night! I got a wash & soak in the creek, washed all of my clothes, and got a spectacular view up the valley out of my tent. Sandflies came up in the evening, thick enough to act like curtains for my tent, and mist slowly envelopped the hills. I did catch some nice stars in the middle of the night. (This is the first night I haven't been bone-tired enough to sleep like the dead through the entire night.)
Today was another short day over to Lower Wairaki Hut. As per the DOC, it's 9km and was expected to take 5hrs. For those of you unfamiliar with the DOC measurements, they're designed for fit mountain goats. If you are neither fit nor a mountain goat and the DOC tells you that it will take one hour to travel about one mile, you are in for some pretty intense terrain. The trail started with a brutal climb straight up a hillside. And I do mean straight up. The kind of straight up where you use your hands to grab the tufts of grass hanging out right beside your face, so that you can scoot your foot up another step. The climb was mostly through scrub and tussock, but there were some small and tricky sections on scree. After of two hours of climbing, I was on to a long and steady descent through the woods. I'm glad that I went NOBO here - descending that climb would have been terrible!
I was considering continuing on to Aparima hut since the weather was so perfect and warm today. Trail sign at Lower Wairaki shows 16km rather than the 13km in the notes, though. I'll take another ~6 hour day tomorrow and a long steady march out to Te Anau the next day. The hut here is lovely and reassuring. Where Martin's was damp and cramped, Lower Wairaki is dry and open. The fact that it's in the open and not in a muddy wood probably helps. My feet didn't love the downhill or the mid-afternoon burst of speed, but my feet and knees are both noticeably starting to strengthen. (The rest helps!!!)
There were some neat mushrooms along the trail today - small, near-sperical yellow balls. When they grow big enough, it looks like the stalk gives up and the top goes rolling off, dispersing seed. There were also lots of meadow flowers on the way up - daises and some small yellow flowers by the ton. Hopefully, I'll get some more practice climbs like today before I reach the really meaty mountains further on!
Today was another short day over to Lower Wairaki Hut. As per the DOC, it's 9km and was expected to take 5hrs. For those of you unfamiliar with the DOC measurements, they're designed for fit mountain goats. If you are neither fit nor a mountain goat and the DOC tells you that it will take one hour to travel about one mile, you are in for some pretty intense terrain. The trail started with a brutal climb straight up a hillside. And I do mean straight up. The kind of straight up where you use your hands to grab the tufts of grass hanging out right beside your face, so that you can scoot your foot up another step. The climb was mostly through scrub and tussock, but there were some small and tricky sections on scree. After of two hours of climbing, I was on to a long and steady descent through the woods. I'm glad that I went NOBO here - descending that climb would have been terrible!
I was considering continuing on to Aparima hut since the weather was so perfect and warm today. Trail sign at Lower Wairaki shows 16km rather than the 13km in the notes, though. I'll take another ~6 hour day tomorrow and a long steady march out to Te Anau the next day. The hut here is lovely and reassuring. Where Martin's was damp and cramped, Lower Wairaki is dry and open. The fact that it's in the open and not in a muddy wood probably helps. My feet didn't love the downhill or the mid-afternoon burst of speed, but my feet and knees are both noticeably starting to strengthen. (The rest helps!!!)
There were some neat mushrooms along the trail today - small, near-sperical yellow balls. When they grow big enough, it looks like the stalk gives up and the top goes rolling off, dispersing seed. There were also lots of meadow flowers on the way up - daises and some small yellow flowers by the ton. Hopefully, I'll get some more practice climbs like today before I reach the really meaty mountains further on!
1.01.2016
The Cheater's Route to Telford Burn Campsite
Whoo, I sure did cheat the trail today. No ride back to where I hitched in from yesterday was apparent, so I attempted to get over toward Ohai. It took forever. (How did I manage to plan this hike so that I'd need a hitch bright and early on day one of the new year?)
In a miraculous occurrence, the guy who picked me up after 4 hours of trying to hitch (a ~10k? distance) works on Litton Station, the sheep farm that I'd be crossing on the TA. This guy is a tramper himself, just back from hiking around in the Fiordlands, and cut out a significant amount of my gravel farm road walk. I'm a bit sad to have skipped the Otautau to Ohai portion, but the logistics were daunting and maybe I'll be able to give some of my aches and pains a bit more rest and attention for the next couple of days. So far, I feel pretty vindicated in my cheating.
So, Litton Station is the biggest sheep farm in all of New Zealand, and it is gorgeous. Drop-dead, I-could-live-here-forever, why-am-I-not-a-sheep-in-New-Zealand, maybe-I-could-go-into-farming gorgeous. Seriously, if I thought I would have any chance of being hired on at this farm, I would discard that shiny new genetics Ph.D. in a second and start working on my, I dunno, shearing skills or something. This farm has some really steep foothills with crystal clear streams and incredible vistas through a multitude of narrow valleys.
I took a short walk up a hill, across some sheep paddocks, and through an area with a bunch of cattle who were not so used to humans. I've made it just to the start of conservation land, and have set up at Telford Burn Campsite. This is the prettiest spot I've ever camped, and thanks to my laziness and my odd turn of luck, I've been able to wash, read, and relax while the sun's still up. It's still toasty out, and I think this is the first day that I haven't been on the trail for 10-12 hours. Lordy lou, this is a beautiful spot.
In a miraculous occurrence, the guy who picked me up after 4 hours of trying to hitch (a ~10k? distance) works on Litton Station, the sheep farm that I'd be crossing on the TA. This guy is a tramper himself, just back from hiking around in the Fiordlands, and cut out a significant amount of my gravel farm road walk. I'm a bit sad to have skipped the Otautau to Ohai portion, but the logistics were daunting and maybe I'll be able to give some of my aches and pains a bit more rest and attention for the next couple of days. So far, I feel pretty vindicated in my cheating.
So, Litton Station is the biggest sheep farm in all of New Zealand, and it is gorgeous. Drop-dead, I-could-live-here-forever, why-am-I-not-a-sheep-in-New-Zealand, maybe-I-could-go-into-farming gorgeous. Seriously, if I thought I would have any chance of being hired on at this farm, I would discard that shiny new genetics Ph.D. in a second and start working on my, I dunno, shearing skills or something. This farm has some really steep foothills with crystal clear streams and incredible vistas through a multitude of narrow valleys.
I took a short walk up a hill, across some sheep paddocks, and through an area with a bunch of cattle who were not so used to humans. I've made it just to the start of conservation land, and have set up at Telford Burn Campsite. This is the prettiest spot I've ever camped, and thanks to my laziness and my odd turn of luck, I've been able to wash, read, and relax while the sun's still up. It's still toasty out, and I think this is the first day that I haven't been on the trail for 10-12 hours. Lordy lou, this is a beautiful spot.
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