Day 41
Oct 11 day 41 Taumaranui to stealth camp on 42 Traverse 34 km 9:00-4:30 My first equipment failure and it wasn’t my shoes (they keep holding on). The bottom valve of my camelback failed which of course meant a liter or more of water in the bottom of my pack. Made me glad I double […]
Wonderlust
Wonderlust The great philosopher Van Morrison once asked, “Didn’t I come to bring you a sense of wonder?” Besides listening to his music, there are many ways to wonder. Wandering the Te Araroa prompts a questioning of the many senses of the term, as the relation between a single alphabetical differential–wander/wonder–brings out. Although they are, […]
Day 40
Oct 10 day 40 Taumaranui Zero Day I had hoped to get new shoes today, but the outfitter only sells heavy hunting boots. The shoe store had the perfect shoe, but not even close to my size. Looks as if I’m going to have to get another 200 km out of my torn up North […]
Day 39
Oct 9 day 39 Waihaha hut to Taumaranui 40 km hiking, 10 km ride 8:15-6:15 A ridiculous day. Started out slow as Jan, the Czech thruhiker in the shelter was sleeping in. I tried to be quiet (hard to do when you are opening and closing all those small bags, etc.). Still, got off at […]
Day 38
Oct 8 day 38 Ngaherenga campsite to Waihaha hut 34 km 7:15-5:15 Whew, what a day that was. Started out of the camp fairly early in a cold misty rain, followed the Forest Trail bicycle path for most of the morning. You can see where a lot of trail building money went, that path is […]
Day 37
Oct 7 day 37 Mangaokewa road to Ngaherenga campsite 36 km 8:00-4:00 Al, the transport guy, picked me up at 7:15 to head back to Mangaokewa road to start the day, but because they are strengthening a bridge, we had to do a detour around the countryside and passed one of the many farm airstrips […]
Just a Bindlestiff
Just a bindlestiff Walking long distance is never just about solitude. Most trails cross roads, towns, and some (such as the Te Araroa) go through cities. It’s one thing to be out in the bush– hot, sweaty, a bit fragrant from a few days without bathing, sporting unruly hair and a scraggly beard– and running […]
Day 36
Oct 6 day 36 Te Kuiti to Mangaokewa road 22 km 8:15-1:15 Slack Pack– never did that on the Appalachian Trail, but did today. Since there were over 60 km of hiking without camping possibilities, I decided to stay two nights in Te Kuiti, walking out this morning to do the first section of 22 […]
Day 35
Oct 5 day 35 Waitomo to Te Kuiti 16km 8:30-12:00 The campground had some revelers last night, my countrymen, who kept everyone up late. For once the sun was shining first thing in the morning and everything was relatively dry, just a faint dew. Was easy to smile. Decided to have a big breakfast before […]
Day 34
Oct 4 day 34 stealth site to Waitomo Campsites 32 km 7:00-3:00 Woke early and, even though it was Sunday, I started hiking right away so as not to get caught trespassing. I wanted to get to Waitomo, and so proceeded at a good pace. First part was a farm road which soon became a pasture […]