Oct 12 day 42 stealth camp to Tongiriro Holiday Campground 28 km (actually at least 35). 8:00-5:00

What was supposed to have been a walk in the park didn’t quite work out that way. The main path on the 42 Traverse is clear and easy to follow. At some point, the TA veers off to the left– a turn I completely missed, so I found myself much further south than expected or planned. Fortunately I had a GPS app with the local terrain, and could plot my way down a series of trails to get to highway 47– the gateway road to Tongiriro. At first all went well, but each well-made path I chose would after a while become much less well-made and often damn hard to follow. I kept having to readjust, try different paths, and finally made it to a forestry road which, after some more bushwhacking, put me out on 47 about 5 km from the campground. Had hoped for an easy day because tomorrow is up and over Tongiriro in the rain and wind according to the weather service. Will have to stay flexible and just might find myself right back here tomorrow night. The day’s adventures coupled with the hunters last night got me thinking about how we perceive spatial relations in the bush, how different people occupy the same terrain. Guess that might need to be another pointless essay.