Day 97: Shoulda Been a Cowboy
January 15, 2020
Kilometers: 2313.7-2332.3
Geraldine Holiday Park to Stone Hut
This morning I made the executive decision to throw away my Hoka trail runners and move on to the new pair I bought in Hanmer Springs. I have been carrying this extra pair in my pack since then so will be glad to get rid of that extra weight. What do you think, could I have gotten any more miles outta these guys?
With my new pair of shoes laced up a headed over to the grocery for some breakfast. I bought a six pack of muffins and a smoothie, housed it all in a few minutes.
We packed up and headed over to the pick up location for the shuttle. At 8 our ride arrived and we hopped in. It was a little over an hour back to the trailhead. We were dropped off and took a group pic before starting.
We headed up the trail towards the river bed we would be following into the mountains. We all walked together at first as we got to the start of the many morning river crossings.
Me and Charlie pulled ahead of the others but realized we had missed a turn away from the river bed. After backtracking we were again with the group. We all climbed up a very steep section that dropped right back down once we reached the top. It gave us our first views of the mountains ahead and the river valley.
After dropping back down to the river the trail left the river valley for good. It was a huge climb straight up. It was nearly 300 meters over one kilometer. It had us sweating good but the climb ended at the first hut on the track, just in time for lunch.
When we arrived at the hut there was two people with Western cowboy attire on with a few horses. Tracey talked to them for awhile and after learning that they are traveling the length of New Zealand on horseback all I could think was damn, I shoulda been a cowboy.
We ate lunch at Crooked Spur hut all together. I have officially ditched peanut butter. I’ve had it almost every day in a wrap for lunch but those days have come to an end. I’m substituting in hummus and/or cheese on crackers instead.
After lunch the climb continued to the saddle. It was another 450 meters of climbing in under 3kms. The climb was through tussock for the most part. At the end we also had to cross some scree sections. The loose gravel is so hard to ascend on.
When we reached the saddle we sat down for a break. We had great views for the breezy spot. The three of us tried out the self timer on my phone again.
After our break we headed down the scree off the saddle. We only had about 7kms left in the day over the hilly tussock landscape.
It didn’t take too long before the hut came into sight. It was right on the river and we quickly hurried down to it.
We were the first ones at the hut. After claiming bunks we hit the river for the daily bath. We found a nice sized pool right at the edge of the river that was perfect.
After our baths Janina and Tracey arrived. Diddy has made his way to a further hut ahead of us so that’s the last we will run into him as this section concludes his TA hike.
For dinner I had pesto pasta. Much better than backcountry cuisine freeze dried food. After dinner we all played Rikiki and I won. You’ll notice I only announce who won if it was me. Then it was off to bed around 8:30. Big climb tomorrow up to the TA’s highest peak, Stag Saddle.