Te Araroa Pt. 15

Day 73-77

Day 73-77, 29 Jan - 2 Feb 18

Went over to New Plymouth to try a sunrise summit of Mt Taranaki. The people around Whanganui weren't particularly helpful regarding my attempt and the only guide cost a ridiculous sum (I can't remember how much but it was a few hundred). After doing some research I had a solid plan all figured out but the weather turned sour and my will melted so I just became a tourist without a plan.

On the second day I rode a bike around town buying things. The river damaged the stylus of my phone because I did not insert it back. At least the phone sustained no damage unlike the previous one. The screen protector also had some dust ingress, again from the river. The case proved inadequate as I found scratches on exposed surfaces. Had to replace everything. Ouch. The profit margins on these little mass producible things are just insane.

On the third day there was supposed to be an alignment of the stars, or rather, moon. It was a super blue and blood moon all together, and from New Zealand the full eclipse was visible. I was prepared to take a hike to the beach during midnight and spend the night there, but right after I made a late trip to the store, bought supplies, packed my bags, the clouds rolled in, and a severe weather warning was issued. Not even joking, there was a really huge storm that night and it was a legit warning. It would continue raining all the way till the next evening. Bad luck.

Tomorrow I will be headed to Palmerston North to join my compadre and resume the trail. He seems determined in its completion and I am looking forward to the South.

Day 78

Day 78, 3 Feb 18

First day with my friend on the trail. He seems pretty keen to hit the trail which is good. I was a little worried about his fitness levels but was sure that we wouldn't move much slower than before.

We started off really late due to some packing crisis. We brought too much food due to shopping while on an empty stomache. We had to leave behind a sack of sausages.

It was a pretty mediocre section of trail, mainly walking along gravel paths and a little through the city park. He had a few cramps along the wya, and I felt it was unusually taxing. It has been a long time since I last walked with my pack on.

We were pretty slow though. Occasional stops and breaks. But as I have told myself before, walking with others may mean travelling slower, but travelling happier. And that is right, I am no longer solely focused on getting to the objective. I feel better knowing that someone is walking along me, that I can discuss, plan and share with. And most of all, to talk to. Almost drove me mad in some sections, to be all alone and walking on without end. It is good to have a partner.

The trail notes for this section is really poorly done. We managed to find a campsite though and had a quick meal of instant noodles. The water here tasted odd too.

Day 79

Day 79, 4 Feb 18

Today was supposedly going to be a long day (25km) so that tomorrow will be only 20km. I guess it was too big of a jump because we stopped even before 20km and camped somewhere beside a stream.

We knew beforehand the terrain was going to be hilly. To be honest it was just another day on the trail. I could have done it easily on my own, but my friend was just no used to this kind of exertion. I could feel that close to the end his spirit was waning. I am not sure what he feels but it sure isn't happy comfort. He has some abrasions on his feet and a blister there too. Not the ideal start for a newcomer.

We had a good meal for dinner though. Hope that lifted his spirits up. Not sure what to do for the next few days. I just hope he gets better for both our sakes.

Day 80

Day 80, 5 Feb 18

Initially the plan was for us to simply walk the short distance to the end of the track and then to a small carpark near a reservoir where we will camp for the night. However when we popped out of the bush there was still time to push on and so we made a gamble to keep going.

It turns out that we might as well had kept going because the carpark was hardly fit to be a carpark, let alone a campsite. The water in the reservoir could not be reached, and there was nowhere flat to camp.

The next track was pretty brutal though. I could tell that he was already dead and empty a few kms into the trail. To me it would be a pretty standard track that I could easily finish within 5-6 hours but to an inexperienced newcomer it would have been devastating. Furthermore I think he does not have the right mindset but he does have the will to keep going. Anyway there is nowhere else to go. I had to frequently stop to wait for him

Towards the end he even began to voice out intentions of giving up which really worried me. It was hard pulling him along but it would be worse if he has already given up on everything.

In the end we pulled through and reached the campsite well past 9 o'clock. I managed to cheer him up and boost his confidence by showing him the elevation plot for today, about 800m of up and another 800m of down. That gave him some faith in himself. We are to take a break tomorrow and then hit the Tararua Ranges.

Day 81

Day 81, 6 Feb 18

Stayed an extra day to resupply and rest. Did basically nothing. We stayed at this Outdoors Center which very kindly let hikers stay over for free. They even kindly drove us to the supermarket at the nearby town.