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Another short but big day! We had pre organised a shuttle to pick us up at 3pm at the Rangitata river. That seemed fine at the time but then when we looked at the kilometres we had left to get there it was close to 35. I was excited for a big day of kilometres, it feels sick to say it but Ive missed those big days. The days where you just need to get in the zone and walk and walk. Almost as if you're in race mode. Its such a different mental game when it's over 30 Kilometers. I know I can do it. I know I can do 45km and I know that if you have the right mental framework and are feeling good I could push myself for more than that. (I don't plan on it by the way)
It was up early today because I knew averaging 4km an hour, 5km at absolute best on this flatter terrain it would still take us close to 3pm. It's been great being in these small 6 bed backcountry hits because you are almost guaranteed a great night's sleep. I'll also add that our crew at the moment is great - we all are in bed by 9pm, no one snores and we are all up around 630am. Or we moreso look around to check if others are still sleeping we can sleep in a little longer.
I hit the trail before 7am. It was so nice in the morning, quite still and we were in a shaded valley, another blue sky day but the sun was yet to make it over the mountains. I love this time of morning as nature just seems to be waking up too. I had a pinch myself moment walking this morning at just how incredibly beautiful the green brown and gold scenery was I was walking through and just the vast openess of mountains and valleys. No one is around, it's just you walking through.
Once up over the first ridgeline it looked down across this stunning valley and over lake Emily which was just teaming with Bird life. I was so surprised by this, I was far away but it looked like all these black swans and other birds. Towering in the back ground behind was Mt ArrowSmith which still had snow on the peaks.
It was just a typical Canterbury scene everywhere I looked today and I just couldn't get over the fact that other than our crew of 5 there was no one around at all, all day.
I was thinking to myself too just how cool thru hiking is as a way of seeing a countries landscape. It's so different to just doing small tramps and hikes here and there. On the TA Ive really got an appreciation and understanding of the geography and how different mountain ranges start and end. The rocks are different you can see how places are formed and how all these different and opposing landscapes just blends all in nicely together. As someone who loves geography it's so fascinating to see.
We had a few kms of dirt road to walk today and I had been listening to a podcast where they were chatting about differences between male and female ways of doing things and one being that men apparently when putting pants on, put their left leg in the pant first whilst women use their right. When David, Conny, Iván and I were all alongside each other I asked them that question. And then it went on to how do you put a shirt on, do you go sock, sock, or sock shoe sock shoe. It was quite interesting. None of us though could envision how we put a shirt on even though that's something we do every single day. Then it came down to how do we snowboard, are we goofy, what about skateboarding what leg do we kick with or surfing... We were walking 2 by 2 across the field having this conversation and laughing. One of those moments that are so simple but I'll cherish for a while. Removing all forms of internet and communication and being with the same crew for days you get to learn so much about people and the conversations we have are just hilarious.
I had done about 25km by midday and I was starving. It's interesting the last two days I have been so hungry. Not sure if it's finally hiker hunger kicking in after 30 days or what. However we had descended down the valley to Lake Clearwater and the wind was blowing a gale straight off the Alps. great! I thought. A gale force headwind for the next 10km and we needed to reach the pick up point at 3pm. I wasn't going to stop for lunch until I found a sheltered spot but this never happened so I just gave in and sat down and ate my tin chicken, parmesan spinach wrap.
Other than that it was just a 34km day of walking up and over and across fields of tussocky gold. High tussocks too. At one point the tussock grass on the down hill climb was well at chest height.
We came over the finally rise and had views right up the Rangitata valley and we were looking at the exact scene location of somethimg In Lord of the Rings. (Haven't seen it so it didn't mean much to me)
We all made it to the pick up point in time and 20 minutes later Wayne from Alps to Ocean came and picked us up in his van.
I'd been chatting to him on the phone in methven trying to sort out what we wanted to do. Rather than spend a night in Geraldine or at a camp ground I asked if he could pick us up and then take us right round to the trail head on the other side of the river in one go. No one had ever done that so we negotiated a price cheaper than say if it was to be two shuttles with a night accomm in there. Wayne had also said via text to me that he'd let us stop at a cafe to get a good feed. Well Wayne was a champion. He would be in his 60s and we were no sooner packed in the van when he whipped out the cafes menu for us to pre order hot food so that it would be ready when we came through. The five of us were so excited! They compiled the food list and I had to ring through and order.
When we arrived as usual it was like we hadn't seen food in a year. I am absolutely disgusted at the amount of food and drink I got. Thank goodness this isnt every day or else I'd be broke. More disgusted than any other time. A steak sandwich, chocolate milkshake, a Gatorade, raspberry coke, long black, hot chips, milky bar and then a double scoop icecream. I wasn't the only one, the boys both had ordered fish and chips and a burger each. Wayne said he'd never seen anything liked it and thought maybe he should start offering this drive around as an option just as a way of boosting Mt Somers economy. The best thing was though, Wayne filled me in on a local secret that the service station does 2 for 1 pies in the afternoon just to get rid of whats in the cabinet. So David and I ran over there and both loaded up with pies and sausage rolls to take for our dinner.
Wayne was in stitches when I came back loaded full of everything so much so he took photos of me and my goods to use in his TA hiker marketing and also to show is wife, haha.
Him and I had a great chat for the hour drive up to the trail head just past Mesopotamia Station. A station I'd heard much about preciously so was cool to get to see it. I was in such a food coma and just wanted to nap in the van but he was full of good chat I couldn't. He also advised that apparently tonight around 7pm a southerly change was to blow through and rather us camp out in the open at the car park where we had planned, he dropped us up near a valley with a stream and told us to head up into the tree line and shelter in there. And that's where we are camped for this evening, the boys found us a nice little camp site in a bowl or quite possibly a dried out swamp but it's protected and still no southerly change yet. I've downed my pie and sausage roll for dinner and have finished with eating spoonfuls of peanut butter straight out of the jar. We all asked if we'd ever do that at home. Clear no from me.
We start the Two Thumb track tomorrow which will get us to Lake Tekapo in a few days. I can't wait. I know tomorrow however we have a 1000m climb to do which I'm no exactly that excited for but as every day on the TA up for the challenge.
Ren x
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