By Ruth
Distance: 28 km
Today we set off on another section of trail that we’ve been aware was coming for a while. The 42 Traverse is a “multi-use” trail through a lovely forest. It is probably most well-known as a mountain biking trail but you can also go on it with your 4x4, and it’s also used for hunting! Coming from Canada it feels a bit strange that all this is allowed on a trail maintained by the Department of Conservation.
The first 20-odd kilometres of the day were on the 4x4 track through the forest. Despite it being the weekend, it was very quiet on the trail. We only saw three mountain bikers and one friendly hunter in his pickup truck. The reason for it being quiet was probably the weather. A couple rays of sun peeked through in the morning, but it soon turned to a light drizzle or maybe a heavy mist. Weather forecasting had not predicted rain for today so we were confident that the dampness was going to be short-lived. But as the day progressed, the rain continued.
We remained in good spirits though because the rain was light and our rain gear was more than up to the task of keeping us dry. We even managed to shelter under some trees for a relatively dry lunch.
The weather also meant our views were clouded in a bit, but it was cool to see the pockets of cloud trapped in the trees. It looked a bit like home!
After most of the day of walking on what was essentially a nice gravel road, we had to turn onto a walking-only path. What this meant is that suddenly the trail was overgrown with grass and bushes. Soaking wet grass and bushes, that we had to brush past to make our way through. In short order we were soaked through. And then it started raining harder! It took us 2 fairly miserable hours to make it the last 6 kilometres to our camping spot for the night.
We are camping along the 42 Traverse at a spot recommended by other hikers. There is nothing here other than a river and a flat spot to put our tent. The last thing we had to do before arriving at this camp spot was wade across the river. Once on the other side we quickly set up our tent, shoved our bags in the vestibule, and climbed inside to take shelter from the rain, which was coming down harder than ever.
Luckily, there was a lull in the rain for long enough for me to take a refreshing dip in the river and for us to cook and eat our dinner. It really is a beautiful camping spot and I’m holding out hope that it will be nice and sunny in the morning so we can enjoy it properly!