By Ruth
Distance: 22 km
This morning was a flurry of activity in the hut, a stark contrast to yesterday’s chillness. Everybody was continuing on their hike, even though it was still kind of miserable out. But all the forecasts said it would be a lot less rainy than yesterday, so we all decided to brave it.
The first part of our day was a steep climb up to an exposed rocky ridge line. This is the kind of thing that in good weather is a joy. You’re hiking hard but have views to take in and distract you from the hard work. This morning this was the worst. Without trees to shelter us we were being pelted with wind and rain. We were quickly soaked through. We couldn’t wait for the ridge to end and to go back into the trees. It felt like it went on forever.
Eventually though we did go back into the forest and it was such a relief. The forest walking portion of the day was the most relaxing and enjoyable. We felt like we were back in Vancouver, out on a walk in Pacific Spirit Park on a rainy weekend morning. I could almost convince myself that after an hour or so of walking we would go back to our cozy house, change into some warm dry clothes, eat some soup, and spend the rest of the day knitting and reading as rain came tapping down on the skylights. Alas, that was not quite what happened.
We were walking in the rainy forest for several hours, but stopped in both Tarn Hut and Mid Wairoa Hut for breaks from the weather and to eat something. By the time we had finished our lunch, the rain had stopped, so we embarked on the last portion of the day: the river walk. This 7 km section contains 8 river crossings, plenty of narrow and steep trail where you need to cling on to rocks and tree roots, a wasp infestation, and 400 m of elevation gain.
After yesterday’s rain, we knew the river level would be high, but we thought by the afternoon it should have dropped enough to make the crossings doable. The first one was the toughest, flowing quite fast and coming up to our waists. After that, we were a bit nervous about the rest of them. I wanted them all to be one after the other so they could be done with, but they were pretty spread out over the 7 km. But in the end the rest of the crossings were much more shallow and felt fine. By the fifth or sixth one I was actually enjoying them! The river was beautiful with plenty of waterfalls and rapids. The wasps minded their own business. And we went slowly around the slippery and narrow bits of trail.
We eventually arrived at the hut just before 7 pm, making it a 12-hour day, but we were both feeling good. We have surprised ourselves with how well we seem to be handling these long days, and even enjoying them.
Miraculously, there were yet again 2 bunks free in the hut. Because we arrived so late we cooked and ate at the picnic table outside, so as not to disturb the others who were imminently heading to bed. Then I got a great calf massage from Elliot and now we are ensconced in our bunks, ready for sleep and to see what surprises the Richmonds have in store for us tomorrow.
