I woke at my now customary time - with the sun, currently about 6:30am. However the rest of the hut slept in, so I took the opportunity to catch up on some reading for an hour, and hit the trail at 8.30.
The first hour consisted of a 500 meter descent to the Timaru River. It was steep enough to be bum shuffling territory in places, but nevertheless I found it easy, if somewhat slow, going.
Once at the river the track followed a number of high sidles, with steep (I must find a synonym for that word, I've been using it too much! .... vertiginous?) ups and downs. It was hard going, and, apart from the odd time when it dropped to the river, not very interesting, so I pulled out earbuds to listen to the Lord of the Rings audio book (I've never been into audio books, this is my first, and I'm quite enjoying it, thanks Pons'!). A minor miracle; the ear buds cord was not tangled!
After a couple of hours of slow progress, I stopped beside the river for lunch and a swim. The colour of the water suggested a tributary upstream was glacier melt, and the water temperature confirmed it. I modified my plan to just having a wash!
Continuing after lunch I came across a crazy dangerous sidle which required swinging by one arm above a 3 meter drop. At this point I determined I'd be better off in the river bed, so ignored the track for the most part for the rest of the afternoon, preferring to move directly up the river.
This decision transformed the day from a slog into a day of pure delight. I love following bubbling mountain rivers; it's probably my favourite kind of walking, picking a way along banks, across to the other side, and directly up the bed if required.
The track came back to the river a fair bit and a couple of times I was sucked into taking a flood track, before finally ditching the track for good. Close to the end of the day the track went up onto a farm road, easy walking, but I was loving my afternoon so much I still stuck to the river as it went through a slot gorge.
Lots of fun was had negotiating the steep plunge pools.
All good things pass, and mid afternoon I came out of the gorge and to my hut for the evening.
A brilliant days walking for me, my hut companion, another NOBO, claims it was the worst day for him yet sticking to the track.
The first hour consisted of a 500 meter descent to the Timaru River. It was steep enough to be bum shuffling territory in places, but nevertheless I found it easy, if somewhat slow, going.
Once at the river the track followed a number of high sidles, with steep (I must find a synonym for that word, I've been using it too much! .... vertiginous?) ups and downs. It was hard going, and, apart from the odd time when it dropped to the river, not very interesting, so I pulled out earbuds to listen to the Lord of the Rings audio book (I've never been into audio books, this is my first, and I'm quite enjoying it, thanks Pons'!). A minor miracle; the ear buds cord was not tangled!
After a couple of hours of slow progress, I stopped beside the river for lunch and a swim. The colour of the water suggested a tributary upstream was glacier melt, and the water temperature confirmed it. I modified my plan to just having a wash!
This decision transformed the day from a slog into a day of pure delight. I love following bubbling mountain rivers; it's probably my favourite kind of walking, picking a way along banks, across to the other side, and directly up the bed if required.
The track came back to the river a fair bit and a couple of times I was sucked into taking a flood track, before finally ditching the track for good. Close to the end of the day the track went up onto a farm road, easy walking, but I was loving my afternoon so much I still stuck to the river as it went through a slot gorge.
Lots of fun was had negotiating the steep plunge pools.
All good things pass, and mid afternoon I came out of the gorge and to my hut for the evening.
A brilliant days walking for me, my hut companion, another NOBO, claims it was the worst day for him yet sticking to the track.
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