Rintoul Hut to the top of Wairoa Hut, also known as Te Araroa LASH Day 12

I woke up thinking the same thing I went to sleep thinking. Lihat rdt7 untuk info lebih lanjut. Will I break my two cabin rule in the Richmond Ranges and go for three?

So far the approach to this section has been quick and often ends in the early afternoon. Some satellite messengers carrying hikers had checked the forecast yesterday and rain was forecast for tomorrow. This was my main motivator for going with a three-cabin strategy today. Aversion to precipitation.

Still, the first thing was to convince myself to get out of bed. I achieved it after eating my oatmeal. It was a cool morning so I quickly packed my bags and was on my way at 745am

More tapas

As if I hadn’t been spoiled enough yesterday, just an hour into this morning I was shown more stunning views as I headed out of the forest and onto the peaks once again.

It is a truly euphoric feeling to know that you have managed to climb a steep slope to enjoy this panorama. My excellent Osmand+ map suggested that this section of canopy would be the last substantial piece above the tree line today, so I savored every second as I walked looking in all directions.

All too soon it was time to say goodbye to the higher heights and return to the forest. Of course, this was no arduous task as it was pristine and being ensconced among the beech trees is always a pleasure in itself.

It was an undulating walk for an hour or two and the time passed quickly. Two young hikers passed me as if I were standing in quicksand, and I, like all older people, lamented that I was missing legs twenty years younger.

I finally took a detour off the main track towards Tarn Hut. I took this with joy because I always like to see a cabin. DOC workers were present once again, performing some maintenance tasks. After a quick chat, some water and a protein bar moved from my main pack to a side pocket for easy access and I was back on the trail.

Knee crushing descent

After a short steep climb where I managed to detour slightly along a goat track, the trail returned to its comfortable, uncomfortably undulating tracks. It became a safari-like track as the forest came alive with the sounds of the ever-present goat. I have a feeling that, because the distance from any road is more than a couple of days, the goats felt particularly safe in this part of the forest.

After enjoying my safari and filling my bingo card with eight goats for the next few hours, I arrived at the beginning of the end.

Ok, that’s a slight exaggeration. What I did achieve was a massive descent from the tops. A thousand meters of elevation almost disappeared in just a couple of kilometers. This was terrible news for my knees. One of the injuries I suffered on the AT last year was quadriceps tendinopathy. It was time to find out if the months of wall squats and one-leg squats had paid off.

The descent was as brutal as the map suggested. The good news was that my tendons were on their best behavior, so all that hurt was absolutely every other part of my body.

After what seemed like an eternity, I reached the river at the end of the descent. There was the swing bridge needed to avoid fording the river and then a jump, a jump and a jump brought me to the second hut of the day.

The enigma

As I collapsed on the front deck of the cabin, it was time to begin internally debating the push for the third cabin.

My mind did the following:

Advantages

1. It was 2 in the afternoon, so there was plenty of sunlight left.

2. The weather is excellent and it is almost guaranteed that tomorrow will be good.

3. Making a harder day today made tomorrow much easier in the rain.

Cons

1. I didn’t want to move

You would think that with more pros than cons, this would be an easy decision. The problem was that the scam was very convincing.

I leaned my legs against the wall of the cabin and at the same time prepared lunch. It was a logistical challenge and a lot of fun shoving peanut butter tortillas in my face while lying down.

After an hour of debilitating deliberation, I decided that diving into the river would sway me one way or another. I immersed myself in a deep natural pool next to the cabin. I estimate the water temperature to be eight or nine degrees. So it was a short swim.

The swim cemented my decision. The next section involved nine river crossings without bridges. The afternoon was sunny and warm. Tomorrow it was cold and raining. The water was fucking cold. I was walking.

The Wairoa

This stretch that hugs the river causes a lot of concern among hikers. It mainly involves fording a raging river several times while pretending that there is no real danger in doing so.

I mean, you look at these little streams that feed the river and you think: how bad can it really be? Turns out it can be pretty bad. In fact, it is the second leading cause of death among homeless people in New Zealand after falls.

Fortunately, the river was quite low as it had not rained in the last few days. What I hadn’t taken into account in this last section was how technical and slow the trail was as it made its way along the river bank.

I had imagined a nice wide path winding along the river and I was skipping rocks along the smooth surface as I walked and whistled to Dixie.

Turns out it was a climbing task, up and down the steep terrain next to the river, moving very slowly toward my goal.

The river crossing ranged from easy calf-high to thigh-high steps. Oh, this river has some pretty strong and fast moments.

Personally, I loved every crossover. I’m a big fan of the Lost Rivers Bridge. It makes me feel at one with nature and choosing the right place to cross adds a great element to staying safe and happy in the middle of nowhere.

At around 6pm I reached the last junction and was only a few hundred meters from the third and final hut of the day. I celebrated by having dinner next to the river that had brought me so much joy during the afternoon. Some sandflies joined the party even though no official invitation had been made. I reluctantly allowed them to attend anyway.

I climbed the steep river bank one last time and reached the cabin. There wasn’t a single patch of flat ground near the cabin, so I reluctantly grabbed the last bunk in a cabin full of very tired hikers. After half stretching out on said bunk, my eyes decreed that the day had come to an end.

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