Pouakai Circuit: A track with a view

I was the first to cross the slip. The snow was deep, but you never knew how deep or how soft it was going to be. The drop off was to our right, so we dug deep with our left foot and side planted our right foot towards the mountain. We were crossing with full packs, it was our first day. I don't know if being heavier helps you or hinders you in these types of situations.

The snow shifted below my right foot. My left foot dislodged. I was going down. I spread myself out as wide as possible and leaned into the snow. That wasn't slowing me down. My eye was focused on the rock 15 feet below. Praying that I would stop at that point.

I still didn't know if it was the cliff's edge or simply a rock held on the mountain by the snowfall. All I know is I wasn't slowing down.


DAY ONE - North Egmont Visitor Centre to Holly Hut

We never expected to hike in the snow. I don't think people at the DOC expected us to have to hike in the snow either. This winter has been strange. The weather is wetter then ever (this following an extremely dry summer), and there is snow in places that the kiwis don't expect. It's rather amusing when you speak to New Zealanders about snow. Brent's convinced they are afraid of snow. The near mention of a sprinkling of snow on a mountain top and the people we encounter urge us to reconsider hikes.

A sprinkling of snow?

We set out early for Egmont National Park. To this day, we had yet to see the summit of Mt. Taranaki. The weather pattern on this part of the island is almost controlled by this mountain. The land jets out into the ocean, with the centre of the land being this giant mountain. The weather can change at a moment's notice. The weather is moving towards the park in every direction all the time. You can watch the storms rolling in from the Pouakai range. From the city, if it's cloudy, you can only imagine.

We left the seaspray house around 8am. Huntington only stalled twice on our way there (yay?). The drive out was quiet. It was Sunday, August 17th. It was a terrible day. It was rainy and very cloudy. We enjoyed the deserted drive out through the farmlands. Painting our own idea of what the mountain must look like behind the clouds. We knew how tall it was, but had no reference. We still hadn't seen the Tongariro national park mountains either. These four mountains (incl Taranaki) being the tallest of the North Island.

We parked our car at the Kaiauai Car Park and set out our packs for an approx 2km hike up the windy road to the visitor centre. This would help shorten our treck at the end of our hike on the Tuesday, meeting our car earlier then the centre. Today, it was hailing. Lots of hail. Little tiny hail balls, but lots of it. Quite frankly, it didn't bother me - I liked it better then the rain we had been getting. At least, so far, it was less wet. :)

The road was covered in slush. The last part of our drive was slower due to the cover. It was the first time we saw any part of a real winter. We were hailed on in the Puerora Forest Park one day and then again in New Plymouth on our first morning, but we had never seen a permanent residue on the ground. It was slick to walk on. The roads were so windy and steep. You had to focus all your energy on staying upright and steady with your pace.

Road closed.

Literally, the road was locked up. I don't know who locks the roads, but someone had come by and bolted it shut. It's not even something you can walk around. They make sure the gate blocks everyone. So we climbed through it. :) Awkwardly, cause we had our packs on and at this point didn't want to be taking them off to set into the wet slush. Brent hoisted himself over the bars and I somehow squeezed my way through the vertical bar. I have no concept of how wide I am with this pack, but the pack more then doubles my width.

We continued. Cars started to pass us by driving slowly down the hills. Waving to us as they passed. Climbing comraderie. Their cars were covered in snow. A look at things to come?

I can't explain how it feels when you spend 6 hours hiking in forest and then the path opens up and you can see the road. At the end of a hike, it's the most wonderful thing - because road = car = finish line. It was almost the same thing this morning with the road winding so much, it was a tough start to our day. A steep start. The moment the road finally opened up and a sign posted the Visitor's Centre - it was a joyous moment. :) With the road being closed down below however, we didn't know if that meant that the visitor centre would be closed.

Thank you God.

Open.

We still hadn't purchased the maps - because we wanted to speak to the DOC people at the centre prior to hiking out. Motivation to purchase our maps at the centre as well.

The woman working on Sunday was fantastic. Probably the best DOC personel we have encountered to date. Very informative - which is exactly what you need. We walked over to the 3D model of the park and showed our route to the woman. We spoke of the snow - which was unusually low for them. The snow was down the 700m. We were literally standing in a good amount of snow at the centre itself. It was only to get deeper higher in altitude. The was an avalanche warning on the south side of the mountain, due to the amount of snow they had received over the last day. A huge dumping. You never know how the mountain will treat it. The snow melts quickly off the plants in the sun, and could shift and melt just as much on the mountainside. Winter items they suggest for hikers are crampons (ice picks for your shoes), and lots of experience. We weren't hiking to the summit, and we don't know how to use crampons or an ice pick - so we did not carry these items. We spoke to the woman about our options. She didn't know how the snow was on the north side as it had just been freshly coated with another layer.

"You should be fine, but if you hit an area you aren't too sure about, just come back down this way and head towards the Maketawa Hut (part of the lower around the mountain circuit)". Good idea. We now had a back up plan.

Brent and I discussed our options. The weather was supposed to clear, so hiking the first chunk of the track to Holly Hut could be better tomorrow. But it could also be worse. We were expecting more snow and hail today. We decided to just stick to our original plan and track to Holly Hut, which meant our first day would be in deep snow. Knee deep at least. Could be interesting.

We filled out our intentions form and left it with the DOC. An intentions form should be filled out with every over night hiking a tramper does. You list your name and everyone in your party, all the gear you are bringing (they have a check off list of important gear that the search & rescue teams are interested to know if you carry - mountain radio, cell phone, first aid gear, winter clothes, extra clothes, extra food, etc.), any medical conditions of any party members, special medicine that you are carrying, emergency contact information, your entire route plan & back up plan, where your car is (if you have one), etc. All this is used to find you if you get lost or do not return. You fill out your expected return (date/time). The form is kept in a binder on the date of your expected return. If the DOC does not hear from you on the day of your expected return, they give you a day. If you still have not signed out with a person during office hours or in the sign out book (just outside the centre) within 24hours, they start looking for your car, calling your mobile, calling your emergency contact (to see if there has been communication), go to the huts to see if we signed in/out of each one we intended to walk through (in a hut intentions book - found at each hut - you must indicate your next planned hike/destination, as it helps with search and rescues in the event that you go missing), and follow all the signs/information left behind by the missing party. It's a pretty intense system - but it's there to save your life if something goes wrong. On the mountain tracks, they don't mess around.

Side note - we had a great conversation with the DOC woman about the timings of the tracks. We asked about their accuracy, since our hiking times seem to always be about 2hrs longer then what is indicated on the track information or the markers on the actual tracks. We all agree - super tall men are timing these tracks carrying a daypack. This does not help the wee folks who are carrying full packs. You would think that a tramping track would be timed for the average tramper - but I really don't get that feeling. Some of the acents are steep and the steps are difficult (through tree roots or up rocks). If you were tall - it would be a breeze. But we're hoisting ourselves with our poles and you expend A LOT of energy. It was hilarious, she had a meeting coming up on the Monday, and she said she would bring it up for discussion. The DOC is going to be recalculating all their tracks this coming summer to revisit the timings. Erosion of the land plays a big part in the extention of the times - the tracks haven't been timed out in a long time.

We start our longest tramp thus far. Two nights, three days, and our first circuit (so we don't have to come back on any of our tracks).

It starts with a long climb up with stairs. STAIRS. There are stairs and ladders and bridges all over the parks. You never know when they are going to pop up, and sometimes you wonder how certain areas get them while others don't. The simple humps have a ladder, while you're literally rock climbing through mud to scale another elevation. It's amusing. But to start off with stairs is rough. All tracks with an immediate ascent to this degree seems to drain your energy at the start. You just spent three days relaxing from all the hiking and you start out hard core. We passed by two boys who asked us if we were going to climb the mountain. I smiled. I told them it was not safe to climb the mountain because of all the snow. (which is true) Other people walking down the stairs, simply enjoying the snow wished us luck as we walked by. We were the only ones on the mountain that day with our gear. It was obvious what we were doing.

It was a nice hike. We were climbing through sub alpine forest, so we were above the shrub levels a lot, allowing us to overlook the farmlands below. Not much about the mountain, that was still clouded over. The views were nice. It made our mini breaks enjoyable.

Walking on snow. This track had no markers. You just followed what you thought was the track. Pretty obvious most of the time, as it was either this narrow path of snow or the sheer drop off the cliff. Easy decision. Stay on snow. The only thing that kept us going was knowing there was a track somehwere below our feet. At points, the track was 4-5 feet below our feet. We stood up high on the track. The snow was thick in parts and you skirted around the tops of the alpine trees, which really should be drapping over your head. It made some parts of the track difficult. You were competing for the track space with these thick trees that could just as easily pushed your footing to the side and have you step into oblivion, and stumble down the side to some shrubs below.

I hated the parts where there wasn't shrub below. I would call out to Brent to hug the cliff side as much as possible. It was shrubs to your left, and a drop to your right. Sometimes too far. We were cautious with every step, fully respecting the situation we were in. We had never done this type of snow hiking. The path was unknown to us. There were no footsteps to follow. We were the ones creating the path. Every step would be stomped deep into the snow as deep as we could go. Sometimes you skirted overtop the hard surface, then the next step your entire leg would be swallowed up by the snow. It was unpredictable and challenging. Tiring. It was an estimated 4-5 hour hike to the hut. With snow, we didn't know how much longer that would take us.

There was a boulder at the top of a cliff that stopped us to think for a bit. We had to hug our bodies to this bolder to access the track, but the rest of the track seemed fine. In the summer, this part might not even look challenging. Maybe it was an easy part, but you had no idea what the snow was hiding. There were rocks along the edge, but they dropped down. Sometimes you wonder if the rocks were only there because the snow encased them.

I like leading the tramps we do. I probe all the situations before making a decision and forging the track that Brent eventually follows. I'd much rather be the one to slip, then to watch him slip. I probed every snow patch I could find with my pole and then just went for it. Safe. Nothing to blink at. After making a crossing I spend a minute explaining to Brent what I did so that he knows what to look out for. I inform him of any concerns of a footing I might have taken. The system works well for us.

We were getting closer to the mountain, deeper into snow. It was beautiful. It was daunting. This mountain is intense. The clouds moved in and out all the time. Hail one minute, snow the next, then a beautiful crisp sunny view of the world below.

A surprise. When we stopped for lunch at a track junction. We were about to pull out the usual crackers and cheese delight. Brent reaches into his bag to take out his portion when he pulls out peanut butter & jam sandwiches. We totally forgot we made these in the morning. And I know that might not sound exciting for anyone reading this, but we expend a LOT of energy on these hikes, and this was like a gourmet meal for us. Wonderful!!!

The valleys. Every time we hit an area that would be a potential path of an avalanche we spent a moment thinking about our route before booting it across. Only because there was a warning on the south side. We took the extra caution. The valleys and slips take you down snowy drops or force you to cross steep slips that on a summer day are areas where rock and sand lay barely gripping the side of the mountain. Difficult terrain in the summer. Maybe it is easier in the winter. This track might just take longer because of the snow, but in the end, the snow might help make the track easier to dig yourself into.

We dropped down snowy valleys and then hiked back up on our hands and knees. If you got too hot, just kneel into the snow. It was a benefit we had today. On our second valley crossing, we crossed paths with the first hikers we had ever seen in the same park as us. Actually, they weren't even hikers. They were runners. With long johns and shorts, running shoes with NO socks, standing in deep snow. They were coming from another track. We spoke about the slips the other would encounter to share information and we were on our way. This time with a guide of foot prints to follow. Which helped at some parts. It was a nice change.

The Boomerang slip.

The danger sign is posted on each side. One person cross at a time. In the summer, this slip could hurt. If you cross and dislodge a rock and someone else rushed behind you, it could be so dangerous (hence why its one person at a time). Brent and I made our way to the edge of the thick rock patches on the slip and then I stepped out into oblivion. Every step leaning into the mountain, keeping my body as low as possible. This thing was steep. You had to cross over and up. Again, the snow was sometimes hard and sometimes you would bury your leg. You didn't want this inconsistency on the slip, cause that could lead you to slip further down the mountain. There were rocks 20-25 feet down the slip, but they could be the cliff's edge. You didn't know from this angle. I dug out our track, which was tiring. It meant that I would spend a longer amount of time on the slip. Trying to ensure that a solid ground would be available for Brent to follow. His pack is heavier then mine and top/back heavy due to the tent sitting above and extra water supply sitting on his back (proportionately - we still don't know who is carrying the most weight for their body size though). Forging a track is the least I can do.

Funny enough, the boomerang slip was the easiest slip to cross. Maybe that's because on an earlier one I did start to slide down the cliff. Your heart starts to race because you don't know if you will pick up speed or slow down. You can only pray that spreading yourself wide enough will allow you to slow down or help with grasping onto a rock before tumbling over. This slip was just long. It was the widest one to cross. In the summer months, this slip must be wicked challenging.

The rest of the day's track was similar. Up and down the snow valleys until we started to move towards to the Pouakai range, and further away from the snowy rock face and more towards snowy alpine forest once again. There were many ups and downs as we made our way to the hut. Passing animal footprints in the fresh snow as we hiked along. I took a picture of every bird footprint I could find. This is a kiwi zone, and you never know. (we're currently comparing them with one of our hostel's hosts' pictures - as she knows someone who has photographed kiwi footprings and the DOC is very interested in knowing about kiwi sightings in any form) Passing stoat traps every 100m. Walking across icy bridges with or without railings.

There was a map rescue at one point. Brent accidentally dropped the map (encased in a waterproof map holder) after crossing a bridge. It sat there dangling on the edge of the snowy ledge, hanging just over the stream down below. I quickly took off my pack and made my way very cautiously to the edge probing the snow as I advanced to the map. We needed that thing. Your topographic map helps to really place you in the park and helps with reading the track. We could follow the track without the map, but it would be walking into the unknown. I was just waiting for my weight to shift the snow and have the map and myself fall down the 8 feet into the stream.

That would have sucked.

This track was great - as we imagine most mountain tracks might be. You can see the track ahead of you so clearly laid out in the mountain side. It was a bonus on this trip. You turned a corner and across a valley, could see what you would be spending the next 20mins walking. We spotted the outhouses to the hut before we could see the hut. But what a wonderful sight it is. Hope of the end and possibly a warm fire. It was a steady descent followed by a river crossing and muddy ascent to the hut. We were clean and snowy all day. To end on a wet muddy note was unfortunate.

The hut. Holly Hut. Nestled in the alpine forest of Mt. Taranaki across from the Pouakai Range. This hut had lights!!! Solar powered lights that worked once it was dark enough outside.

Brent's view on huts - things get better with every hut we get to. The first hike, we didn't make the hut. Camped in the tent. The second hut we attempted, we spent the glorious night at the luxurious Bog Inn. This third hut attempt brought us here - with more bunks (I think it sleeps 32 - which by the way is creepy when it's just two of you), lights, running water and yes - rats. The mattresses were torn to shreads, probably being used as warm homes at night for the mountain dwellers. The green foam from inside the mats was everywhere. The kitchen was littered in rat feces and urine. This was beginning to be really discouraging. We both went to work. Brent started to make kindling for a fire. I started to clean up an area for us to sleep on by removing rat droppings and clearing off areas to place our things. Reviewing the hut intentions book (which also includes a comments section) you could see the rat problem was long standing. No matter, we just wanted to make the fire and get dinner going. Two things which would be firsts for us.

I placed a wood block right by the fire where there was a giant hole in a locked doorway. Looks like rats had chewed their way through here. Yuck.

45 matches. That's how many it took to start the fire. Yup. The kindling wouldn't light, we had no paper to use (we tried some newspaper I found near a rat's nest, but it had been made unusable by the previous four legged owners), the wood they supply at the huts are basically 2x4 wood blocks cut up into smaller blocks - so really difficult to use as fire wood (and you're luck if you get to a hut with an actual ax!!!). Brent tried for a while, and then I took over (I think he was getting frustrated). It was nearly impossible, until we found a book, which sadly had some pages sacrificed for the sake of warmth and heat. We tried to only use the pages with no writing on it, the advertisements, maybe the foreward...oh poor book. But we were soaked. The winter walk had dampened all our base layers and our gloves had to be wrung out.

Once I had the fire going, with Brent chopping away at the wood (bringing forth a narly blister on his hand) to ensure more fuel to feed the start of the fire (you're supposed to use coal to keep the fire going - something I know nothing about - but we tried. Learning how to feed coal to a wood fire), we were set. Brent started to pluck away at the stove - which we haver never used before - while I sat and watched the fire.

Squeek. Squeek.

Ugh, seriously?

The wood block was nudged. I looked over. Again. Slowly being pushed towards me.

You've got to be kidding me.

I kicked the wood block so hard into that door. This was followed by me building a giant wooden blockade to keep that stupid rat out. We have since found out that these rats are afraid of nothing. People have mentioned these rats biting through the boots of people who have tried to kick them away. They are relentless. Afraid of no people, will walk into a fully lit hut. They don't care. I was sooooo not having this tonight.

We clipped all the food we had in the rafter hanging near the stove. We hung everything, and slept with our packs between the wall and our bodies. Our gear would not be their next dinner. These rats are destructive.
Dinner was nice. Once the stove was figured out. This thing shot huge flames into the air on Brent's first few attempts. But we finally got it working right and boiling water was minutes away. Tonight's meal - the always talked about Zucchini lasagna. Mmmm.

It was nice to eat a hot meal. It was soupy - which happens when you follow the water directions listed on the bag - but it was a hot meal and delicious. Add 2 cups of boiling water, zip up pouch, wait 10minutes, voila - backcountry cuisine. Add a bit of our homemade scroggin' for desert, and life is wonderful.

Our scroggin - dried papaya with lime, dried pineapple, dried apple rings, dried apricots, raisins (or sultanas), salty peanuts (to help rebuild electrolytes), chocolate buttons, yogurt buttons, yogurt covered raisins and sunflower seeds. Yummy.

We spent the night by the fire trying to dry off our gloves and keep warm. Cleaned up any food scraps and went to bed.

Soon after making our way into the chosen loft bunk, mr. rat made a return to the door to try and gnaw away at my wooden blockade. To be able to sleep that night, I had to reinforce the stupid thing with another layer of wood and the coal's iron shovel to ensure that we would not be bothered through the night.

I then built a little blockade at the base of the door of our room.

And trust me, I slept that night. Peacefully. :)


DAY TWO - Holly Hut to Pouakai Hut

Morning came. Crisp day. Looking out the hut you could clearly see the Pouakai Range with a fresh coating of snow. It looked amazing. It snowed overnight. It was chilly. Boots were damp, gloves - sadly, still very wet and now cold. On the agenda - clean hut, make water, pack out.

I walked out towards the outhouses to take a picture of a sign that I saw the day before. Brent stayed back at the hut and stood on the porch, probably enjoying the clear day and view of the Pouakai range. I turned back to look at the hut.

(whistle) She's a beauty.

Brent thought I was talking about the hut. Yeah, no.

With a backcountry hut pass - which costs only 90$/year, we were able to stay at the Holly Hut, which sits in the mountain range. And on a clear day, has a gorgeous view of Mt. Taranaki that people would pay a pretty penny for.

Waking up in the mountains. It was the first time either of us had seen the summit. Not a cloud in the sky trying to hug the mountain top. It was beautiful, perfect morning light. A great motivation for the day.

We should have made water the night before, but we had a short hiking day today. The first day was about 6-6.5 hours for us. Today was supposed to only be 2.5 hours, so we expected no more then 5hours. The running water at this hut was hidden behind frozen pipes. The only saving grace was a dribbling tap outside the hut which you couldn't increase the flow to. It took time, but we got through making the five passings of water, er six, I accidentally spilled a bottle full.

The hike was cold to start off. Our gear had not dried out yet. Our gloves were soaked. Try to convince your fingers to go into soaking gloves when you can't even feel your fingers to begin with. Same with our toes - it took me hours to feel them again. The only downfall to winter hiking. Even with the right clothes, it's never enough.

The start of the hike was easier today. A steady descent through to a wetland area. We crossed the wetland on flooded boardwalks, over a bridge to start our way up the Pouakai Range. In the wetland, you were surrounded by mountains. It was that perfect moment I dream of. We took a video - unfortunately the weather had moved in and it was quite cloudy. Still beautiful.

We would spend the next few hours crossing over the range to the Pouakai Hut. Up and down all day. Sometimes guided by stairways, but usually on our own track. Through deep snow once again. The mountain would clear every once and a while to encourage us with a stunning view. Exhausted by an ascent, you couldn't argue why you were in NZ doing this hike when you would see the mountain.

We rounded the Hump (a peak in the range) and ended up in a tundra like area. Low grassy patches and deep snow. No route markers. I felt like I was in Nunavet back home. The hope was Brent spotting the hut down the range. We were beginning to like this ability to see ahead. It truly was helpful.

We followed a rough set of footprints that suddenly appeared. Sometimes looking old, while other times looking very fresh. Was someone at the hut? We hurried down the range to the hut walking heal heavy down snowy descents and across small bridges. At that moment, it was crisp. The view of New Plymouth, the view of the range, the mountain was clouded over, but how wonderful was this hut. Another room with a view.

The Pouakai Hut. I would definitely stay here again. Rat free, clean. Wonderful!!! Every hut gets better. At least at Holly we were able to keep the rats at bay for the evening. :) Brent and I each looked through the hut intentions book to see if there was ever a mention of rats. Nothing.

The footprints we ended up following were fresh, however the person was only passing through. We read their intentions. Up and back. A lot of people from the area do that in this park. I bet its a quick hike sans pack.

This night was so much smoother. Fire was up and running in little time (despite the fact that there was no ax at this hut), we sorted our dinner plans, dishes and water purification to ensure an efficient evening. There were no lights at this hut (that really is a luxury), so we had to plan to get things done by early nightfall. Eventually you would be doing something in the dark, but you tried to keep it to a minimum.

Dinner - texas bbq chicken. Another soupy concoction. Rice, beans, freeze dried chicken, mesquite sauce. It was yummy. Routine sets in. Time to make water. Check the fire. Wash dishes. Check the fire. Clean up the area, clip food in the rafters, snack on scroggin, drink plenty of water. Check the fire. I have wanted this for years. This trip. The routine, might not sound luxurious to some, but to wake up in the mountains and to finish a walk feeling a great sense of accomplishments - totally worth it.

We spent the night by the fire fully drying our gloves this time and playing cards. The fire was red hot tonight, and wonderful.

Tomorrow was to be an early day. The DOC time for the last leg of this track is 6.5 hours. We had to plan for at least 8. We did today's hike in 4 hours, just 1.5 hours shy of the estimated time. Maybe we're getting better at this. :)


DAY THREE - Pouakai Hut to Kaiauai Car Park.

The night brought forth many storm patterns. Sometimes sound can be deceiving. You walk on a cliff near a waterway, and it might sound fierce. But by the time you step down beside it, it is nothing more than a babbling brook. You sit in a hut and the wind is pounding on the walls, sounding like it is being ripped apart. Then you step out onto the porch and it's only a light breeze blowing in the front.

But the wind was strong the night before. More snow came. Apparently this is not very common for the Pouakai Range, yet this is all we know. There is a pond up near the hut that provides a beautiful reflection of the Mountain on a clear day. I think it's called the tarns. Today - it was frozen over. We set out by 7.48am. Packed and warm. Such a nice change from the day before.

Today, another hike through the tundra. It started off with not really knowing which direction to go. There is a sign at the track junction that points roughly in the right direction, however it all looked the same. Rolling mountain tops of low grassy patches, blown snow, deep snow, rocks. The weather rolled in with a windy snow pattern. This is what people climbing Everest must go through - on a larger scale, but I have no other comparisson

In the distance, when the snow stops blowing, you could see a wooden pole. Route indicator. A direction.

We walk. Heal heavy down the descents to keep any slips to a minimum. You really have to focus on the ground around you for any signs of waterways. There are sometimes these slabs of wood pegged into the ground creating a gap where water flows through on a wet day. Even in the snow the water can be deep at these points. But you might not know its there until you step into it. You have to read the sides of the paths and estimate where the water might cross. Fun challenges. Once we reached the tarns and realized that there was a bigger body of frozen water, we had to be extra careful. Don't fall through the water. Who knows how deep it is. And there is a chance you might not be on the right track at this point.

The day was full of this. Crossing bridges and hidden waterways. Digging down into steep descents.

Henry's Peak. Our biggest ascent for the day. This part was hairy. Steep areas with super hard snow. It was almost impossible to dig your boots in on some points. But the snow was built up so high, that if you slipped, it could easily leave you down the hillside. We dug as much as we could. Not the easiest thing to do. Every time I hit what should be a step deep down in the snow, I would stub my poor toes. ouch. At least it would help Brent see where to step.

On our hands and knees. Sometimes the only safe option. At one point I was trying to dig up a climb and my pole made me slip down a wood plank. Hmmmm kind of looks like the railing of a ladder. No wonder it was so steep. Back on our hands and knees.

I was really happy when we reached the summit of Henry's peak. The climb was getting tiring and stressful. Every steep turn around a cliff would make me worry about Brent's climb. We try to climb one at a time and stay at the top until the other reaches the same level, but this track didn't offer room for two people to stand on certain ledges. So I had to keep a good ear out for any sounds of distress he may shout in my direction. Climbing blindly.

The payoff was well worth the struggle. Another amazing clear view of Mt. Taranaki - we are so lucky that we were finally on a track with a clear view.

From there, steep descents walking heal heavy back into sub alpine forest and eventually into the wet and muddy forest floors that we had grown accustomed to.

The cliff sides. I really could call this circuit one giant slip. I can't stress that enough. It's been a rough winter. Lots of rain and landslips. The cliff sides are either rocky or muddy. Muddy cliffsides = problems. When we began our approach to the river crossing, we found ourselves walking on a variety of grassy ledges. I again, don't like ledges. My concerns with the ledges in this park will soon be confirmed. You try to sneak a peak at the river you hear below, but the tree canopy is too thick. The tree canopy which seems to continue underneath of the ledge you are walking on. Strange.

We had lunch at the Kaiauai shelter, which has been built to shelter people from the elements when the river is too rough to cross. For some reason they seem to think this is the only river crossing on this trip that is a concern. It might have been the easier one. It's big, but easier.

A rock/root climb straight down brings you by the river. And by the river, you get your first glimpse of a ledge you were just following.

A landslip. Over the rockbed of the river. Trees, rocks, mud, grass. Fallen after being eroded by the weather in the area. I take a picture. Camera happy - what can I say. Then I take notice of something in the tree. An orange route marker. On a tree that is now on the rockbed. Not on the track. Well, beside the part of the track that has also fallen - but you get my drift. Not where it should be.

Incredible.

From this point forward, every step on a ledge makes me numb. It's the same with every ledge you see in the distance. Mud eroding underneath of pathways. It's only a matter of time.

At the end of this part of the track, we see a sign. DANGER. The track is 'rough' and you must account for more time. Hmmm - would have been nice to know that before doing this part of the track. But why would they put a sign coming from the other direction?

Hmmmm - maybe it too was now on the rockbed. Slipped off the cliff.

I'll give the DOC the benefit of the doubt. The cliff took away the sign.

It was river crossing after river crossing from this point on until we finally reached the swingbridge over the Waiwhakaiho river. Not for the faint of heart. Load restriction of one person - do not exceed - a sign informs us. Um, is that one person sans backpack?

And my gaiters, which often unclip from my stinking boots, did not protect me on the last river crossing before the swingbridge. Water came rushing up into my boot. Better a wet foot then falling into a deep pool of water and rock. Thank goodness for the warmth of merino wool.

We end on an ascent to the carpark. Then, Huntington. Sir Huntington III. Unreliable car, but our oasis at the end of a tramp.

Brent made us some kool-aid at the car. It's the first hike where we drank both liters of water (longest single day hike with full packs on to date). The dromedary, a 4L water supply unit that Brent carries on his pack, is a wonderful water source. However, the aftertaste it provides in your water is far less then pleasant. Rubbery, plasticky. I don't know what it is. But kool-aid powder definitely kills the taste. :)

Amen!

We packed up the car. Shed our wet gear and climbed into dry pants and were on our way back to the visitor centre. This time, we drove up the windy road.

We signed out at the DOC at 5.03pm. Three minutes after our expected return on our intentions form. :) Not too shabby.


Back to civilization. The drive through the farmlands once again. This time, we were able to see the mountain range we just climbed along with Taranaki. And also - we caught a glimpse of the mountains to the east, that make up Tongariro national park. Beautiful. Couldn't have asked for better weather on this tramp. Maybe less hail/snow on the first day - but all in all, it was wonderful.

Signed back into the seaspray, dropped off our stuff and headed out to Burger Fuel for a necessary high calorie meal. Amazing burgers. Burgers seems to be a favorite for us after a big tramp. It's good to replenish your tummy. Burger Fuel did not disappoint. It was created here in New Plymouth and offers the Doofer, a cardboard contraption that helps burger eaters hold their bugers in place without losing their toppings.

Delicious.

Back to the hostel where we bumped into Janine, the other host and we shared stories about our hike. Funny enough, there were a LOT of people at the hostel that night. A couple from Germany was really interested in our story as they too wanted to do the circuit we just came from. They were also going to start on Sunday - but were told not to come up to the mountain it was too dangerous. Different story from what we got on the mountain.

And another wonderful surprise, Janine made cake that night and offered each of us a piece. You can't turn down cake.

It was soooooo good.

All this followed by hot hot showers and about 12 hours of sleep.


Huntington. Sick no more? We'll see. He went in for his operation and physical yesterday. Turns out brake pads were low - replace. Put in that stupid 266$ part that should fix the speedo's sensor. After just about a 650$ medical bill, we drove off to hopefully enjoy a healthy vehicle. He hiccuped. DAMN IT! We still don't know what this means. In low gear he acts funny, but with the speedo fixed, maybe he'll stop stalling and things will go smoother.

Time will tell.

Last night - we made a lasagna bake/casserole. Delicious. First time we bought cheese. Nice and hearty. We're starting to eat like kings.

Laundry. First time. Much needed. This is how we spend our days.


Today - we get ready for the 6 day tramp around the mountain and go see a movie. Because their movie food combos are AMAZING - you get popcorn, soda and DOUBLE SCOOP ICE CREAM CONES!!!! Canada really should take notice of these novelties.


TRACK NOTES.

Calorie intake surprise. We feel well fed on the tracks that we do. We recently bought these bars (as close to cliff bars that we could find) from the Warehouse. Energy bars. We call them breakfast. :) There are the flavourful ones and then the ones called "One Square Meal". Both of which are hearty and offer us just under 400calories for a meal. We then snack on mother earth granola bars - apricot w/chocolate drizzle for morning snack, followed by our lovely crackers and cheese lunch, then a mother earth oaty bar for an afternoon snack (heartier granola) followed by scroggin and a backcountry meal. Now, to our surprise the backcountry meal only offers about 360 calories per serving (serves 2). So, technically, we are only getting about 1000 calories a day with our food. Which surprised us a lot once we calculated everything. We feel good up in the mountain. I usually get hungry first. We drink a lot now - so that controls when we get tired/hungry.

It's just strange.

That's why we binge when we get off the tramps. Followed by 're-fuel' days - where we spend 2-3 days eating 3 square meals a day. Well, sometimes we still have crackers and cheese for lunch - cause it's easier to carry around.


Patches. What we carry on our bags. I have two patches on my bag. The Canadian Flag and a patch Brent found in Kensington market that says "Claude". Amazing. Someone might think my name is Claude - but its an homage to our third musketeer.


Our Hiking routines- we stop up to 3 times to eat on the trail. Sometimes only removing our packs for lunch. We pack our snacks in our upper pack pocket or our gortex jacket pocket. We break by leaning on our poles and taking a minute to breathe and stretch out our arms. It's a whole routine to put your packs back on, so we try not to take them off unless we need to give our backs a break (or unless its lunch time). We're already travelling behind the DOC timing, so any extra help to make the track in daylight we can get is welcome.


Our unreliable poles. It's actually quite funny how often our trecking poles collapse on us. You could be walking and push down on one side and suddenly stumble because your pole's jumped up 10inches. It's great when you spend so much time relying on these silly things. At any point where you hoist yourself up a sharp step, they could fail on you. The best is when we take breaks and either lean our foreheads or cheeks on the poles and they suddenly drop down. Someone's going to face plant. And yes, we have to find amusement it in the situation or we'll just get frustrated.

It was fun watching the snow balls forming on this track. Walking down the hill sides, every time you kicked snow forward it would race you down the hill building itself up as it went along.

This is the first track with a view from the summits.

We did not see Mt. Taranaki's summit the entire day we were hiking on it.

This is the fourth track we cross that requires climbing/ducking below at least one newly fallen tree.

There are stoat traps along the tracks to kill pests that are eating the flightless native birds. On this trip, we tapped every box to see if there was movement in them as we passed them day to day. We had no idea they were traps meant to kill until we came across a few with dead animals in them. Yuck. On this track, we saw 3 dead rats and one dead weasel in the stoat traps.

Gas is now down to 197.9

This trip is amazing. :)