Tuesday 21.03.2023

• Te Araroa kilometres done: 2522
• Official kms: 19.5km
• Garmin kms: 20.07km
• Total time: 6:50
• Calories burned: 3004
• Body battery: 7/10
• Accommodation: Quailburn hut (East Ahuriri hut)
• Tent nights tally: 18
• Zero days had so far: 26

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I’m back on the trail today, heading up to a historic hut to wait for the river level to come down, hopefully tomorrow it will be low enough.

I went down to have a coffee with Shell & Stu before heading up to pack, they have been so amazing & I have really appreciated the accommodation they have provided me through the storm. They are really nice people & help TA walkers when they are able to.

I set off not long after 9:30am as it’s only a 20km day today but it is cold & wet so was hoping for it to warm up a bit first.

The first 3km was on road before turning off & following a 4wd track for 2km. The wind really picked up at this point so I stopped to put gloves & a beanie on as my hands & head were very cold.

After the 4wd track the Trail rejoined the Alps to Ocean track for a few kilometres before diverting up Freehold creek, this is where the climb really started. Today I have to climb over 900 metres of elevation from the lake to the saddle.

It was initially nice & gradual through beech forests with a bit of rock & roots to contend with. The creek was in full flow from yesterday’s rain!

I stopped at the tree line for lunch with a bit of shelter but I ate fast as I started losing feeling in my fingers. I packed up & started walking again. It took a good 20 minutes for my fingers to have feeling in them again & that was with gloves on. It was below 3 degrees but there was a fair bit of wind making it feel even colder.

The last 300 metre climb seemed to take for ever until I finally reached the top. From here it was a nice view down the valley, as I started to descend it started snowing & not just normal snow but sideways in your face snow. It would sting my eyes so I had to keep my head down for a while.

After reaching the main river & crossing over a few times & with a very fast knee deep flow i slowly made my way down the valley until I caught site of the toilet? According to my notes this hut doesn’t have a toilet?

The last river crossing was the worse it was thigh deep & running really fast but slow & steady I made it across & up to where there was a brand new toilet just before the hut. This must have been installed very recently.

This old historic hut has 6 wire bunks & 2 mattresses the other 4 bunks have carpet to place over them so you can place your airmat on them. It’s made of corrugated iron & branches. A nice place to stay.

About an hour after turning up, Jake another TA hiker turned up, we both assumed there was no one as crazy as us that would also be walking today. We shared stories of how miserable today was but how glad we both were to not be in a tent.

Hopefully tomorrow is nicer & we can cross the Ahuriri river. Antonia is going to message me with the cumics tomorrow morning.