December 4th
Karamu Walkway(514)-Pahautea Hut(526.4)
Mileage: 12.4mi/20km
Campsite Elevation: 2951ft/899m
Elevation chart courtesy of Guthook Hikes Te Araroa App.
It’s difficult to explain it, but it’s not necessarily a judgement as a feeling. There is a unique bond among people on thru-hikes that comes from a shared common experience. You may not have done each section together, but there is that immediate bond when you know what the other has been through and that you’ve been through it too. You know how hard you have both worked to be where you are and it is unsaid. There is a bond in knowing that you’ve both set out on something that will be both physically and mentally challenging. Knowing it won’t always be easy or enjoyable, but that those difficult times are what make the good ones that much better. That bond and understanding just isn’t as strong with people who aren’t walking the same path. It’s like meeting someone from the same state you grew up in vs someone that grew up in the same town. What I’m trying to say is that I miss that bond out here and I wish I could experience it more.
Now back to today…
*Note: Anyone who checks the Where’s Wired map will notice that I accidentally left the inReach device on all day apparently and it tracked my full day, oops!
I slept pretty hard last night and Becky did too. I fell asleep writing and somehow slept through the night with things in my tent out of order. I somehow wore my down jacket through the night and still had my head propped up on my clothes bag, which is what I do while I’m writing. I woke up at 4:30am having somehow slept through the night, which is rare for me. I stayed awake and finished yesterday’s blog post. Becky usually gets up before me and I hear her rustling around, but not today. I had to wake her for the first time. With Becky’s new gear comes a new packing routine that she needs to adjust to, so we started a bit later than usual just after 7am. Everyone else was still in their tents when we left, except for one section hiker having coffee. The morning hiking had wet grass and uneven terrain from sheep walking in mud, but it was a great morning to hike.
We had a relaxed schedule because our end destination wasn’t far away. I compromised to doing two shorter days so that we could a) stay free at the first hut on the TA that takes the hut pass many hikers buy; and b) split a difficult section into two days. Today was our highest point yet, the Pirongia Summit at 3146ft/959m. We were only just above sea level when we started the climb, so it was a lot of elevation gain to the summit. The whole day was great and felt like we were actually hiking a long trail!
A first for Becky as she can now pull something out of the back of her pack while walking without having to set it down!
This is the first big climb Becky did with the new gear and it was a huge difference! She was so much more agile and energized going through the mud and steep ups and downs. She was right on my heels as I led the way before lunch. Then she had no problem setting a fast pace as she led after lunch.
Becky said she mostly feels the difference in her knees and overall endurance. It was so fun to watch her skip around the mud and easily leap to stepping stones or roots with effortless balancing. At one point, she was on a roll leaping around some deep mud and holding onto the nearby trees as she exclaimed, “I’m a monkey in the forest!” It was so fun to watch after witnessing how draining the forest tracks had been previously.
We had lunch partway up the climb and realized we were going to get to the hut sooner than we thought in the afternoon. We discussed going further than the hut, but then we read that the descent is one of the muddiest and slowest descents we will have. Becky was really excited to stay at the hut, and I had agreed to that previously, so I accepted the early stopping point rather than turning an enjoyable day into a long mud fest.
As we left lunch, we were joined by Jasmin and Jan who had camped with us last night (and started the TA the same day as me). We headed up to the summit as the last mile got much muddier and steeper.
A look back on the climb with Jan.
Where we came from this morning.
Pahautea Hut
Around 5pm, Matt, Laurel, Angelynn, and Heartbreaker arrived. We thought Angelynn and Heartbreaker were ahead of us, but it turns out they did a fun side trip into town to check out a motocross event yesterday. All four of them were hesitant to stay with the crowd, but Angelynn and Heartbreaker chose to stay while Matt and Laurel hiked on a bit to find a more private spot. On a side note, Will is giving it another try and jumped back on trail! He is a couple days back, so who knows, we may cross paths again in the future.
The sunset up at the hut was pretty great, but was tough to capture on camera. It was one of those cool moments where the clouds had settled low, so we were above a layer of clouds with mountain tops sticking out.
I’m happy we decided to stay and my mentality of seeing this as more of a vacation is totally helping. It was relaxing to end early and there is no rush as I’m still ahead of schedule. It definitely was a good decision that made today enjoyable rather than a slog. Becky is thankful I agreed to relax a bit these last two days to make the hut happen and is really enjoying her first hut experience. She is energized and even offered to get an earlier start tomorrow morning for a bigger day, yay! Tomorrow, the really muddy descent awaits!
Yikes. That elevation chart is scary! So glad you are using poles, your knees will thank you in years to come. Wish I had used them 30+ years ago, but when you’re young, you think you’re invincible ?
Why camp when there is a lovely hut there that has been provided for you?
I am with Wired when it comes to huts. A full hut is usually noisy hot and smelly. I sleep much better in my tent. Plus it allows everyone else more room
Why ask when it is all writen down in the blogpost?
“I’ve been craving some solo tent time and was happy to pass on sleeping indoors.”
Why jam into a hut if you like sleeping outdoors? Seriously, the backseat hiker comments
Yup, you understand.
Give me a tent over a hut any day and your description about the bond and understanding there is between “thru hikers” is excellent. I think that you will feel it more once you get to the South Island where you will start to see New Zealand’s wilderness at its best.
NZ and it’s tax payers spends millions on backcountry huts then freeloading foreigners camp for free. Not cool. Shame on you.
Pretty sure that Wired bought the Hut Pass.
Thank you Matthias:) Yep, I was all legit for anyone wondering.
Justin, I cannot believe your comments! Wired is such a generous person who always respects restrictions concerning camping. I come from Germany and am on parental leave, but your comments don’t make it likely for me to come to visit NZ!
Wired, I am sorry you have to deal with comments like this! I love your blog and am looking forward to hitting the PCT once my kids are off to college! Thank you so much for the effort!!
Come to NZ . We are very welcoming to visitors who respect the rules and don’t mind spending a little money.
Unfortunately too many come here looking for a free lunch and will try and avoid paying for any camping. Many are young Germans.
I’m sure that may be true, but please don’t generalize this to the two of us as you’re making assumptions that are far from true. I’m leaving this up here to show this option is not uncommon, but be clear that you’re barking up the wrong tree.
Elizabeth, Justin is one opinion out of 4.5 million people so his opinion amounts to basically very little. NZ is a great place and as you can see from Erin’s blog there is lots of kind people there. Don’t miss seeing because of one sad individuals opinions.
Yes, don’t let one bad apple spoil the bunch…which seems to be what happened in his case as well by generalizing all hikers as exhibiting the same behaviors. Apparently TA hiker is synonymous with freeloader in his definition.
Thank you Elisabeth:)
To clarify, you’ll see that I’m on one of 8 formal tent pads next to y
To clarify, you can see I’m on one of 8 formal tent pads next to the shelter intended for camping. I actually paid my $90 for a hut pass, and could have used the hut, but enjoy my tent and sleep better in good weather outside. Anyone that reads my blog knows I wouldn’t do what you’re suggesting. I was in a formal site intended for exactly what I did.
Hey Erin I would just ignore and delete Justin’s comments as he is obviously a little troll. This is not his first lot of nasty comments and I’m sure it won’t be his last. Don’t feed the trolls!
We’ll see, there are some aspects of what he says that are right, but he’s generalizing them to define the two of us, which aren’t. We’ll see if he can understand that. If not, I’m perplexed why he is even returning time after time to read.
I just knew Will would be back!! ???
Sometimes you don’t miss something til it’s gone…
Did I miss day 30?
Maybe, just go to the blog tab and it will be on the list. It was a great one!
Yes, Day 30 is not on the blog.
Great post Erin. You have so many supporters that the occasional detractor is certainly a blip on the radar – it is to be ignored.
Exactly, it takes one push of a button for me to delete it anyway. No time on my end and can’t even figure out why someone would waste time analyzing something they seem to dislike so much.
Lovely to come across your blog. We met at Matapouri and Nikau cabins. Your thoughts on hitching/skipping have summed up a lot of what I have been feeling too but was unsure how to process and thought I was just being too judgemental. Thanks for sharing 🙂 p.s we are in Waitomo, you are so fast!
Ah! We were wondering where you two were! Yeah, it was tough for me to figure it out cause I get the whole HYOH thing, but miss the camaraderie and understanding of having others that are also doing the same thing and can relate to it. You two are missed!