Have worn
more clothes than usual before going to bed but woke up during night feeling cold. Put on
my fleece jacket that I used as a pillow. Didn’t feel like getting up when the
alarm rang at 6:00 and got up at almost 7:00. Condensation got frozen and it
looked all white in the tent.
Started at 8:30. A clear day again with no wind,
very comfortable to walk. Walked a path through a forest and got to the track
start at 10:10. The track sign said it would take 9 hours to the hut I was gonna
stay. If it was accurate, I would walk the last 90 minutes in the pitch dark forest, so
walked in a quick pace to be in time for sunset.
When getting up the top of
Bold Hill, had a view of Bluff Hill in the distance that made me pleased. Saw
the sea after nearly 2 months when having seen Nelson from Richmond Ranges. Snow on the ground was 10-20cm, not a trouble to make my way. Trotted down the
hill via a maintenance road of Transmission tower and climbed steep uphill. Struggled with mud occasionally deep to my knees up to the ridge, and walked a
long gradual downhill of the ridge. Seemed to get to the hut before dark, so
slowed down and enjoyed a grand view on both sides of the ridge.
Walked down a
muddy path in the forest and arrived at Martins Hut at 16:10. This historical
old hut built in 1905 was the last DOC hut on Te Araroa trail. Rodents were
running around but not uncomfortable to stay. Hung all foods from the beam and
went to bed at 22:00. Walked 7.5 hours, 26km.
昨夜は普段より沢山着込んで寝たものの、夜中に寒さで目覚め、枕代わりにしていたフリースの上着も着なければならなかった。6:00のアラームでは起きる気になれず、結局7:00近くなって起床。結露が凍ってテントの内側も真っ白。
8:30に出発。またも一日良く晴れ無風で気持ちが良い。しばらく林道を歩き、10:10にトラック入り口に到着、看板を見ると今晩泊まる小屋迄9時間もかかるとある。それが本当なら最後の90分は真っ暗な森の中を歩かなければならない。少し汗をかくくらいの急ぎ足で歩き始める。
ボールド・ヒルの頂上に立つと、初めて遠くに、TAのゴール地点ブラフの姿が見え、嬉しくなる。海を見るのも約2か月ぶりだ。積雪は10～20cm位で、歩くのに支障はない。そこからは伝送塔の管理道路を小走りに下り、再び急な山道の登りとなる。時に膝下まで潜る、どろどろのぬかるみに苦戦しながらも上に出ると、そこからはなだらかな尾根道となり、どう見ても余裕で日没前に小屋まで辿り着けそうなので、そこからはゆっくり左右の景色を楽しみながら歩く。
最後はまた森の中の泥々の下り坂を降りて、16:10にマーティンズ小屋に着いた。1905年築という、歴史的にも貴重な古めかしいこの小屋がTA上での最後のDOCの山小屋。ネズミがうろうろ走り回っているが、居心地は悪くない。いつも通り食料は梁から吊り下げ、22:00に就寝。本日の歩行7時間30分、26km。
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