Day 73: Moturimu Whare Shelter to Ian & Frank’s Shelter (15km, 7.5 hours)

I slept rather poorly last night - I was on my air mattress on the wooden platform in the shelter, but it was quite cold, and hard underneath, and I kept slipping off the narrow mattress. Somehow it’s more comfortable in my tent.

Erika and Jamie headed off while I was still packing up. They are both young and fit and planning to do a double-length day to get to the Tararuas. Good luck to them!

I headed off at 7:45, with Cassie shortly after. The first hour was all steadily uphill along a 4WD track. A picnic table at the top had a mobile phone sign next to it, so it was a good time for a quick stop.

There’s 1 bar of mobile coverage here! Time for a few last texts

Immediately after this however the Burttons Track started. This is a very rough backcountry trail through the bush, for about 11km. And within the first 10m I could tell what was in store. Mud! Boggy, shoe-sucking, and slippery, probably made far worse by the heavy rain yesterday. It was continual and completely unavoidable, and my shoes were quickly covered.

Endless MUD!

The trail for the first hour and a half was steadily downhill, and in the mud it was painfully slow going. Finding firm footing without losing a shoe or slipping over was tricky. Finally I made it to the bottom, where I knew there were two streams to cross.

Stream No.1

Getting ready to get my feet wet

It was only knee-deep, but flowing steadily and the rocks were slippery and uneven. So I decided to leave my shoes on for stability, I’d just have to put up with wet feet for the rest of the day. Besides, my shoes needed a good clean after all that mud.

10am pic: Safely across

The second stream was tiny and I could rock-walk across. Time for a break, and to dry my feet a bit.

An OSM bar by the stream. 

My new shoes are looking worn in now. At least the streams washed off some of the mud

30 seconds after continuing, I came to the real No.2 stream crossing. D’oh! Not tiny at all. More wading, and more wet feet. Well, they hadn’t dried out much anyway I guess, may as well stay wet.

Stream No.2

Next: what’s this?

Uh-oh. This means a steep climb. And more mud

I think the trail had been rerouted a couple of years ago because of a slip. The new route was straight uphill for a hour. Very steep, and equally muddy. And after reaching the top, exhausted and filthy, it was straight down again for yet another hour. Going was very slow, as I had to pick my was down very carefully, trying not to slip. I was having to detour off the path often to find ways to avoid the mud, and I still ended up on my backside at least four times. 

Arrrgh

Finally, a clearing and a friendly face. Cassie must have passed me several hours ago while I was taking a break by the stream. I was exhausted, time to sit for a while and break out the emergency salami again.

Actually, this was the location where John Burtton (who made these trails) used to live many years ago. A sign explained how he died tragically, falling 8m and breaking multiple things, then crawling for 12 hours over his trail to get help. He didn’t make it, but at least he had the presence of mind to feed his dogs before he started crawling. Priorities. 

Meeting Cassie at a picnic table in the middle of nowhere

I was still only halfway along Burtton’s track. But from here, the trail the last 6km was a little better - slightly wider, not as steep, but still clambery in places and still plenty of mud. It followed alongside a river mist of the time, passing through the occasional clearing.

Walking through fields of foxgloves

2.5 hours later, at about 3:15pm I finally reached Ian & Frank’s shelter, basically a little tin shed with a sleeping platform for TA hikers, and a nearby stream for water. What a relief! Time to get out of my muddy gear, rinse the mud off my shoes, and recover.

Filtering stream water and washing my unmentionables

It was only me and Cassie at the shelter tonight - I don’t know how Erika and Jamie had the energy to continue on after this to do a double-length day, but clearly they did. Cassie and I had a good chat while our gear was drying and we were preparing dinner. She’s got some big decisions to make about the direction of her life, and is hoping for some answers from the TA. I found myself sharing a lot about my life story - my decision whether to leave/stay in England, my career choices, Paul, some of my reflections on the TA and on life, etc. It was great sharing with you Cassie, I hope you find some answers on the way down to Bluff!

Dinner at the shelter

Dinner was beef curry again, once I finally managed to get my little camp stove working (I’d thought it was broken yesterday - turns out it was user error). But after a big day, we both needed an early night. We were both in our sleeping bags by 7pm. 

PS: Blister update - it’s a bit waterlogged from the hike today, and the skin it starting to peel off. But it’s held up surprisingly well - there’s very little infection left, and it hasn’t been uncomfortable. It will need more care but I’m feeling confident it will be fine. Whew!

PPS: I almost forgot. It’s New Year’s Day today. Happy 2024 everyone!

Today’s route