As we all know the early bird catches the worm so at 5.00am we were all in the car and heading for the start of the trail in the Kaimanawas -- yippee. We arrived at the start of the track on Clements Mill road at around 6.30am and heated up a hearty pot of pre-prepared porridge - the perfect fuel for a long tramp. Our first break of the day was to be the Oamaru Hut which was around 4 hours walk away. The track between the road end and Oamaru Hut was beautiful - lush beech forest and ferns, beautiful rivers and a reasonably level gradient apart from one minor pass. We skipped along the track at a fair clip trying out all the pockets and straps on our new packs and generally talking crap and discussing the ins and outs of the XPD - what gear we will need, what food, what shoes, what socks etc etc, what training, what lights, where to stay, what we are anxious about etc etc - of course there were the occassional moments of silence but they usually coincided with bar time or an uphill. At the hut we boiled up a brew, had a quick bite to eat and chatted to a guy and his two daughters - oh it was nice to chill out in the warm sun and peacefulness of the area. All too soon we were back on our feet and headed for our accommodation for the night - Boyd Hut - another 4 or so hours away. Once again the scenery was stunning and we found ourselves in a wide open grassy river valley before we headed up over a pass and into the next valley. By the time we reached the hut our feet were aching and our legs were feeling the effects of walking with a heavy load. We immediately took our manky socks and shoes off and headed to the nearest creek for a wash. Wow the water was cold but it was sooo good to be clean. All plans for a forage around the hut went to custard once we sat down and we spent the evening grazing on various culinary delights, playing last card and chewing the fat with some hunters.
Day two started out with a 6.30am wake up, more porridge and a hot cup of Chai latte - yum. Unfortunately the weather had packed in and we headed out into the rain and mist of the morning towards our next planned stop at Cascade Hut. After heading back over the saddle we had come the day before we were faced with a decent climb up to around 1200 metres - the track was marked but less well trodden and we spent the next 6 hours clambering over fallen trees and branches in the wet and wild conditions. Luckily we had packed our wet weather gear and hats and gloves as it got quite cold on the exposed tops - quite exciting though. We stumbled into the Cascade Hut around 4pm and to the surprise and entertainment of two people in the hut proceeded to stuff our faces with whatever food we could pull out of our packs whilst giggling like little kids and gabbering excitedly about the last 6 hours and the next 4 - 5 hours back to the car. I am sure they thought we were nuts !! One more climb up to 1200 meters and another awesome downhill and we had made it back to Clements Mill Road - unfortunately the car was still 12 kms away and the only was to get there was to walk along the gravel road. What a challenge !!! but what a feeling to be back at the car - it was 10.00pm.
An awesome outing - the sceney was primo - the walk challenging - the Macpac AMP packs were everything you could want in an adventure racing pack and more. They have got perfectly positioned and plentiful pockets for food and water, comfortable straps, light but strong fabric, a good draw string at the top of the pack to protect gear from the rain, and they fit snugly to the body so don't swing around when you start running - oh yeah and the company was a treat and very entertaining. Thanks guys :)
