2/26 2:45pm Daleys Hut,
One word: RAIN! I'm writing this journal entry, to distract myself from having to walk outside in the mud to use the bathrooms… We were first up again in the hut at 5:30am. There were 2 people sleeping on the floor in our room, and several others on the floor near the stove in the common area. We carefully stepped around people, made our way to the restrooms, and cooked cereal. Needed to use our headlamps for a bit. I saw a few stars out, and the moon was veiled by a thin layer of cloud. There was a slight rain in the air, but it didn't seem to have rained much overnight, so hopefully the streams are low. By 6-6:15am, the common room is busy with activity. We chat with the guy from CA that we met on the trail yesterday, and give him for PB for his oatmeal, as well as some plastic grocery bags that he thinks could be fashioned into gaiters. We pack our gear, and head out under the growing clouds. Hopefully this early start ensures us a bunk, and prime drying rack spots (and long dry time). My boots are still wet, and I could even squeeze out water from my orthopedics. So I decide to wear my wet socks from yesterday again. I also wear my rain pants on top of my regular pants, under my gaiters. This would prove to be extremely hot and heavy, and I'd learn to just wear my rain pants in the future. We hit the trail at 7:45am, and are one of the first out again. Some of the others are waiting for the 8:30am weather report, but little reason to not take advantage of the relatively dry weather now. The trail enters a mossy forest, which helps hide the drizzle. Got mostly Zelda music in my head today (dungeon themes while hiking across the wet forest trail). It's mostly a descent through the forest, with one tough 5-minute climb that we plow up.
Wendy navigates an obstacle...
Pretty moss on the trail...
Wendy blazes on ahead while I take a short bathroom break. As I pass another hiker, while trying to catch up with Wendy, he says, "She's quite a pace maker." I finally catch up to her 15 minutes later at the 1st stream crossing.
The first significant stream crossing of the day goes by easily...
Next up is a long hike across the beige grassy (and muddy) rolling Cattle Flats, with the river to our right, and hilly forest to the left. The trail undulates up and down, with small stream crossings, and passes through small forest patches in-between more grassy flats. The rain and wind pick up. We think we're making great time, but might be too optimistic. We're playing leap frog with 3 other fast hikers, Not many pics today, too rainy for the camera. Nothing much to see in the forests, though Cattle Flats probably has some good views we're missing. We can see the ends of glaciers hanging down on the mountains across the river. Plenty of waterfalls today, and still minor stream crossings.
Undulating trails can be frustrating. Lots of work to maintain 0 net elevation gain...
A glimpse of a glacier to our right. Wonder what the views are like on a clear day. I climb up the trail...
It feels as though we might run into a troop of orcs carrying 2 hobbits to Isengard, where the Rohan plains meet Fangorn Forest. That's not far from the truth, as Isengard was filmed in this area, and this particular spot would have been the perfect set location.
This sign marked the halfway point ~2.5hrs into our hike. More streams to cross (but fortunately still easy)...
The rain kicks in hard ~10 minutes before we reach a beach forest, were we walk among more large moss-laden trees. Our legs and feet are soaked again (at least mine are, Wendy has better gaiters than me). The forest shields us from the rain, aside from the big drops that drop from the leaves.
We're making great time, with barely a stop at all. No one is thirsty today, as we're practically breathing water in the air. We make due eating a bar or 2 on the go during the course of our hike.
The trail leads to a rocky creek, where parts of the trail have been washed away, designated by yellow tape. The detours are steep and slippery on wet/smooth rocks and roots, which climb up and around giant boulders. The Rees-Dart is known to be a rougher trail than the Great Walks, and indeed it shows. As we reach a slightly cascading stream crossing in the forest, some hikers approach from the other side. We both search up and down for the best course. It looks like a route with rocks might be doable, but a slip would result in a nasty fall, so we just take the calmer, wider area, and wade across upper-shin level water. The hikers say it's still 2hrs till the hut, which is surprisingly high.
We slog through the wet trail, full of mud, puddles, and running water, until we reach the biggest crossing of the day 45 minutes later. It's a narrow, but fairly deep and swift stream running through the forest. After brief deliberation, we just plow through, with water almost to the knee, without a problem. Now our boots are totally flooded. It would be squishy hiking the rest of the way. Wendy is all smiles with her itunes, singing occasionally, and the soaked boats feel good on her blister.
After more forest, we finally reach a grassy clear and see the hut ~10 minutes away at the far end. We hike full throttle to the hut, arriving at 12:15pm (for a 4.5hr hut to hut hike, given a 5-7hr advertised time), where 2 wardens are landscaping the wet earth around the hut, making for a very muddy entrance-way.
There's the hut at the end of the field! We arrived ~12:30pm, and were surprised to see heavy machinery in action around the hut...
The 2 other fast Aussies that arrived first were relaxing at the table, with their wet gear already hung up. We did the same, and claimed some prime bunk locations. Changing into dry clothes felt great. The rain increased significantly, shortly after we arrived at the hut. We were very happy to be inside and done with stream crossings, which were no doubt escalating rapidly by the hour.
The bathrooms are outside, past the construction mud. Not gonna be a fun restroom trip in the rain, or at night. It's lunch time, and we eat a big one, and drink lots of hot water.
Wendy cooks up some lunch...
Not much else to do here. We watch others hike across the field and arrive at the hut. They tell how the stream crossings are getting more difficult. The rain is increasing even more! I'd take a nap now, but can't really do that until I go to the bathroom, but don't want to head out in the rain and mud just yet. The wood/coal stove has been lit, and should help dry out clothes soon.
Got lots of time for writing today. Didn't bring cards… It's too cloudy for Wendy's solar charger to work right now. There's lots of Israelis on the track with us, 10 out of ~22 of us. Lots of Hebrew. They all finished their army service and are traveling before starting university. Time passes, more rain, and even a thunderclap! There was a spectacular waterfall just before reaching the hut, which I didn't want to take my camera out for in the rain. That must be even more impressive now. There are still others that haven't arrived, and people are wondering if they'll be able to safely cross the streams. The rain is supposed to ease overnight. Lots of people are napping in their sleeping bags now. Not much else to do…. Wendy is about to venture to the bathrooms. Rain is still pouring. We were super fortunate (and wise) to start early this morning, avoiding the heavy rain and any nasty crossings. These huts are very nice. Tenting would be miserable right now... 8:30pm, Daleys Hut I was just about to head outside for some pics, but it clouded up and poured, just as I was going to step outside…. A few others arrived, reporting tough crossings. Still waiting for a few others that haven't arrived (and it's 8:30pm!). Not much light left. The rain subsided the past hour, and the river has finally dropped a bit, so hopefully they will be able to make it (though it's raining again now). There is a rock shelter place half way between huts, though they don't have a tent. Spent lots of time chatting with some fellow trampers (a 6'9" guy from Israel, and the "elderly couple" of the group) about NZ hikes, and shared pics from each others cameras. I finally ventured to the bathroom during a lull, and the path was not too muddy fortunately. The warden visited us, and collected our hut tickets for the entire track. He also confirmed our jet boat pick-up plans for tomorrow. A couple of us showed him pics of the river crossings, which gave him an idea of the water levels spread out over time. The stove is very toasty. For dinner, Wendy actually requested WG ("World's Greatest"). We mixed in her extra dehydrated veggies. For dessert we finished the pumpkin pie. Still way too much food left, and this was our last dinner of the track. Great views from this hut. A mountain with a glacier is visible from the window. There was a moment of clearing, with a few pieces of blue sky, but now we're swamped in rain again. I even motivated myself to put on wet socks and boots in order to go out and view that waterfall around the corner, but got rained out. Maybe it will clear up again before dark. It's supposed to clear up overnight.
Wonder who won the NFL championship games this weekend?
The warden's quarters have hot showers apparently. Wow, some people here brought a portable 12"x12" stove, with a huge gas tank, and a whole frying pan! That's a lot to haul around… They're still cooking up fresh veggies and corn on the cob! One of the Aussies has a nasty blister on his heal that looks infected and painful. He's got a massive first aid kit too, and even offered latex gloves to someone who was helping him dress the wound. Still raining…. 10pm, Daleys Hut This is the latest I've been up before heading to bed on this tramp. The sky never cleared. The 3 "unaccounted for" people never showed up (we can only hope they found shelter). There is a strong and smelly wet clothes odor inside the hut. Lots of noise from the boisterous crew in the common area...