Te Araroa Trail – Day 108
Friday February 23, 2024
Distance/ Total: 32.0 km / 19.9 mi
Shaun and I were up at 5:00 am this morning in order to pack up our gear and meet the bus at 6:00am. The bus ride was about an hour and we were on the trail at 7:10 am.
The first part of the trail followed a fence line through an overgrown field for about 1.5 km. The trail then joined a farm road and followed the farm road for about 13 km to the Comyn’s Hut. The road was a gradual climb up the mountain with a steep section right before the top and then a gradual descent to the hut.
We stopped in the hut to eat lunch before continuing on. The trail after the hut became a wilderness route. It ran right up the Hakatere River and Round Hill Creek for 7 km. The water was never over knee high and wasn’t flowing very fast so the walk was not dangerous, but it was really slow hiking.
Eventually the trail turned away from the water and headed through some thick Tussocks toward Clent Hills Pass. The other side of the pass was a combination of scree fields and Tussocks and we began our downward descent. The scree was well packed and the trail easy and quick to travel. The Tussocks were pretty thick in places and the trail split into multiple routes at time making it difficult to find the right trail.
The trail dropped slowly into the Swim River Valley. Once in the valley we crossed the river and took the side trail to Double Hut. It was a 6 bunk hut and Shaun and I were able to get the last 2 bunks.
We cooked dinner, visited with the hikers there and crawled into bed as darkness enveloped the valley.
