Saturday, December 16, 2023Distance/ Total: 42.2 km / 26.2 mi I had another restless night of sleep due to my legs, hip and feet were hurting throughout the night. After last night I don’t think it’s my hip that is bothering me. It feels more like a muscle strain in my groin, but I can’t feel anything out of place. […]

Friday, December 15, 2023Distance/ Total: 35.7 km / 22.2 mi I didn’t sleep very well last night, my legs and feet were hurting throughout the night. In addition to the Plantar Fasciitis I’ve been struggling with this whole trip, I’ve strained something in my hip on some of the climbs and it was pretty sore last night too. I was […]

Thursday, December 14, 2023Distance/ Total: 36.8 km / 22.9 mi It sprinkled a little overnight and was still sprinkling intermittently when I woke up this morning. I had to force myself to get around this morning because I knew today was going to be all roadwalk. It did start out with some pretty good views along the Mangaokewa Road as […]

Wednesday, December 13, 2023Distance/ Total: 20.7 km / 12.9 mi I was up early but decided to spend my morning updating my blogs. I had gotten a few days behind and it will probably be 5-6 days before I’m back in town with Wi-Fi. I finally finished up about 9:00 and started hiking out of town. The trail followed the […]

Tuesday, December 12, 2023Distance/ Total: 15.8 km / 9.8 mi I got around fairly early but didn’t leave the hostel until after 8:00am. It was a short day so I wasn’t in a big hurry It was 1.5 kilometers back to the trail and the trail was mostly single track today. It started off through some farmland going up and […]

Monday, December 11, 2023 I woke up excited about today. I was going to be going on a 5 hour caving adventure tour this morning. I had a private room in the hostel last night so I could leave all my gear out and just lock up before heading out. The cave tour was just across the street from the […]

Sunday, December 10, 2023Distance/ Total: 21.9 km / 13.6 mi It was good sleeping in my tent last night. I’d almost forgotten how good I sleep in my own little cocoon. I was up and on the trail by 7:00. I didn’t have a real long day today but I knew it was going to be mostly trail and you […]

Saturday, December 9, 2023Distance/ Total: 27.3 km / 17.0 mi My first nights sleep in a Department of Conservation (DOC) hut was not as good as I’d hoped for. The mattress was too soft and I sank through it and was laying on the plywood floor of the bunk. It was nice being indoors, but the beds could be better. […]

Friday, December 8, 2023Distance/ Total: 13.8 km / 8.6 mi I enjoyed the motel room last night. It was one of the better beds I’ve slept in on this trip. I wasn’t in a hurry this morning and took some time to download a couple of audiobooks before starting down the trail. The first 3 km was more roadwalk until […]

Thursday, December 7, 2023Distance/ Total: 33.9 km / 21.1 mi After one more rest day yesterday (December 6) I’m anxious to get back on the trail. On my last rest day I returned the car back to Hamilton checked into the Hostel and spent the afternoon just relaxing. I was up early this morning and on the trail about 6:45. […]