December 2nd. Auckland Harbor Waterfront to Mt Eden Mileage: 6 kms I didn’t want to stay in the hostel all afternoon, knowing I would just get really tired and want to go to bed early, further putting me off this new schedule. What’s a great cure for jet lag? Walking! How convenient that the TA goes right through the city, following the urban and historic Coast to Coast path. The isthmus here is only 9 km wide (narrowest part of the country), thus it’s possible to walk from one harbor to the other in one day. I didn’t figure I’d make it the whole way but why not knock out a few kms, especially during such gorgeous weather. What a[…]
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In-flight Updates
I’m off to a great start. In the line to board my first flight from MIA, a woman behind me said “That’s a really great pack. It’s the smallest one they make, right” I was in disbelief that anyone from Miami would recognize a Hyperlite pack, let alone someone on my flight. We had a short discussion about her plans to climb Mt Rainier with her boyfriend and my grand scheme to live out of said pack for 4 months. She’s a model on her way to a gig in Mexico City. If that doesn’t bash some stereotypes! A friendly, outdoorsy model from Miami. I love it. Then, in what was said to be a completely full flight, there was[…]
Read moreTravel Day!
Well, it’s finally time to get this journey started! My stomach is in knots knowing all the steps involved in just getting to the trailhead. I have a 3hr connecting flight from Miami to Houston this afternoon, then a 15hr! flight to Auckland. Through the miracle of air travel, Friday Dec 1st will cease to exist for me, since I’m passing over the date-line. The flight arrives at 6 am Saturday, Dec 2nd. Talk about a red-eye! In my previous travels to NZ, I was flying from/to Hawaii and the 8hr flights weren’t near as bad. This will be my longest commercial flight yet (not including a trip on the Copenhagen-New London Coast Guard Express: 24 hrs on a very[…]
Read moreFinal preps…frontloading
As much effort that has gone into reducing the weight of my gear, I have spent the past week countering these efforts by stuffing myself with holiday food! I’m calling it frontloading. Not surprisingly, thru-hiking is an excellent way to burn calories and loose weight. Estimates put a day’s worth of hiking (about 20 miles for me, depending on the terrain) to be worth about 5000 calories. It’s nearly impossible to find the time to eat that much, let alone carry it. Thus, calorie deficits result. While not intending to, I lost nearly 10lbs in just 1 month thru-hiking the Colorado Trail this past summer. For me, already being a bit of a twig, that is a lot of weight.[…]
Read moreWhy I am hiking the Te Araroa
Te Araroa has been a dream of mine for 4 years. I have wanted to do a long-distance thru-hike for even longer. So why the TA, when there are so many great options in the USA, both logistically easier and closer to home? Well, quite simply, New Zealand is where I first refined and expanded my backpacking skills, and I want to bring it full circle in completing my first big thru-hike there. I’m not a newbie, not to NZ nor to backpacking. My resume goes back almost 20 years, starting with short overnight trips, then 4-5 days, and most recently, a full month to complete the Colorado Trail (500 miles). I’ve backpacked many other places including Hawaii, California, Florida,[…]
Read moreColorado Trail, Week 2, Part 2, Twin Lakes to HWY 50, Segments 11-14
Day 12: July 24th, Twin Lakes to Clear Creek, 12 miles, Segment 11. After a leisurely breakfast, we decided to accept a ride from Matt to travel around the lakes. It’s mostly a long, hot road-walk. Yes, it was cheating but I wasn’t yet into the continuous footpath tradition of thru-hiking…it became my style later on. Mt Elbert and Mt Massive can be seen in the background. PBR, Sofie and I picked up the trail on the south-eastern shore, quickly coming to the intersection of the Collegiate West and East routes. We decided to take a side-trip of about a mile to visit the Interlaken Resort. A historic point along the trail, this was a ritzy resort in the late[…]
Read moreColorado Trail, Week 2, Part 1, Breckenridge To Twin Lakes, Segments 8-11
Day 8: July 20th, Copper Mountain village to campsite south of Camp Hale, 20.1 miles, Segment 8. Sofie’s friend picked us (Yoyo, PBR, Sofie and me) up at the hostel for a very early start. One of her car windows was blown out so the 30 minute ride was freezing! We arrived at the trailhead very anxious to start hiking, just to warm up. Our wish was granted, as it was a steady climb up a valley to Searle Pass. We walked right through the ski resort and I fantasized about the hot coffee that must exist down in the village. A man-made snow course was still present. This is one of 2 ski resorts that the CT goes through…the[…]
Read moreColorado Trail, Week 1, Denver to Breckenridge, Segments 1-6
Pre-game: I flew from Miami to Denver at the beginning of July 2017, a week before starting the CT, my very first long-distance thru hike. I stayed with my parents for a few days while doing some local hikes to acclimate to the elevation. This helped tremendously. Then I had a fantastic reunion with my 2 dear cousins that live near Denver and my Aunt Peggy, who lives near Steamboat, CO. I stayed with my cousin Kessia for a few nights, who happened to live within a few miles of the trailhead, start of segment 1. The day before the hike, I picked up my friend Rebecca Shivers, here-on known as PBR. She flew in from Iowa to hike the[…]
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