The Adventure Starts Early

My buddy Neil always joked when we were starting an adventure race that you know it’s going to be fun when the adventure starts early. Like an early flat on the mountain bike or a lost map. I always loved that saying because it turned a tough start into something funny. You signed up for an adventure so no complaining when it hits you right away.

My day started early with a bunch of errands. Food supply at the Pac N’ Save, a trip to the post office to mail some stuff I didn’t need home and a load of laundry. I hadn’t had a chance to wash my clothes since I left Seattle (yeah, that was 10 days ago) so things were getting interesting. My shuttle driver Dan picked me up right in time at 11AM for the 2 hour drive to the start. It’s a beautiful drive up here but there is nothing but sheep and wind. The start is at Cape Reinga with beautiful views over looking the South Pacific off of the northern most tip of the North Island.

The first miles of the trail wind along the coast and down to 90 mile beach with spectacular views. So I’m told. The adventure started early indeed when I discovered that the first 12 miles of the trail were closed during to flood damage. I felt like Chevy Chase in Vacation when he finally shows up to Wally World and it’s closed for repairs. Whelp, that meant a 12+ mile road walk and then a 2 mile bush whack across a stream bed. There were some incredible views of these huge sand dunes as I go closer to the beach but to be honest it was a pretty grim start. I knew there was going to be some road walking here but I was looking forward to the start from the pictures.

My mood improved when I finally got down to the beach and I was on the actual trail. I kicked my shoes off and walked along the deserted beach until I found a stream and a good place to stealth camp. We aren’t supposed to be camping along the forest unless it is in designated spots but I think they are bending the rules a bit with such a large section of the trail out of commission.

Camping on the beach sounds romantic but it’s actually a pain in the butt. Sand gets in everything and the wind becomes a real bully at night. I managed to barely keep my tent up to make dinner but not much hanging around the beach enjoying the sunset. If I’m not in my tent holding it down – it flies away. Tent spikes aren’t much help in these conditions. The adventure is starting early indeed.

It’s going to be a great trip but today – not so much. I did spend a lot of time refocusing on my beautiful surroundings. I’m in an incredibly isolated part of the world and I knew this was going to be tough. I didn’t sleep a wink with all the racket the wind was making. It even knocked my tent sideways a few times and blew sand up in between my rain fly and showered down onto everything in the tent. By morning I was covered in sand and a thick layer of dew. I looked like a powdered donut but a pissed off one. Again, had to re-calibrate. Tick off all of the great things about being here, make your coffee and start hiking dude.

I headed out for the hike – really a slow slog into the driving wind and rain on the beach. I decided that I’ve had enough of the dune camping for one trip and decided to head for the next campsite that is only 10 miles away. I would normally want to do close to 20 miles but the next campsite after that one was 38 miles away. I’ll get up to those miles soon but I don’t want to push anything so soon. Besides, I had sand in everything (and I mean everything!) and was looking forward to the luxury that awaits at the Maungani Bluff Campsite so I could shake this loose and dry off my clothes.

Maungani is heaven. It’s funny how quickly long distance hiking resets the definition of luxury. This place has a kitchen (a dirty lean to), running water, a patch of grass and a flush toilet. Yes – a FLUSH TOILET! It is basic but it’s right on the beach and the sound of the water and the birds chirping is pretty amazing. So, I checked in early and set everything out to dry and shook the sand out of everything I own, made a burrito and read my book. Now this is what I was looking for! Long, lazy days of hiking and tending to errands. It’s really what this is all about.