Whew

I need a minute. The last two days have been a whirlwind. A fun one but man this trail asks for everything. Intense physical effort and planning. Lots and lots of planning. It’s exhausting for the mind and body but the payoff is pretty amazing. We camped at the Timber Trail trailhead on Wednesday night and rented mountain bikes for the next fifty miles of trail. The bike rental company met us at the trailhead at 9:30 and took our packs for us to the next overnight stay. Let me say that again – they took our packs for us and it felt glorious to say goodbye to it for the next two days. We jumped on the surprisingly high end mountain bikes with drop seats and hit the Timber Trail. It was a perfectly groomed and maintained trail with easy long climbs and beautiful suspension bridges across the steep river valleys. My plan was to take it easy on the first day but the bike was just too fun and I couldn’t stop. I pushed hard and had a blast on the descents. The drop seats were so great to ride the swoopy trail and hop over the rocky sections. I got into our overnight town around 1PM and ate two pizzas at the Timber Trail Lodge. I really wanted a beer too but they won’t serve TA hikers anymore after an unruly incident last year. I didn’t ask for details but I can only imagine.

We camped at the free campground that night and awoke to a drizzly rain. It was the perfect amount to make the second day of mountain biking really fun. The trail was now a little grippy It was a blast. I could push the turns and descents a little harder and the speed was intoxicating. I road hard again to the finish and then had to hang out for a few hours until they delivered our packs back to us. We were lucky to hitch a quick ride for the twelve mile road section into Taumaruni for an intense afternoon of logistics.

As soon as we hit town we had to eat lunch, do laundry, buy food for the next twelve days and meet our canoe company shuttle at the grocery store by 3:15. I only had 20 minutes to shop for everything and it was crazy stressful to plan everything for the five day mountain crossing which needs to be really light and the seven day canoe trip that immediately follows it. There is no weight limit on the canoe section so I was a little overwhelmed with the options. I finished shopping just in time and the canoe company picked us up and rushed to their campsite for an hour long safety briefing, booking and food packing. The safety briefing was intense. We are going to be paddling through some whitewater sections and the river is going to be high. It’s not if we will dump the canoe but when and how to safely get to shore and repack everything. The canoe will be loaded down with seven days of supplies for a five day trip (we might get stuck out in the bush for a few extra days because of tides) in big barrels that will be tied into the center of the canoe. Saad and I are going to be in a boat together and we sat with wide eyes as we soaked in the safety demo.

The briefing room was full of hikers and you could cut the tension with a knife. I think we all went into this thinking it was going to be a lazy canoe trip but it’s much much more. On top of all this, we also had to create a Department of Conservation account on the fly and book our campsites on the river before they were sold out. During the briefing, it was pouring down rain and that came with another set of warnings about if and when the river starts to flood. If we start seeing logs passing us then we should get to shore and hunker down until the water recedes. It sounds like a lot but I am really looking forward to it now that all of the planning is done. I feel confident in the water and navigating the rougher sections doesn’t make me anxious. They have satellite phones available at the campsites for us to use in case of an emergency. It’s all really well planned.

Everything is all set and we have the next five days in the Tongario mountains to recenter ourselves and take a break from all the planning. The food is packed, my clothes are clean and my backpack is full. The campsites are reserved and the canoe company will meet us after to alpine crossing in six days. I’m curled up in my sleeping bag and listening to my we favorite sound – the sweet bleating of spring lambs.