The
home hut!
Friday 19 May, 2000
Just a short entry, I've only been home a little while, and can hear the bed calling out to me!
Yesterday, after spending the night at Dundas hut, the weather had closed in again. Windy on the tops, and mist all around. We decided not to push on where we had planned, but instead make a detour across to Cattle Ridge hut, and then out the next day.
Cattle Ridge hut was not very far away. As the crow flies. As the tramper walks, it was over 6 hours. We dropped down a spur to a stream. It was steep in places, but the track had been cut recently and was in good shape. From the stream we sidled around to reach the Ruamahunga river. We crossed that and had lunch in the drizzly rain, pondering how such huge boulders could possibly be swept down such a (seemingly) small river. After lunch we had a 2000ft climb up to Cattle Ridge hut. It was steep. It was very steep. The weather closed in once more when we reached the top, and we donned raincoats for the 20 minutes to the hut. Did I mention the climb up was steep?
Today was a reasonably easy day out to the roadend. It drizzled all day, but I was feeling quite fit, and mostly enjoyed the walk.
So, now I'm back home. Tired, sleepy, but feeling great! It's always such a wonderful novelty being back home after a tramp. Little things — like drinking fresh milk instead of powdered stuff, using an electric kettle to boil water instead of having to start a stove up, switching on an electric light instead if lighting a candle, standing by a heater to get warm instead of wearing all your clothes and still being cold — are appreciated in a new light. Oh, and a hot shower after five days of not washing, and three of those days smelling yourself, is beyond compare!
I'm
off to bed. It's good being home.