Day 8 - Pelorous Bridge to Captain Creek Hut

It was a slow start to the morning today. I told Kat to meet me at the campsite cafe as I didn't want to start digging into my food rations until I hit the range. I ordered a ham and cheese sandwich, a shot of espresso, and took a seat in the not so busy cafe. An older couple perusing items was standing in front of me, and to my surprise I regonize Kim, the old fella I met at my first campsite in resolution bay, and who I had a had a beer with on my second day at Camp Cove. I shouted "Kim!?" in Grand excitement, and he immediately burst into a smile. Him and his wife sat down and joined me for breakfast and we talked about the upcoming Richmond range. He told me about his plan to hike the Waiui Pass soon and that he'd leave a message for me in the hut book. Our chat was short as there was a long day of hiking ahead, but running into Kim really made my morning.

Kat and I hit the trail at an astonishing 10am. It was about 10km of road walking before we hit the forest trail and then another 12km to the first hut. The road walking was pretty, but tough on my feet, especially my left foot. It's been causing me pain since day 1, and more than ever with my 10 days of extra food. I'm thinking of buying insoles first chance I get, just don't know when that will be.

By 1pm we finished the road and hit the trail. It was an hours walk until we reached our lunch spot. The Pelorous River ran through a beautiful picnic spot, and I didn't waste a minute before I was swimming in the icy emerald pools from the mountains above. It was 25 Celsius today, and my body needed a cool down. Also, I should let you know that I made a promise to myself on the trail. "Swim every chance you get, Eric"

We carried on for another 2 hours until we reach Captain Creek Hut. It was empty when we arrived, so we cooked dinner and talked life. It was all very peaceful until 2 North bound Ultralight hikers showed up. I was impressed with their pack weight but less impressed with their attitudes. They had crushed the south island in a little over a month but hardly managed to grab anything out of the experience aside from some more juice for their egos. When one guy mentioned to me that streams can be crossed in any condition I felt the scales on my back rise and had to tell him how wrong he was. Most backcountry deaths in New Zealand are caused by streams and rivers. Always take caution when crossing any body of water.

I found rest as soon as I could, but around 9pm another hiker showed up. He was wearing tight shorts and no shirt when we walked in the hut, and his goofiness made me laugh. I didn't talk to Justin much at the time. Turns out we'd be hiking the same route for the next 10 days in the range.