Day 33 - Locke Steam hut to Morrison Footbridge

I was a bit startled when morning came and it was cloudy with some blue sky. Everyone was extremely excited as we were all expecting heavy rain. I felt a little different about the whole matter. Locke Steam hut is located deep in the valley, towered over by large hills that seem to go on forever. We can't see what's going on in the valley over from us, or the valley over from it. I knew heavy rain was somewhere around us, and I was worried it was still yet to come. Kiwi Hut was only 8km down the valley, and getting some distance would be better than waiting in the hut. It kinda felt like I'd been played by mother nature, knowing we would all be forced to hike today.

The majority of the day was spent walking over rocks and through water, straight down the gut of the valley. It was very beautiful and very flat, but very hard on the feet. I was watching every step I made as I balanced from one rock to the next. You occasionally slip, or step on a rock that hits a pressure point, but you do your best to glide with the movement. A few hours of valley walking before I felt a cold sharp wind that sent shivers through my body. It smelled and tasted like rain, and I knew that the blue sky wouldn't last forever.

It didn't take long to reach Kiwi hut, the sort of halfway point for today. I ate lunch with a few other friends from Locke Steam hut, Troy, Harry and Marry. I've know these 3 for around 20 days or more on the trail. We're all quite familiar with each other by now, so lunch can be quite entertaining. It's usually a mish mash of stupid jokes, and stories. But today was short. I didn't spend more than 15 minutes with the group before hitting the trial again. I wanted to get past these rivers before the rain hit.

After many river crossings later I made it to a new challenge. The trail was hardly marked. I practically made my own trail across the rocks and through the forest. I stayed closest to what the maps marked and kept a keen eye out for any signs of hiker footprints. At one point I hiked over 1km before seeing a a marker or any sign of a trail.

I eventually hit a turnoff. Either to the road and hitch to Arthurs Pass, or hike the flood pathway towards the Deception River track. It still wasn't raining so I took the floodpathway towards the deception River. Within the first 100 meters of the track I reach a section of trees that had been crushed in the recent cyclone. The trail had been destroyed, leaving me to bushwack and make my own trail. I felt like I was getting lost with each step, but I kept to my best judgment and continued forward looking for any sign of a marker. Eventually I spotted one that continued on as a track. The trail didn't last though, reaching another section that forced me to find my own way. This was the first forest I've seen in a long time that reminded me of the Northland forests. Hardly a forest, and much closer to a jungle. Setting up a shelter in here would be nearly impossible.

As I continued on hacking my way through the flood track I came upon a stick with a hat on it and a bag resting up against a tree. I saw a figure in the trees ahead and yelled out "Hello hello!". A man popped his head out holding a chainsaw "Heya there!"

After a brief conversation I found out it was Bill, the man who runs a place called The Sanctuary in Arthur's Pass. I had sent him two packages and was planning to spend a rest day at his place. He had heard from many Te Araroa hikers that this floodway track needed some serious help, so instead of waiting on Doc to fix it he came up here and decided to take care of it himself. He was incredibly nice, and I told him I'd be coming by in a few days. Right after my chat with Bill is when the rain started. Now I was in my full rain gear, bushwacking and climbing at a very slow pace. I got so fed up with the forest that I jumped out and started following the rock bed that ran beside it instead. I felt this would help things speed up, but it only made things worse. I eventually got stuck in a field of gorse, my prickly nemesis from the north island. I got so stuck in it that I could hardly move. I decided to go back into the forest, where I eventually found the trail and followed it until I reached the other end. I came out at the Morrison Bridge and it was around 6pm.

Pretty well everyone broke off the trail and headed to Arthur's Pass, but I wanted to go into the deception Valley. Wietse and Dan were the only other two guys I knew who were keen but I hadn't seen them all day.

I managed to find flat ground in the forest but still had to setup and cook dinner in the rain. Fond memories of the north island always come back in situations like this, and to be quite honest, the bitterness of the whole situation tasted great. I had a night to myself with no distractions. Once I was in my sleeping bag and sheltered from the rain I was as happy as ever.