Day 35 - Goat Pass hut to Arthur's Pass Village

Dan myself and Wietse took off from the hut as a group of three today, We hike well together and have plenty to talk about to pass the time.

It was a beautiful walk out of Arthur's Pass national park. Im really glad I made the decision to continue on through the deception valley, and I don't think I would have been able to make the decision without Brooke's help with weather and contacting doc.

By the time we reached the highway leading to Arthur's Pass we knew that hitching a ride could take ages so we decided to walk the 5km off trail on the road instead. The walk went by fast, and it wasn't long before we were all finding bunks at a hostel and taking hot showers.

As I started making my way through the village I noticed a familiar face sitting on a chair outside a cafe. The Frenchman looked tired and done with the day, but I soon as I showed up I saw a smile light his mood. I hadn't see Vincent since we got stuck in Rocks hut way back in the Richmond Ranges, and I wasn't sure when I'd see him again. I knew he was behind me but I wasn't sure how far. We caught up on trail stories, and by the time Dan and Wietse showed up we were all eating ice cream and giving our legs a rest.

We grabbed a 12 pack a beer before the store closed, and made our way back to the hostel where we drank and told stories. I couldn't think of a better group of guys to be celebrating the end of the section with. Tomorrow we will all be heading our separate ways. Dan is planning to go off and do some side trials, Vincent is hitching ahead to Tekapo to see the stars, and Wietse is going back on trail a day ahead of me. I'm not sure if I'll see Dan and Vincent down the trial, but the TA is full of surprises.