Day 48 - Outside of Twizel camp to Freehold Creek Camp

My alarm woke me up at 7am and by some sort of luck It had yet to start raining. I layed in my sleeping bag for another 15 minutes before I heard a single drop hit my tent. I listened intently and heard another. And before I knew it a steady downpour started. I packed up camp in the rain this morning, one of my least favorite things to do on the trail. The forecast said this rainy weather is supposed to last for another few days so I will most likely be setting up camp tonight and taking it down tomorrow morning in the rain as well. It was a light rain for the entire day, with periods of medium and heavy rain. Sometimes the sun would pop out while still raining, making it extremely uncomfortable since I was layered in wet weather gear.

I wasn't quite sure where I was aiming to stop today. Their was Lake Middleton campsite about 17km from where I was, but that would be a pretty short day since it was all flat ground.

I followed the road for half the morning before joining up with the Alps to Ocean bike trail. It was practically road walking, and the the hard ground did not help to make my left foot feel any better.

At around 11:30am their was a miraculous break in the rain. I studied the clouds and could see off in the distance another barrage of rain coming my way, so I decided to take an early lunch. I've switched off the tuna packets for lunch for a couple reasons. Not only have I become sick of them, but the juice left over from a used packet is always a mess in my garbage bag, and after a couple days they start to reek. Also, my gas has become unbearable to even myself. So instead I've switched to Pepperoni sausage and Cheese. I've started putting salsa Doritos with them in a wrap and I quite enjoy the flavor. Cheese is also a great source of fat which I could always use more of. Right as I slung my pack around my shoulders was when the rain started up again. I was really glad I stopped when I did because the rain picked up after that point and it would have made lunch quite cold and miserable.

After the A2O trail I walked a long stretch of road past Middleton campsite until I reached the start of the East Ahuriri Track. I walked for another 5km before making it to the Freehold Creek Bridge and spotted a picnic table with some flat ground next to it to sleep on. It crossed all the checks off my list for a good camp so I decided to set up there. By some miracle the rain parted for the 15 minutes it took me to grab water, set up my tent and get cozy inside before starting up again. Later in the evening I had another short break in the rain and was able to make my dinner. These small victories made a cold day slightly warmer.

The temperature dropped quite fast, and before it was dark I was hidden in my zipped up sleeping bag preparing for a cold night.