Day 116: Potts River Carpark to Crooked Spur Hut (2315-2324)

Saturday, March 25

Last night and early this morning I only heard a few cars drive by. I woke up for the day around 6:45 and could hear rain lightly hitting my tent. After I ate some pop tarts, I started to pack up little things in my tent and put in my contacts. It burned so badly! Lauren and Sam made sure I was ok after hearing me say a few explosives. It was like getting shampoo in your eyes times ten. It took a moment, but I realized my Dr. Brommers soap had leaked and gotten into my contacts case.

I had realized it last night, but I thought I rinsed the case really well. The soap must be more concentrated than I though. It was terrible. I attempted to rinse the contacts one more time and put them in but it didn't help. It was time to break into the emergency spares I carry in my first aid kit. I carry glasses for evenings, but I really really don't like wearing them during the day.

Once that morning crisis was over, I finished packing things in my tent and ventured out into the drizzle. Last night an animal moved one of my Chacos a meter (I always keep them in the vestibule to keep keep my tent a bit more clean). I also noticed that a bird pooped on my tent. It just wiped it off with so merging and it was fine. It was an interesting morning.

The three of us were packed up by 8:30 so we'd be ready for Wayne to pick us up. He arrived and was so nice. He told us all about the upcoming trail. During a few spots on the drive we got cell phone service. I checked the weather forecast for the next few days and booked an extra night for the three of us at Lake Tekapo. At the rate we were walking we'd arrive a day earlier than our reservation. We ended up booking a yurt at the Holiday Park. Everything else was booked up.

The whole drive took about two hours and we stopped partway through for gas so the three of us were able to get snacks. In addition to a few snacks, Sam got a water bottle for us all to use to filter water. We had broken the sawyer bag, but there were normal water bottles you can buy with the same thread width as the Sawyer filter. And they're much easier to fill up in a river! The Sawyer bags always collapse before they're full in lakes and rivers.

Wayne dropped us off at the trailhead on the other side of the Rangitata around 11 and we started walking. The trail was a bit difficult to follow and had the deepest river crossings since Arthur's Pass. They were all doable, and the highest was just above the knee.

The trail started on a rocky riverbed through a valley and as it got out of the riverbed some of it was pretty overgrown. At one point we spotted a trail that seemed to go very very steeply up a hillside. It got steeper and steeper and I had a feeling it really wasn't a trail, so Sam went on to scope it out and Lauren and I stayed put.

It didn't end up being the trail so we all very carefully tried to make our way down without falling. We found the trail once we got down. We got turned around a few more times, but we realized it much more quickly and easily.

Eventually we ran into a NOBOer that had a few fresh scrapes. She had done something similar to us and gone up a really steep bit of trail before realizing it was wrong. She was ok and we told her any other ones she saw between now and the Rangitata weren't the trail, as we had learned the hard way as well. I think this land used to be only for hunters, so I have a feeling that's where the paths originated.

The more we walked, the trail got better and easier to follow. We saw some people with neon yellow and orange clothing as the trail went up a steep hillside (though not as steep as our detour). As we climbed higher we realized they were hunters.

The trail went downhill and we had our last river crossing of the day. Then it was all uphill to Crooked Spur Hut. Lauren made it first and Sam waited a bit for me. Once I hit a certain incline, I only have one slow speed.

Sam and I saw a NOBOer arrive at the hut just before we got there. His name was Pascal. He ate some food and was going to keep walking. He wanted to make it to the Rangitata before dark.

We unpacked out stuff, and since it was early I made coffee and hung my tent in the hut to try to dry it from this morning. I also went down to the nearby river to get water and thoroughly rinse my toiletries. Especially my contacts case. I didn't want to ruin the only pair of contacts I had left on me.

The three of us were pretty tired, so we made our beds and were going to try to get a quick nap. As Pascal was leaving a SOBOer arrived. The girl from the bus I didn't recognize. Her name was Noemi and she told us a family of three was coming.

We tried to power nap while Noemi set her bunk up because we knew we wouldn't get much sleep once the family arrived.

After our quick nap, Jeremy and his parents David and Jenny arrived. They were Kiwis and Jeremy was hiking the TA this year. David and Jenny were joining Jeremy for the section between the Rangitata and Lake Tekapo.

There was one big log near the fireplace and David and Jeremy cut it up when they arrived. It was chilly and we all had damp things from a combination of the intermittent rain and all the river crossings.

David got a fire started, but we didn't have much firewood. The hut was surrounded by tussock. Shortly after the fire started, Karolina arrived. We had a full hut, but it was a great group of people.

There were a few fragments of firewood in the hut, so I figured hikers found some somewhere. When I got water earlier I had noticed a path going away from the hut that wasn't the trail, so I thought I'd follow it and see if it led anywhere helpful.

Once I followed it I almost instantly saw a small patch of trees. I worked my way downhill to the clump and saw lots of stumps. This was where people were getting firewood. I also noticed a dead animal in the river running through the tree patch. Luckily it was downriver from where we were getting water or it could have been really bad. I grabbed some dead sticks and walked back to the hut to share the exciting discovery.

There was a little saw in the hut so I grabbed it and David came with me to the trees. It was pretty picked over but we tried to saw some pieces. The saw broke on the first inch-wide stick we tried to use it on.

We pulled off all the dead branches and roots we could and carried them back, along with the saw pieces. Sam came to help too but there wasn't much left to scavenge so I asked him if he could carry the saw blade.

As we were relaxing in the hut, Noemi and Karolina struck a trade with each other, two beef sticks for a cigarette. It was fun to watch. Then I packed my snacks for tomorrow and made dinner.

I read over notes for tomorrow as well as the weather forecast. Everyone was quiet by 8:30 and some mice started crawling just before 9. I jotted down notes about today and listened to a podcast to keep me from listening to the mice scurry around as I fell asleep.