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Long time, No Update

2009-07-20T18:27:00.001-07:00

Howdy,

The past couple months have been sort of a blur. The biggest thing to happen is probably my move from New Zealand back to California. It was certainly an interesting transition. Sitting in the airport in Auckland I wasn't sure how to feel. Thinking of traffic, crime, and smog, part of me wanted to run for the hills. Another part of me missed traffic, crime, and smog in a unexplainably sick sort of way. Perhaps this feeling was provoked by the fact that I missed family and friends present in said societal conditions. Regardless, the ticket in my hand said destination Los Angeles, so I went.

After a long, bumpy, wind filled, sleepless air travel experience, we saw land. And the 405 packed with traffic, which made my stomach churn a bit. I was "home," at least for a week and a half, and was happy to catch up with everyone.

Well the week and a half was gone in a blink of an eye, and I was off to the mountains once again. A friend, Joe Barry, and headed up to Yosemite Valley to hike the John Muir Trail.

The John Muir Trail is 211 miles of straight California mountain awesomeness. We climbed passes, traversed snow and ice fields, forded creeks, scrambled across countless moraines, and basically just had an amazing time acting like total mountain man badasses.

Gear List: http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pivr1lAwkMltL8MB5iA-Uew&output=html

Our mission began in Yosemite Valley, roughly 4500ft and the lowest we'd be. We left our car at Tuolumne and shuttled down to the Valley that afternoon to catch some sleep and prepare ourselves for a big first day on the trail. Walking around we came across a bobcat that didn't seem to be in much of a rush. Pretty cool, I'd never seen one before (alive, that is). The bobcat was a mere foreshadowing of the adventure to come when the sun went down.

Joe and I were hangin out in camp when a ranger came over. She told us if our bearcan was out of the bear locker to keep it within arm's reach. Otherwise, make sure it's in the locker and is locked up, she continued. We said okay, whatever, and carried on making dinner. An hour or so later we're packin up a bit and put the bearcan in the locker, along with my pack, and fail to shut the door. We're setting stuff up and about to hit the sack, when I look over to the bear locker about 15ft from me and see the reflection of two big eyes staring back at me. Joe and I start clapping and yelling at the hungry fellow as I step closer and closer to him to scare him off. I probably got within 6-7ft of it before he folded and backed off enough where I was able to shut the box. He disappeared into the night after that. A bear encounter the first night, our adventure was off to a good start!

We rose the next morning at a lazy hour and began our climb out of the Valley. We climbed Yosemite's iconic Half Dome as a little side trip as well. I think we did something like 14-16 miles and 5300ft the first day. Heck yah!

Joe on the rail section.

Me

The next day we made our way toward Tuolumne and the car. We camped just a few miles out along a creek. Joe took out the stitches in my right arm.

Before

After

Dr. Joe

Healed like a champ.

More words and photos later

Just a few photos

2009-05-26T00:20:00.000-07:00

Not much to say.

Work

2009-05-06T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hooray. I hadn't worked in a couple months, so I quite happily accepted a one day job two hundred kilometers (Imperial is so 2008) away in Palmerston North. Was pleasantly surprised to find myself staying in a one bedroom luxury apartment featuring not one, but two plasma TVs broadcasting nothing worth watching. No worries, grabbed a late night kebab from a Turkish joint and hit the sack. Woke up at 5am the next morning and got to work.

Conditions were lovely.

Other sites I've been to had roofs over their loading docks, this one not so much. I rolled up in jeans and a sweatshirt and quickly found myself soaked.

My title today was Inspector. My duties were to inspect containers bound for Venezuela contain New Zealand Milk Products. Specifically, whole milk powder. Each pallet is sold for 10-13k. I questioned the man in charge, Carl, if there was a shortage of cows in Venezuela. He didn't know.

My job is very technical. I take a photo of the empty container. I take a photo of the half full container. I take a photo of the full container. All while making sure no drugs, guns, or babies find their way into the container.

The pay is good. $20 an hour for the 13 hour day I worked. They also pay $.52/kilometer driven (400k's total), cover travel time, compensate for over night time away from home, and pick up accommodation. Not bad, I reckon.

Back in Taranaki now. Thunder, rain, and hail, oh my. Debating whether or not to hike up the mountain and enjoy the storm from a high altitude vantage point or hang out at sea level drinking tea and reading books. You may say that I could bring the tea and books up the mountain with me. That is a good point, friend, and perhaps what is going to happen.

Also, my favorite jeans died today. If you've ever seen me, chances are you've seen the jeans. They are (They were?) grey. A few months ago I tore a hole in the crotch, but I still wore 'em no worries. My mum patched the hole and they were as good as new. After thousands of miles of walking and bike riding, the entire butt section wore paper thin and silky soft. I knew it was only a matter of time. They met their demise today. Oh how I wish I could go back to 1980's Spain and grab another pair. They were my greatest thrift store find to date. Sad day.

Traveler Chatter

2009-05-04T01:00:00.001-07:00

Save it, thanks. I'm sick and tired of traveler chatter. That is, single serving conversations with fellow "travelers" (I hate that classification) about travel experiences past, present, and future. It seems they all start out the same, with where have you gone and what have you done in New Zealand. Then on to where else you've been. Then to where you want to go. It's all superficial really. An act. Rehearsed night after night, hostel after hostel. The stories are all the same just told in different accents and with different characters. "Got so drunk" this, "one night stand" that, etc. I don't care, but of course I play along for a while. Most of the people I've encountered have nothing interesting to say. I reckon many travel just so they can talk about traveling to others who travel. You see, it's a never ending pissing contest about who travels more, who got the most lost, and who got drunk in the most obscure scenario. Perhaps I'll interrupt mid-sentence with a "hey didn't you tell this story last night?" They'll retort with some sort of denial. But I'll know. And he'll know that I know. Victory is imminent at that point.

Perhaps I'm weird. Yeah, I am weird, I can say it. I'm quite happy being me though and I'm happy doing the things that make me happy. Booyah.

Tongariro River

2009-05-04T00:15:00.000-07:00

Went back to the Tongariro River again to chase trouts. Had a good couple hours a few weeks ago so I thought I'd give it another go. It's not really my style of fishing per se, but it's fun enough. I'm more of a spot, stalk, cast kinda guy where as this is a chuck heavy nymphs into deep pools kinda place. The fishing wasn't anything to write home about (ha), but it was enough to keep me interested. I got a bit of advice as to where to catch browns (I'd trade a dozen rainbows for a single brown) so that's where I spent most of my time. Being primarily a rainbow trout fishery, I was quite satisfied getting two browns. They weren't legendary double digit Taupo run trophies, but I ain't complainin'.

Dawn break and dusk saw me chest deep in the river chucking flies. Duck season just started, so I was fortunate enough to have an alarm clock in the form of a shotgun shell exploding each morning.

Provisions

I eat lots of PB&J's. Too many, probably. After six or seven meals in a row I get a bit tired of them. In the end it works out though. The scenery and experiences more than make up for my food woes.

Cookie cutter rainbow

I caught a bunch around this size, about 20". I think I was getting comparably lucky, as I didn't see too many others catching. The trick was the power mend!

Back in Stratford now. Not sure where to next.

Fishing today

2009-04-17T00:52:00.000-07:00

Went out with my uncle today on his boat. Rough seas but we putted around the sheltered sides of the islands and found loads of willing kahwai. I think I got 7-8 on the fly casting into the boils. My uncle worked the bottom picking off the bottom scavenging snapper. What turned an awesome day into an epic day was when we spotted kingfish/yellowtail holding at the surface to a bit of structure. My uncle moved me into position and I made cast after cast and just couldn't get them to take. They would follow it, even fight over it, yet they didn't take. My uncle had an idea, he would cast out his rod rigged with a bit of gulp (a synthetic soft bait that's sorta blown up down here) and I'd swing the boat around the structure while he reeled in as fast as he could. Second cast he got nailed, and landed this beauty.

I was up again. Switched flies to this yellow guy my buddy Justin tied for me. Second cast I landed right near the structure as a kingfish was moving around it. He turned around and straight nailed it right in front of our eyes. Seeing the take is what fly fishing is all about. It was flippin' AWESOME. Within seconds I was down to my backing. We chased the fish down and I reckon just under ten minutes later we had it to the boat.

Kingfish/Yellowtail
Auckland Harbor
6wt fly rod

The Tools

Ok, just a few more pics

2009-04-16T01:37:00.000-07:00

Hi!

2009-04-15T23:24:00.000-07:00

Hey blog, it's been a while since I've updated you last. The foremost reason for such neglect being that I've been on the road for a monthish and really haven't had reliable internet. That and the fact that there is an overwhelming number of photographs (thousands, mind you) that I've yet to sort through. Rather than a marathon of a narrative, I think I'll just throw down some random ramblings of some of the highlights of my last month or so.

My mom came down for a visit. This is us after riding the chairlift up the mountain overlooking Queenstown.

Queenstown was cool, but terribly touristy. Walking the streets felt sorta like flipping through a North Face catalog (or catalogue, as a Kiwi would type). Everyone was certainly dressed to impress, showing off all of their newly purchased outdoor gear they've stocked up on to embark on their assorted weekend warrior type adventures. But hey, at least they're getting outside, which is more than I can say for many a folks.

Being a bustling little tourist town, Queenstown was a bit of a melting pot restaurant wise. Turkish Kebab shops, Indian cuisine, Thai, Pub food, Japanese, you name it. It was one of those places that didn't really have an identity of its own.

Long story short (though I might add more ramblings later), mum and I toured lots, seeing most of the South Island, a fair portion of the North, and walked lots of miles around Sydney.

Let's talk about fishing, shall we? We shall. Here's where I would post a photo of a trophy, fish-of-a-lifetime type, world class South Island New Zealand brown trout, but alas, I was blanked on any browns of reasonable size. Though my lack of success does not feel like failure. In fact I suppose it's only fair that I get blanked on my first South Island fly fishing mission. But I do have a story...

(non-fisher person readers might as well skip this bit as you'd probably think I'm nuts)

We arrived in the quaint mountain town of Murchinson an hour or so before dusk one evening. Booked a room in a little cottage and I was off to the river. Which one, I didn't know yet, as this awesome little town is nestled in one heck of a river valley. Four tributaries, each a world class fishing destination in its own right, meet the might Buller river. I decided I would find a large pool in which to hopefully fish the evening rise. After checking a few spots along the way, I came to a tributary where I spotted a rather large, perhaps five pound, brown trout feeding off the surface. He was sort of in a tricky spot that I couldn't quite cast to from behind with out wet wading waist+ depths. I opted to hide in the tall grass and hopefully land a perpendicular cast without spooking him. I wasn't so lucky. Oh well, I reckoned. I crossed the road and went to the next pool, where to my delight I spied two fish of similar proportions feeding off the surface of a rather shallow, slow moving pool where the river had forked. I had on a size 16 Royal Wulff, a true champion when it comes to dry flies. Tossed it out to the closest trout to me, who gave it a nose yet rejected it. I decided I'd better add a bit of length of my already twelve foot leader in order to cast to the second fish without spooking the first. I did, and got the nose again. Here's where I get sloppy! I tied on a size 20 elk hair caddis, tossed it about five feet in front of the first fish, and he took! Unfortunately while I was staring down that five feet of drift, which always seems to take forever in such situations, I forgot to collect the line as it drifted downstream. Needless to say, I was a tad late on the hook set. After figuring out that they weren't eating dry flies, but emergers, I ended up missing two more takes for one reason or another and after about an hour I spooked both of the trout as they drifted downstream to my feet. I was completely jazzed up though. I got back to the room and my heart was still pounding and hands were still shaking. I might have not hooked the fish, but they certainly had me hooked.

The next day I set out on the same river again. I started by visiting the two pools I had fished the night before, only to find them empty. Brown trout are tricky like. Often times when you spook a rainbow trout, he's back in the same lie perhaps an hour or less later. One time I even caught the same rainbow trout twice in the same day, with the same fly. Bloody stupid fish! Brown trout, however, are a million times cleverer (FireFox spell check didn't red underline the adjective cleverer, so I'm sticking with it). Once spooked, or hooked, they might not reappear for days. So I figured no worries, and carried on. I didn't spot another fish for quite sometime. And when I did, it was in a run that might have been six inches deep and completely, and tragically, covered in Didymo. Fast forward about 30 minutes and 5-6 flies later and I decided to see if I could stalk right up the the trout and touch him. Nearly successful in this regard, but he spooked as my fingers were inches away.

Spotted a couple more fish here and there, but none seemed to be feeding and none weren't quite the South Island monster I was looking for. And then I spotted him. A trout of world class proportions. Long. Fat. Undoubtedly the biggest river living brown trout I'd ever seen. I estimate him to be in 8-9 pound range, but could be every bit of 10. A true fish of a lifetime for 99.9% of trout fishermen (including this one). The pool was set up nicely. It wasn't deep, but not shallow. The banks were tree laden, but the approach from behind was very reasonable. The water was still, which required the stalk to be quite slow and steady. There was a tad bit of wind to help disguise the concentric rings sent off by my legs moving through the water. And then I felt it. I was about to fish for a world class fish, in a world class destination, in a world class backdrop. I was truly in a state of nirvana at this point. I was both excited and terrified. I trembled, my heart pounded, and my mind raced. At this moment, nothing else mattered. The rest of the world was put on hold. This, my friends, was man versus trout.

And the trout was the victor. For the next three hours I fished for this glorious beast. I threw everything I had at him and he didn't seem to care. I dragged a six inch streamer right in front of his face, and he didn't even flinch. Like he knew. I was in one state of consciousness, while he was on an entirely different level. He knew what was going on. This fish, who could perhaps be a decade or more old, knew, be it instincts, experience or what have you, that it was not time to eat. I decided to put this battle on hold, and go have lunch with Mum.

That evening I planned another attack. I hiked back up to the pool a couple hours before dusk. I crept into the water and waited. I couldn't see the fish with the evening glare, but I had full vision of the length of the pool. So I waited. I was waiting for the sight which causes fly fishermen the world around to shake at their knees: the sight of a rising trout. To a fly fishermen, when a trout rises, it's like a kid awakening to a Christmas tree engulfed in presents. It's truly glorious, and, like Christmas, the wait is half the fun. So I waited. I covered my face with a bandanna, put a beanie on to cover my ears, and sunglasses to shield my eyes. Not from the sun, but from the sand flies. Sand flies so numerous they'd eat you alive if you let them. The only thing I didn't have protected was my hands. Every few minutes I moved just enough to brush them off the backs of my hands. The clever ones were able to find the rip on my knee. Nothin I could do about those guys. Others found their way under my sunglasses and were dancing around my eyes. Over the next couple hours I would master the act of crushing them with my eyelids. All the while intensely watching the pool for signs of life. About a half hour before the sun went down, it began to happen. Small concentric rings were erupting throughout the pool. They weren't caused by trout, however. The pool was so still that you could see where mayflies arose from the depths and escaped to the air. I witnessed dozens, then perhaps hundreds, of these beautiful little trout foods hatch from the water. I expected it to totally go off any second now. I pictured a half dozen rising trout around the pool straight exploding on these emergers. Just absolutely gorging on this keystone food source. Surely no trout could resist, right? I waited. Nearly dark, I continued to wait. Perhaps they're not hungry? No, that doesn't make sense, they didn't eat all day. Perhaps they moved down, or up? Perhaps. Or maybe they sensed my presence? Whatever the reason may be, I didn't see a single rise. I knew that fish was there, just meters in front of me somewhere, but he wasn't eating. Something wasn't right in his mind, so he didn't eat. It was as simple as that, yet exceedingly baffling at the same time. Covered in darkness at this point, there was nothing I could do except negotiate my way back to the car. I thanked God for a truly amazing day.

I'm all writed out, more... tomorrow? Going fishing (surprise) so maybe in the evening.

Just Updatin'

2009-03-22T18:56:00.000-07:00

This blog lacks content, I know. I don't know why but I haven't really felt like blogging. Same old routine here in New Zealand, if you can call it old, but still certainly having a good time. I miss the city though, in a weird way. Not coming back early, but I can definitely say I'm looking forward to coming back. I miss you guys! Unfortunately and fortunately at the same time, I'm only going to be back for a week before I'm ack in the woods. The plan is to complete the 211 miles of the John Muir Trail in July. Can't wait, actually. The more I learn about this John Muir fellow the more I admire and envy him. Completing the JMT is certainly a fair way to honor his life and what he's done for wildernesses around the globe. Not to mention he was known to have a rockin' beard that I hope to emulate upon embarking on this mission.

I bought a car.

$1000NZ (about $500USD). Enough to get me around and plenty of room to sleep in the back.

I also bought a bike.

Not really a necessary purchase, I know, but I got an amazing deal on it. The drive train alone is worth more than I paid for it. The frame is in beautiful condition with incredible lugs. I really have no idea where it came from, and Google is no help, but it is certainly classy. The rest of the bike is either Italian or Japanese. I love it!

I also finally climbed the mountain. A few days before I decided to summit I was doing work with the Department of Conservation in Mt. Egmont national park. We did a bit of trail work and hut maintenance while it rained, hailed, and snowed on us for three days. With the 100km/h+ gusts it made for sketchy working conditions and we didn't as much done as we'd like. I was sort of planning on saving the summit until after I've done all the tracks in the park, but decided to just go for it before it got too icy. It was a nice climb, though much easier than I thought it would be. Listened to a little Thrice (all kidding aside Kozmo, Image of the Invisible is probably one of the best songs of our generation), Spoon, Ted Leo, and Hillsong United on the way up.

Here's a shot of the transition from track to route.

The sketchiest part of the climb was this section down into the crater.

A shot from inside the crater at a lava formation known as the Shark's Tooth. Check out all the windblown ice.

Great Success.

Other than climbing and hiking, I've still been doing quite a bit of fly fishing. Was able to snap this photo the other day. I think it's one of the best I've ever taken.

Just got back from fishing and boating in Lake Taupo last night. I'm now up in Auckland until this weekend. After that I'm off to the South Island and over to Australia. Won't be back down to Taranaki for about a month. Should be good times!

Update!

2009-03-01T20:59:00.000-08:00

Apologies for lack of updates, I just haven't felt like bloggin' much.

I'm kinda going to Tarantino this one because I haven't sorted through the pictures from my road trip last weekend yet.

So the past couple days have been a bit rainy and in between showers I've been doing uphill sprints on my fixed gear bicycle, in addition to my usual daily route. Well needless to say uphill sprints on a track bike are brutally painful but I figure if I'm not climbing mountains I might as well attempt to build a bit of muscle. My legs felt fine at the time (my lungs, a different story), but I woke up with a sore knee and now I'm stuck here on the couch. Knee injuries scare the crap out of me. What the heck would I do without these things? Not sure what I was doing wrong, except perhaps for riding a track bike where track bikes certainly don't belong. Lesson learned? Probably not...

Before the rain I went fly fishing (surprise). This was an attempt at a self portrait. Came out a bit dorky, but I'm a dorky guy so I guess I shouldn't except anything else. I caught all rainbow trout this day and actually kept one for my dad (not the fish pictured, a much smaller one). He's been bugging me to keep one since I got here so I did and luckily it was just OK tasting. It was the first fly caught fish I've ever kept.

Before that I climbed up Fantham's Peak.

It was an awesome hike, despite being trapped in the clouds for the upper half. No view from the top, but I was fascinated by the alpine flora that survives up there.

This is the route to the top. Once above treeline you hike through a steep scree field the rest of the way up. Take a step, lose half a step, take a step, lose a step, repeat, etc. In weather like this (which is actually "good" weather for this mountain) the route is sort of a guessing game. There are wooden stakes placed in irregular intervals to the top. But with the cloud cover you can't see the next stake from stake you're currently at. It's not so bad when you're going up, but definitely something to be aware of on the way down.

I took lots of photos of the life in this seemingly barren alpine environment. I wish I knew the names of them all off hand, but I haven't researched as much yet.

Before my Fantham's trip I went on a little road trip to break in my new ride, a '93 Mistubishi Magna Station Wagon, and to figure out how to drive a manual transmission. No photos yet, but here's the route. Stay tuned...

2009-02-18T19:37:00.001-08:00

Big fish today! Tried to do a self-portrait, but failed miserably. Use my hand as a reference. Check out the blue tinge of the operculum. Awesomeness!

This is a fish my dad spotted earlier in the week. I had tried for him a couple times since then and ended up with that big rainbow from the previous post. I saw the big rainbow again and actually thought I had him hooked again. To my surprise, my biggest brown trout to date. Probably pushing five pounds and over two feet long.

Man vs. Trout

2009-02-17T19:41:00.000-08:00

You are the intruder, you are in the fish's domain. The trout is much more familiar with the surroundings. Therefore you begin at a disadvantage. Furthermore your desire to catch the fish, although strong, is undoubtedly less powerful that the trout's instinct to survive. Beware. Treat that trout with the utmost respect. Act with extreme caution. Err on the conservative side in all that you do. Aim at avoiding offering all of those half chances of detection. Aim at total deception. If you feel that the trout can possibly get a glimpse of you - shift back, drop lower. If you feel your leader might be a fraction short, lengthen it, and so on. With an ultra-sensitive attitude to approaching the fish and to avoiding detection you will be tuned for success

This was taken from Les Hill and Graeme Marshall's Catching Trout, a book dedicated to trout fishing in New Zealand. It quite accurately describes my daily struggles.

I spent lots of hours on the trout streams this week. Blessed with good weather and willing fish, I was stoked to be outside. I wish I could say that I fished well though. But alas, the trout kicked my butt. I had two hooks straightened, broke off a couple, had a bunch shake the hook during the fight, and spooked an embarrassing number. All I can say is that I was simply humbled. I was lucky enough to get a few in for photographs though. What an awesome week...

2009-02-14T22:09:00.000-08:00

ghost shane

Summer in Taranaki

2009-02-09T19:14:00.000-08:00

cabin fever pending...

2009-02-09T12:00:00.000-08:00

Danaus plexippus

Danaus plexippus

Danaus plexippus

Orthodera novaezealandiae

Felis catus
A Maine Coon named Jessie

Classiness maximus

A seed...

2009-02-01T17:04:00.000-08:00

I was rereading a bit of The Search by Tom Brown, Jr. today over a flat white at the cafe, when I came to a paragraph that caused me to blurt the words "Oh Shit" out of my mouth. I never swear, especially out loud, but these words hit me like a ton of bricks:

The white man builds a shelter, and it becomes his prison. He shuts out the cleansing elements. He shuts out the sun, the wind, and the rain. He separates himself from the earth and refuses to budge. Therefore he is always sick.

How freakin' true is this? Can you even imagine life any other way? We surround ourselves with worldly comforts that do nothing but shelter our bodies and minds from reality. Do you know what reality is? I don't. I know what society's definition of reality is. We all do and we live it out to a T in our daily lives. Go to school, work, generate wealth, buy a nice car, buy a house, and live your life like the Jones'. Well I don't necessarily know better, and I've certainly lived in this pseudo reality all of my life, but I feel that there is more. More that we can't see. More that we refuse to feel. Maybe not refuse, but perhaps never give ourselves the opportunity to experience. I'm reminded of Matthew:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?
"And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I sit here looking around my room wondering what I could do without. I really don't need anything of this to live. What would become of me if I didn't religiously go on the internet, or listen to my iPod, or read books? What if I knew no other way? Certainly I wouldn't die of boredom. Or would I, now that I know the comforts all these things bring me? What would I think if my thoughts weren't manufactured by this modern society? Knowing that my thoughts, values, lifestyle, etc, were all learned, how could I possibly discover who I truly am? If I was alone in the wild since I was born, what would I think is right or wrong, fun or boring, real or superficial? Is truly independent, original thought even possible when the very mechanism we use to process it is inherently not our own? Or is it? How do you know?

Sorry if you read this. I have a headache.

Went for a walk...

2009-01-31T14:40:00.000-08:00

Just got back from a short hike up on the mountain.

It started with a bit of prep

It took about 45 minutes for me to get my first ride. A cattle mover / stock transporter / whatever he's called picked me up and drove me half of the way. I went with him to drop off some bulls and pick up some calves. Life is simple in Stratford and this guy sounded like he couldn't have been happier doing his job. He was telling me he has a business degree and worked for a company as their IT guy as well. He said he decided it wasn't for him and went back to what he's good at. We had a nice conversation above families, fishing, education, and politics before he dropped me off 8kms from Dawson Falls, where I'd begin my walk.

From there I started walking and was able to get the first car to pull over and pick me up. It was a young girl that worked at the cafe at Dawson Falls. Not sure how old she was and didn't get her name, but she was definitely too young to be picking strange guys like myself. She said the only reason she pulled over is because I had hiking stuff and was from a different country. How she knew that I have no idea. Apparently I look like a flippin tourist. Oh well. Shortly after that I began to hike.

This is a view of the mountain just above where I started

The track started off through the insanely thick native New Zealand forest canopy. I wasn't sure how long it would take me to get to the other side of the mountain so I walked fast. I was planning on a 7-8 hour day.

After Dawson Falls I made my way over to East Egmont. Had a short conversation with an Israeli couple, who I could have talked to all day. With all the stuff going on back in their country, they were in New Zealand climbing a mountain. Rather than bombarding them with questions about what's going on over there I went on my way.

Not too long after that I ran into a couple guys from Michigan who are both going to school down here. I hiked with them for about an hour or two when they turned to go to the top and I continued my way around. We did the phone number exchange thing and then we split.

I think I had been hiking for about three hours at this point and hadn't had anything to drink. I was told there would be tons of water everywhere so I didn't pack anyway. Well all the stream beds were dry and I was thirsty. The sun in New Zealand is way more intense than it is in California. I'm told there is some kind of hole in the Ozone layer (probably caused by LA, some how) which allows the rays to get through. A lot of the locals wear long sleeves, hats, and bandanas constantly when out of the sun. Apparently there is a high risk for skin cancer. Anyway, it would be about another hour before I see this glorious site.

I was happy

After that I continued on my way to my destination, Holly Hut. Around the mountain there is a series of huts to sleep in. They're nice because you don't have to carry a sleeping pad or tent. But, on the other hand, it kinda ruins the backcountry experience. I'm a sleep under the stars kind of guy myself.

This is a really cool lava formation called Humphries Castle (I think they misspelled it when they named it).

And from the other side

They had these stoat/ferret/rat/possum traps everywhere. The introduced mammals have brought many of the native bird species to near extinction. This park actually has one of the highest populations of Kiwi birds left.

Not sure exactly how long it took, but I think I got to Holly Hut within five hours. Maybe a little longer. Not too bad considering it is directly on the other side of the mountain from where I started.

Here a met two incredibly interesting people. It was a guy and a girl who live and work in Yosemite every year. They do backcountry trail repairs and maintenance. They said it is an awesome experience and they've both been doing it for six or seven years. This past summer they lived in a cabin 20 miles outside of the nearest road. Working 10 hour days, they do four on, three off, which they would typically spend backpacking. Certainly sounds like a great way to spend a summer. Get paid, be in the woods, time off to do what you want... Yeah, I got all the info required to apply for the job. The deadline was January 20th this year, but maybe I'll give it a shot next year.

Chatted it up for a bit and decided to hike down to Bells Falls and be back before dark. Bells Falls was formed when lava spilled out from the top of the mountain forming a dome blocking the path of the Stony River. This created the Ahukawakawa swamp. Shortly after (geologically speaking) the river pushed its way through the lava creating Bells Falls. Now the Ahukawakawa swamp acts as a sort of sponge which purifies the water in the Stony River. I hiked up Stony River from the bottom a couple weeks ago and it is absolutely pristine. It's supposed to be the purest water in New Zealand, and it starts from a stagnant swamp.

The hut had solar powered lighting, but reading by candle light was more intriguing.

The next morning I was off. I had a four hour walk to where I planned to stay the next night. It started off with a walk across the swamp. This is the view back toward Holly Hut.

I was walking fast and soaking all the scenery in. I decided to detour a bit and climb Pouakai Peak, the highest peak in the nearby Pouakai range. It's not high by California standards and, from where I was, it didn't take long to get to the top. I was hoping for views of the coastline, but instead I was trapped in a cloud.

It was a pretty cool place though. Even though it's not that high, it was totally alpine-esque. Super windy, rocky, and dry grass covered the top. I was surprised to see quite a few moths fluttering around. How they survive up there is beyond me.

I continued on my way past another hut, where I had lunch over looking New Plymouth. And from there up Henry's Peak. The track up the the peak was a series of ladders and steps that went on for a good half mile or so. This is a view of the swamp from the top. You can see where Stony River begins and meanders its way to the dome and down to Bells Falls.

The climb down was brutal though. It was probably about two miles of straight down. Lots more ladders, natural steps, and mossy rocks. The force of gravity as I made each step had my legs trembling. I wasn't out of breath or sweating much, but I could really feel the strain on my muscles. I descended about 2500 feet I reckon into a series of creeks and washed away track. The track was marked by the occasional orange arrow, otherwise I'm sure I would have lost it in places.

I got to where I was supposed to sleep at 3pm. It wasn't a luxurious hut like the other ones. It consisted of three benches with a roof on the top. I decided to take a half hour nap in the dirt before heading on. At this point I wasn't sure if I would stay another night somewhere or just walk to the road and go home. I decided the latter because I knew there was a tour of 200 people in North Egmont who were peaking the mountain. I also didn't want to fork out another $15 to stay at a hut filled with a ton of tourists. It was about another two hours to the road and was able to call my dad to pick me up.

Here's my route, roughly.

It was a pretty awesome trip with lots of awesome views. During my time here I plan on doing all the tracks and ascending Mt. Taranaki by a few different routes.

I'm starting a job on Tuesday in Hawera until Thursday. I think it's mostly a part time gig, but it doesn't seem too bad. They are paying for a rental car and the gas it takes to get there. Soon enough, hopefully, I'll buy a junker car and then they'll pay for a hotel room for me so I can stay down there. I start at 6:30 in the morning and go until all the containers are done. Not quite sure what exactly "inspecting" entails but at $20 an hour I can't complain.

See ya later alligators.

2009-01-26T21:41:00.000-08:00

just a few pics for now. i'll throw up some words later

2009-01-09T00:44:00.000-08:00

Just an update...

2009-01-08T12:40:00.000-08:00

Hey guys, just thought I'd throw up a few words because I don't think the pictures are cutting it. That and I'm currently down to one camera, but hopefully the battery charger comes in the post today.

Anyway, I'm currently living in Stratford above my dad and step mom's fine dining restaurant and bar. It's not a bad gig, but needless to say I think I've gained weight since I've been here. The town of Stratford is your picturesque backwards, cut-off-from-society, small farming town type place. Only 8900 people call this place home, and I don't know how they do it. There really isn't much to do though people do spend their whole lives here. It's definitely a big change from SoCal. Unfortunately this atmosphere seems to lead to unproductive and destructive lifestyles among the young people. You wouldn't think there would be gangs and crime in such a small, friendly place, but there is. The kids just have nothing to do besides drink and cause problems. Not quite sure what I can do to help at the moment, but we'll see.

The best part about Stratford is it's close proximity to countless trout streams. So ya, I've been going fly fishing nearly every day I've been down here. Information about the area isn't really Googleable so you've got to go out and check stuff out for yourself. I spend a good amount of time each day studying maps and planning routes and then going. And these places are straight beautiful. I suck at words but imagine how the best writer in the world would describe the most beautiful scenery he has ever seen. Ya, that's what it's like. Camera lenses and view finders couldn't possibly capture this truly wild place. But I'll keep trying...

So as to not spoil myself with adventure and leisure, I have decided to get a real job shortly. I've been helping out in the restaurant a bit but I'll soon be working up in New Plymouth at my dad's office. Not sure what exactly that entails but probably something in the oil inspection lab. It's only gonna be like a three day a week type thing so not too time consuming. Plus my dad runs the joint.

I also have many hikes, or tramps as they're called down here, tentatively planned. There's a mountain (Mt Egmont) glaring at me from my window just begging me to climb it. It's quite tantalizing actually as it's so close yet not within my reach yet. The plan is to do it next month with my dad. It's only 8,260 feet but it shoots up from sea level, so it looks humongous. It's the second tallest mountain on the North Island. There's also lots of 2-6 day hikes in the surrounding national park as well that I plan on doing. I figure I'll do all of them, why not? The only thing I'm kinda bummed about is that they require you to sleep in huts, which are sorta like back country cabins that have bunks and a roof. I really like sleeping under the stars in the dirt, so we'll see if I can avoid this hut situation. There are quite a few more hikes I want to do, but I figure I'll start these before I get into the more serious stuff.

Anyway, today I think I'm going to take it easy. I might go for a short bike ride and then a short hike, but that's about it. I should have more pictures posted here in the next day or so. Take care, internet.

2009-01-04T22:33:00.000-08:00

2008-12-31T19:41:00.000-08:00

2008-12-23T13:39:00.000-08:00

Hi Internet,

2008-12-12T10:09:00.001-08:00

Quick update. I got my Visa!

Kiwi Kids

2008-12-08T21:33:00.000-08:00