Day three was meant to be the
last day and the easiest day, it was for everyone else but me. The person I
hiked with wanted to go it alone (which is a mistake as far as I am concerned).
I quickly noticed a difference in the trail as it seemed less maintained and a
lot more difficult. I kept asking myself if this could be the right way. I knew
if I didn’t return by a certain time of night the hostel owner would make a
call to the police to report me missing. I also knew if I was on the wrong path
that sooner or later I would hit another hut where I could spend another night.
I hiked for hours and had to make the decision whether to go back or continue
on, I decided to continue on. I had extra food with me but started to ration my
food. In situations like this you need to ration your food as you can go longer without food than without water. By the time it was
official that I made a clear mistake it was a few hours before dark.
I got in the cabin changed into
warm dry clothes and started a fire. I filled out the log book in the cabin so
if a rescue party was on the way they could see I was there and my intentions.
I had to calculate how long it would take to go back and if it was worth the
risk of doing the 23 km hike back into town (after the 11km I did that day). I
knew it wouldn’t be until late if I got back. I figured they would not send a
search and rescue team until day break. I decided to spend a night at the hut
and would leave early in the morning. For years I have carried a deck of cards
in my backpack as I knew if I ever
needed to be rescued I could use the cards to help start a fire and, I could
plain a mean game of solitaire to help pass the time. That night with nobody to
talk to I played several hands of solitaire.
I tried to get as much rest as possible that night for the long journey
back.
After waking up and eating I
headed back out. I found a stick to use as a walking stick. This trail was
muddy and not scenic. I slid in the mud too many times to count. Once I
reached a peak I had cell phone coverage and was able to contact the owner of a
hostel to let her know I was ok and to call off the search. As I had limited
food that day and was exhausted I had to constantly tell myself to keep going
and had to keep my thoughts positive. It was a real struggle the first 11 kms
my feet were blistered and in real pain my body was aching. Throughout the day
the rain drizzled. I reached one hut and knew it was an easy 12 km back to
town, a warm bed, a good meal and a shower. Along the route I saw the most
beautiful scenery and the most incredible sunset of my life (maybe because I
hadn’t seen the sun in a few days). I had just recently put my head lamp on and
was standing when I heard a rustling in the bush I look down and see a massive
bird. This bird pretty near ran me over and then it dawned on me it was the
elusive kiwi bird a rare sight to see! Along the walk I saw another kiwi bird
and was quite excited to see them.
While walking I got cell phone
reception again and received a text saying supper was taking care of and there
was bbq waiting for me. Believe me when you find out there is food waiting for
you it is heaps of motivation to pick up your feet and move. I arrived back to the hostel and received a
great greeting from Vicki the hostel owner and ate like a king she even had a
beer there for me! She did tell me I had to talk to the police the next day
because they were called. I was also informed of work (stay tuned for that
post) if I wanted it.
In the morning I went to the
police station to talk to the officer. I will leave a lot of the details out
for confidentiality reasons. The officer was amazing and explained to me the
details behind the search and rescue procedure along with what was done to this
point. It was really neat to see the process of when a person is missing
although I do not want to be in that situation again. We had a good
conversation about the outdoors in general and, he could tell I made a mistake
but was experienced enough in the outdoors to know the appropriate measures for
myself. He could tell I was quite
embarrassed with myself over the situation. In the end there were lessons I learnt from this experience but I was glad to see I am not nearly out
of shape as I thought I was. I did get to see 2 kiwis which is quite rare.
Any mistake you can walk away from is a good one. On my way out of the police
station I told him you will not see me under these conditions again after all
it is;
My Life
My Choice
My Time
Tuna Tom
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