About the Hike

Lat, Long:   44.478965, -121.843059

19 June 2017

As many of you may not know, I have recently moved to Oregon to study towards a computer science degree at OSU.  I am really enjoying living in Oregon and it’s fun taking classes again.

We are currently in the break between quarters and I took advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday to take a day hike in the Willamette National Forest.  The trail was a short section of the Pacific Crest Trail near the mountain named Three Fingered Jack. You can see from some of the photos that there was a forest fire here a few years ago, but that the new growth is starting to take hold with lots of small pine trees between 1 and 3 meters tall.

Although I was hiking toward Three Fingered Jack, the better views were actually to the south toward Mount Washington.  The view forward was obscured by a ridge so the photos of Three Fingered Jack are mostly of just the peak.  I had hoped to get closer for good views of this mountain, but when I was about 2 miles short of my goal, I ran into snow pack about a meter deep, which I was not prepared for, so had to turn around early and never got a full view of my goal.  Although tramping through deep snow in 85 degree weather was a unique experience.

The Sisters and Mount Washington

Three Fingered Jack

Black Butte

The main form of wildlife that I saw during the hike were chipmunks.   They were constantly running across the trail, but rarely stayed in one place long.  It turned into a game for me to try to catch one stopping long enough to get a photo.  I finally got a pic, but had to stop 30 ft short and use full magnification on my camera to get the shot.  As soon as I took one step after the photo, the chipmunk was gone.

Lat, Long: -42.94310, 171.53608

29 March 2017

On the second day at Arthur’s Pass I was fortunate enough to have another day of perfect weather.  I got started in the morning just as the fog was beginning to burn off in the valley.

Today’s hike was to the top of Avalanche Peak at 1833m (6014 ft) above sea level, and a 1100m climb from the valley floor.  It is a steep climb that took me five and a half hours to hike up and back.  The views along the entire route were amazing and well worth the effort required.  It was a good workout, and my legs were pretty wobbly by the time I got back down.  My legs are still sore even now 2 days after the hike.

A couple of notes for if you think you might take this hike.   Be sure to bring plenty of water.  I brought 2 litres with me and drank every drop by the time I got down.  Also consider how well you do with heights.  In a couple of places near the top, the trail passes very close to shear drop-offs.  And the final 50m to the peak is a narrow trail that drops off quickly on both sides.  I was glad to have my trekking poles with me to give me better stability, although they were a bit of a hindrance when I had to use both hands to scramble over a few boulders.   If you are short on time or are concerned about the paths near cliffs, you can still go about 2/3 of the way up and enjoy fantastic views.

Lat, Long: -42.93953, 171.5617

28 March 2017

I got away for a couple of days this week and caught a bus to Arthur’s Pass.  I arrived at 11am and spent the afternoon walking from the village to the end of the Otira Valley Track and back.   It made for an enjoyable day and the weather was perfect for it. Here are many of the photos from the hike.

Some of you may be wondering what happened to me.  It’s been a while since my last post and it’s past time for an update.  After doing a bit of hiking on the North Island I lost the itch to hike and came down to Christchurch to rest and make plans for what’s next.

I’ve been spending my days doing a lot of studying and reading and putting time into my hobbies.  I go for a run 3 or 4 times a week including the weekly 5km Parkrun held at 8 o’clock on Saturday mornings with about 200 other runners from the area.

Every week or so I go for a day hike in the areas surrounding Christchurch.   I still want to get up to Arthur’s Pass again and do a two day hike up the Deception River to Goat Pass and down the Mingha Track.  Maybe next week, weather permitting.  They’ve been having gale force winds up there and I’ve postponed this hike once already.

Just recently I applied to an online computer science degree program.  I have not yet receive notice of admittance, but I expect to start courses in this program the first week of April.  This seems like a good fit for me as a second career choice, as I’ve enjoyed programming since I was in high school (yes they did have personal computers back then . . . barely).

So I’ve decided what I’m doing for the next couple of years.  Now I just need to decide where to live.  Since the courses can all be taken online, I can take them from anywhere in the world with an internet connection.  So still a little more thinking to do, too many great possibilities!

I hope you all are doing well.  Let me know what you’ve been up to.

Below are photos from a few of the day hikes I’ve recently taken.

New Brighton Beach

Lat, Long:  -43.50712, 172.73184

New Brighton Village

New Brighton Pier

New Brighton Pier

Seaguls Begging a Fisherman

New Brighton Beach

Southshore Dunes

Southshore Beach

Awaroa / Godley Head

Lat, Long:  -43.58723, 172.80682

Sumner / Scarborough

Bay at Sumner

Taylors Mistake (from North)

Taylors Mistake (from South)

Godley Headlands

Godley Headlands

Godley Headlands

Lyttelton and Crater Rim Track

Lat, Long:  -43.60400, 172.72089

Lyttleton Warf

Lyttelton

Cass Bay

Crater Rim Track

Distant New Brighton

Hillsborough

Distant Christchurch

Rapaki Track (back to ChCh)

I’ve had requests to put more pictures of myself in this blog, and even though I’m not a fan of taking selfies, below is a good one:

Lat, Long: -36.5123, 174.6617

This section of the hike was split up into 2 very short hiking days.  It started with a short bush walk out of Dunns Reserve, followed by a 5km road walk into Puhoi.

Clearing where I camped

Dunns Reserve Trail

Must Go Under

I was pleasantly surprised to find a cafe during the road walk and felt obligated to stop for breakfast.  🙂

Puhoi Cafe and Cheese Store

In Puhoi I rented a kayak to travel the Puhoi River to Wenderholm Park.  I took my time paddling down the river, but it was still over much too soon.  I thoroughly enjoyed floating down the river.

The Beach at Wenderholm

At Wenderholm I made the decision to camp for the night even though it was still early in the afternoon.  The next part of the trail involved rock hopping for several kilometres along the coast during low tide and I would have needed to wait until late for the tide.  So I caught low tide early the next morning.  

Jellyfish

A Walk in the Rain

The morning after this hike I woke up with a chest cold and an eye infection.  I have been recovering for the last 5 days and am doing much better now with the help of antibiotics and will be back on the trail on Monday.  Will be taking easy trails and short days until I’m sure I’m fully recovered.

Lat, Long: -36.4922, 174.6105

By the time I broke camp and got started this morning I only had about a cup of water left in my bottles.  But I knew I would be crossing several streams early so I wasn’t too worried.  On long hikes, water management is always a big concern, you  want to carry enough so you stay hydrated and don’t run out, but not too much more than you need so you aren’t carrying extra weight unnecessarily and wearing yourself out.

Today’s was equal parts road walking through paddocks and walking trails through forests.

And my legs got no relief today as there were plenty of hills to climb.

Part of the walk was on a 4wd track with occasional bee hives along the way. I also had to pull off the track for a bit as a large group of quad bikes passed by.

Several bees were Buzzing around my head while taking this shot.

Moirs Hill

The final hour of the day’s hike was spent on a detour through Dunns Hill Reserve.  This is an undeveloped Kaori Forest and a very pleasant walk.  I ended up camping in a small grass clearing in the middle of this forest. 

Simple Walking Bridge – I stopped here to refill with water.

Lat,  Long:  -36.3589,  174.6232

I caught a ride out to the start of the Dome Track for an early morning start.  This was the exact same point where my hike was sidelined for six weeks in 2014 due to a severe case of shin splints.  When I returned in early 2015 I mostly hiked the South Island so did not complete this track back then. It felt good to be back now.  A feeling of closure, finally being  able to walk this trail. 

Almost as soon as I arrived, two other hikers joined me.  These were Laura ((Minnisota) and George ((Italy) who I ended up hiking with for most of the day.

The trail passed through rolling hills with lots of ups and downs and tree roots to contend with.  It was tough on my legs, which are not in hiking shape or used to carrying a full 15kg hiking pack.  But it was still great to be out on the trails again.

Around noon we were joined by two other hikers, Tane ((New Zealand) and Ken ((California).  It was a good mix of people and made for good conversation as we walked.

Around 1pm we reached the Dome summit which provided great views of the valley.

At the base of the Dome there is a cafe where the trail crosses the highway.  We all stopped there for lunch and to rest.  The cafe owners had lots of pets that were allowed the run of the place.  Every time I looked up, the cat was a little closer to my plate of fish and chips.  He was surprisingly well behaved so we let him hang out wherever he wanted to.

I had originally planned for this to be the end of my walk for the day, but Ken mentioned that there was a clearing along the trail that could serve as a campsite that was just another 4km farther.  So I hiked with them for another hour and camped in the clearing.   The others have been hiking daily for the past month and were in good hiking shape, so they were continuing on for another 10km.  But there was no way my legs would take me farther.

I ended up spending almost 3 weeks in Tasmania.  It was a great trip and would recommend it to anyone.  This post is a quick photo journal of the final week in Tasmania. Hopefully it will encourage some of you to visit this beautiful island.

Nelson Falls

Sentinel Range

Gordon Dam

Long Way Down

At Port Arthur

Port Arthur Prison

The best day by far was the day we spent on a cruise to Tasman Island.  The views were amazing, and we were able to see lots of wildlife along the way.  If you are visiting Tassie, this should be your number one must do activity!

Dolphin

One of Several Whales We Saw

We saw close to 100 seals.

The final stop on the Tasmania trip was to Bruny Island.  This turned out to be a relaxing day of driving the length of the island and stopping at several specialty food shops and cafes.  A day of eating!  🙂

At the Cheese Factory

At the Winery

Tasting Samples at the Whiskey Distillery

I arrived in New Zealand on Thursday and am in Christchurch making preparations to start hiking more sections of the Te Araroa trail.  I am flying to Auckland tomorrow and expect to start hiking on Wednesday.

Here are a few photos I’ve taken of Christchurch.  Downtown is in the process of being rebuilt from the earthquake damage from a few years ago.  When I arrived at the airport I entered my occupation as “Structural Engineer”, and I got a couple of comments from Immigration and Customs officials that amounted to, “Oh, an engineer.  Are you here to help with ‘The Build’?”

Restart Mall

An awesome lunch at Restart Mall.  Lamb Souvlaki!

I really like Christchurch and will be returning here after I’ve done some hiking on the North Island.  Even with much of the CBD just getting a start on reconstruction it is still a nice (quiet) city.  Adelaide is probably the closest comparison in Australia.  There are lots of parks here, with the Avon River acting like a linear park that winds its way through the city.

Cradle Mountain

Lat, Long:  -41.6845, 145.9515

I’ve rented a car to get me around Tassie for the rest of the time I am here.  The original idea for my visit to Tasmania was to do long hikes and camping along the way.  But it turns out that the weather has been bad, even by Tasmania standards. With rain almost every day and 5°C (40°F) temps at night making the hiking and camping option less inviting.  I also played with the idea of getting a camper van, but I got a large SUV instead.  When I lay out the back seats it has more room than my tent.  But to be honest, with as cold as its been, I’ve only slept back there the one night at Cradle Mountain and have been sleeping in motels otherwise.

Mount Roland (On the Way to Cradle Mnt)

Driving has taken me a little while to get used to again.  But over the last few days I have become comfortable with it.  Except I still approach the left front door to get in (out of habit from driving in the US for 30 years) and have to walk around almost every time, so I can actually sit behind the wheel.  Maybe I’ll get out of this habit by the time I leave Tassie.  I also still have to give a lot of thought to which hand to use to turn on the indicator (turn signal), so I don’t turn on the wipers instead.

Tasmanian Countryside

Pencil Pine Falls

The day I drove up to Cradle Mountain had by far the best weather since I arrived in Tassie.  Clear skies and warm.  It made for a really nice drive.   I was hoping it would hold up for the next day so I could make an attempt at summiting Cradle Mountain.  But by the time I woke up the next morning it was raining off and on with the forcast of showers, especially in the afternoon.  But the rain stopped by the time I got myself going.   

So I compromised and decided to walk about half way to the peak and hike up to Marions Lookout.  This avoided the possibility of getting stuck on the summit in an afternoon rain storm.  This worked out really well, because the weather kept getting better all morning, except that it got windy.  The sky was nearly clear by 1pm.  But soon after I returned from the walk in the afternoon the clouds rolled in and it started raining again.

There were still patches of snow at the lookout.

It was very windy at the lookout. Nearly had the camera blown away taking this selfie.

Dove Lake

Devonport:    Lat, Long:   -41.1814, 146.360    : 09 OCT 2016

Launceston:  Lat, Long:   -41.4373, 147.139     : 11 OCT 2016

Ferry from Melbourne

I took the slow boat to Tasmania and arrived in the small town of Devonport.  The town is cut in half by the Mersey river. And I failed to notice when I booked my hotel that it was on the opposite side of the river from the downtown area.  So, although I was staying only 300m from CBD, it would be a bit of a cold swim to take advantage of that short distance.  So in reality, downtown was a 4km walk away because I had to cross the river on the bridge at the south end of town.

View from The Bridge

Devonport CBD

I stopped in town for a coffee and a breakfast roll and then extended my walk up to the northen edge of town to get a good view of the Bass Straight.  By the time I got there a drizzly rain had started, but it was worth the view.

Tasmanian Coastline

Devonport from the Mouth of the Mersey

Spirit of the Sea

On the walk back to the hotel I caught part of a cycling race.

Cycling Race in Devonport

Because of its relative high population, I had high expectations for Launceston (pronounced Lawn-Seston, I was corrected several times before I finally said it right).  It is the second largest city in Tasmania, but it is still a very quiet town.  There are a lot of coffee shops, but you really have to go searching to find a restaurant in CBD.  I did find a good pub though with just a little effort. 

Launceston from Cataract Gorge

Walkway along the Tamar River

The highlight of the town is Cataract Gorge on the edge of town.  It was a nice afternoon walk on some well-developed trails.

Cataract Gorge

View of the Gorge from the Clfftop Trail