14km Day : 489km Total

I started the day with an ache in my left shin, but I have walked with worse pain, so I was not too concerned.  After a short road walk I began to climb up through steep pastures where the first steady, prolonged rain of my hike began to fall.

As I entered the Tamahunga Track through the Omaha Forest my left shin began to hurt more and an ache was now developing in my right shin.  This along with the rain making the track muddy and slippery began slowing me down.  For a while, walking along the ridge in the low cloud layer did not give much view to appreciate.  It was pretty much a screen of white and gray for anything more than 100m distant, until the cloud layer lifted and the rain stopped.  The notable features along the trail were a helicopter landing pad and a weather satellite station.

Toward the end of this track the walking became difficult with narrow muddy paths on steep side slopes (memories of Herekino).  I was very glad to see the DoC sign and stile over the fence to Matakana Valley Road.  The rain had also stopped so I used this opportunity to clean the mud from my rain pants and have a late lunch.

This track took me much longer than I expected due to the rain and the pain in my legs.  From there it was a 3km road walk to the steps up to the Dome Track on Govan-Wilson Rd.

It was now 3pm, and looking at the map and considering the increasing pain in my legs, I realize I was unlikely to reach an acceptable, legal camping spot before dark.  The decision became clear that I had to retreat back down the roads I had just walked and hitchhike to Matakana Village and get a ride into Warkworth from there for a reasonable place to stay.

There was no traffic on Gavan-Wilson, but when I got back to Matakana Valley Road I got a ride immediately going all the way to Warkworth.  Tonight the pain in my legs is so bad I can barely walk.  I will need to take some extended time off from the hike to allow my legs to completely recover.