Lindsay and the Tramp! version 1.0

I did it!  I survived my first tramp!   And lived to blog about it!  Here goes:

Just as a reminder, a 'tramp' is a NZ term for a long, often multi-day hike.   Tramping requires sturdy gear, a tolerance for mud, wind, and cold, and some endurance.  I mentioned to the owner of my gym that I was interesting in trying some tramping, and he put me in touch with a local guy who's a tramping pro (and well skilled in wilderness survival to boot).  Who better to take a rookie like me on her first tramp, right?

Lincoln (tramping pro) and I set out mid Saturday morning on the 4.5 hour tramp to Holly Hut.   As you can see below, Mount Egmont is quite a symmetrical mountain--- I'm betting it has something to do that it's an old volcano!     There is a "round the mountain circuit" which takes about 4 days, with huts to stop at night to rest.   We did one leg of the journey from Puniho Road (the 2nd black dotted line from the top on the left) across to Holly Hut.

It started out to be a nice day, but then (in typical Mount Egmont fashion) turned windy and rainy quite fast.   The trail followed along the Stony River, which we had to cross a few times.   Some parts were shallow (like below), others were definitely mid-shin to knee deep.   Thank goodness for gaiters to keep your legs somewhat dry and clean!

When we weren't exposed in the open crossing the river, we were in the bush, which looked like this:

Close to the end of our tramp in, Lincoln took me a little off the path to show me Bells Falls.   Pretty!

I look cold and wet because I was.  I learned that to survive in NZ, I need a new STURDY rainjacket, not this puny one that kept me dry in desert AZ.  Rain is a SERIOUS business here.  It rained ALL afternoon and ALL night (kept me up most of the night, too), and some on Sunday too.    Lincoln guestimated it rained about a foot in 24 hrs.   Yipes!

So after 4.5 hours of hiking, and one sprained ankle (*not mine*, I might add), we made it to Holly Hut!  Here she is!

And here's the view from the porch:

These huts are so neat!  They're first come-first served free accomodations for any tramper.   This one had 20-some bunks, but we got quite lucky that we were the only ones here (and crazy enough to tramp on this chilly, wet weekend...) so we had the whole place to ourselves!

Here's a shot of the common area inside:

Gotta love the drying racks over the firestove!   (although half of our clothes were *still* quite soggy by morning)

Lincoln is quite the gourmet tramper, so I was treated to Porterhouse Steak and Pasta w/Veggies for dinner (SEVERAL steps up from the traditional Pork N Beans, eh?)    There was a deck of cards in the hut, so I taught him how to play war (he won, beginners skill i guess :) ).    We slept in and let the skies clear up a bit before starting our trek back down.

Pictures were few, because my camera didn't like being soggy, but here's a pic on our descent down from the hut (elevation 3000ft approximately)

Fast forward 4.5 hours, a few more inches of rain, and here we are at the end of the trail!

Soggy, tired, sore, a bit bruised and scraped, but happy and proud of our accomplishment!

I couldn't have asked for a better first tramp, or a more awesome, patient, experienced tramper to show me the ropes!  Thanks, Lincoln!

On the drive home, the skies were one big dreary cloud.  I remarked to Lincoln my amazing Sunday rainbow reputation.  The sky showed NO signs of a rainbow developing... or so I thought!

Yay!  The streak continues!   I saw a few more on the ride home, too--- including this DOUBLE rainbow near my house!

And, upon zooming in, the inner rainbow was actually partially a double on its own!  Checkitout!

SO AMAZING!

So, after 9 hours of hiking and 12 inches of rain, 1 soggy Linz did a quick load of laundry and and made it an early Sunday bedtime.  I'm sore today, but excited for Lindsay and Tramp version 2.0, hopefully real soon!

Thanks for reading!!