Lindsay and the Tramp, version 2.0

So my tramping buddy Lincoln knew I have a half marathon coming up next weekend, so he took it easy on me this time.   We hit up Mount Egmont again, this time from the southwest.

The black dotted line trail in the Lower Left side of the mountain was our tramp--- the Ihaia Track to the Waiaua Gorge Hut. 

 Ihaia? Waiaua?  With all the a's, i's, and u's in theses Maori names, all it'd take would be to slap on an "-ski" and you've got one heckuva Polish name, doncha think?  :)

Anyways, since the tramp was a short one (2 hrs each way), we had an early afternoon start, with absolutely gorgeous weather.  Check it out--- i'm dry!!!

We passed the remnants of an old hut, which only used to have about 4 beds in it.  Talk about tight quarters!   Hopefully the other guests were nice, quiet (and not too smelly!) back then!

The tramp was through lots of moss and forests, definitely somewhat spooky-looking...

Fog makes just about anything look creepy!

There were a few river crossings, involving more rock and boulder hopping than actual river fording:

So a quick two hour trip (only half of it rainy!) to arrive to our home for the evening, Waiaua Gorge Hut!

Hello, Hut!

A peek at the inside:

The view from the front porch:

There was a tiny waterfall in the distance, but mainly TONS of trees!

Here's the helicopter landing site for hikers with bad boo-boos.  (only boo-boos this trip were a Lincoln wardrobe malfunction and a Linz 'tree branch versus face" incident).  No helicopters necessary for either.

We had two others joining us in the hut this time-- a young guy who got lost in the dark the night before, and this little man who got a free ride in on my pack!

Call me a meanie, but I made him sleep outside on the porch.  :)

The night consisted of another INCREDIBLE steak dinner, and a nightime porch visit by a cute little possum!   I wish I could've grabbed the camera in time, but didn't.    These possums must know when there's a gourmet chef like Lincoln staying the night....

The next morning...after an awesome bacon n eggs breakfast, we headed back down the mountain.    While the rain mostly stayed away, there was *plenty* of water on the trail! At some points we were almost up to our knees in water and mud!

I received some nature lessons, including learning about this tree:

The rimu is a large coniferous tree endemic to NZ.   It used to be called a red pine.  It used to be a great source of timber for furniture and housebuilding for NZ, but now it's protected.  It's absolutely beautiful the way the branches and pines just softly sag.   Kind of looks like a green Snuffalupogus.  

So, the two hour trek back (NO rain whatsoever on the return!) and we were back where we started.  Success!

(PS, that sign lies, the OLD track used to take 1hr 40 mins, the NEW one takes 2 hours each way--- or longer if you're not as awesome as us....) 

Cheers from the mud bog!