The Queen Charlotte Track - We Made It!

Our intention was to trek 71 km in four days, but we did it in three! My left knee is quite pissed off at me about it, but it was nice to get back to creature comforts a day early. The trip was incredible.

DAY 1 - April 21 - 26.7 km - 7 hours - sunny with a high of 58 degrees
We left Picton at 9:00am aboard the Endeavor Express and saw a few blue penguins along the way. Finally. I listened to Calvin Harris on my ipod to get me pumped up for the trip as the memories of last night's comfortable bed and heat were taunting me. With just our packs on our backs with everything we thought we needed for four days, we set off on our journey from Ship's Cove at 10:15am uphill into the rainforest. Tree ferns, silver beech trees and green moss greeted us on every turn as we panted our way up to the first saddle. The views along this first part of the track were simply amazing with azure blue sea meandering along the coastline. Not a cloud in the sky and air as fresh as can be, we were smiling joyously as we played the turtle and the hare with day walkers. We chatted from time to time about all sorts of things, including the distinct details of what we want our dream house to look like one day.

We took a break for lunch with lovely views of the water, sweating yet cold from the cool air. Interestingly, at a critical distance from the sea the terrain drastically changes from lush forest to arid bush. In the afternoon, we descended into Furneaux and could hear sounds of life as someone blared Johnny Cash's "Rusty Cage." That was stuck in my head for at least the next hour, as the only sounds were the occasional running stream, the Tui birdsong, buzzing wasps in the distance, the slight breeze in my ear, the crunch of leaves underneath my feet and Andy whistling camp songs.

The beginning of my decline on Day 1 was with about 6km to go. The waist strap on my pack was digging into my hip bones all day and I could feel the tenderness of a bruise arising. After adjusting the pack lower, the weight was now transferred to my knees instead of my waist and the pressure there was mounting. I prayed for an incline as to not put any more pressure on my joints - the downhill was the worst. Camp Bay, our spot to camp for the night HAD to be getting close and delirium was setting in. Of course, around each turn all I saw was more trail. So I sang an "Ode to Camp Bay." I felt like I was in the military with the drill sergeant over my shoulder and I was about to pass out with my face splashing down in the mud. But I persevered despite the aches and pains and finally the camp was before me as a crashed to the ground. It was 5pm and getting dark. We set up the tent, cooked up some dinner and pretty much passed out by 8pm.

DAY 2 - April 22 - 23.6 km - 7 hours - cloudy/rainy with a high of 47 degrees
I must say that despite our belief in non-western medicine and self-healing, those Pharmacists got it right with Ambien! Being able to knock out for 8hrs while sleeping on the ground, awkwardly, on over-extended hip and leg bones was critical to our livelihood while making this journey. The last 4 hrs was a bit of a toss and turn, but no complaints here! As the rain started to pitter patter on our tent's rain fly and the morning had dawned, we were feeling refreshed and satisfied with our 11+ hrs of Zs. I was, however, a bit more anxious to 'Up & Out' than the Mrs was. I had visions of wetness...everywhere, soaking us and our gear thru, making a days hike feel like an eternity. I admit, I was ansy to pack up and roll - even as the rain started to subside I was pushing Stace to get going so I could pack up up the tent and get it into my backpack before more drops would find us. Well, funny thing...after we got all bundled in our cold-weather and rain clothes, hat & jacket, covered our packs with our handy REI pack covers (they have everything don't they?!) and started the uphill trek toward Black Rock Camp (6hrs said the sign), the rain stopped and the heat from our pumping hearts and lungs drenched us from within! We hit a winding road (what's a road doing here BTW?) and had to re-evaluate. Hiking is an interesting endeavor, because you really have to anticipate how you will be feeling at full tilt out on the trail, BEFORE you clothe. You may be frikken' freezing at the start, but don't you know that you will be sweating like a Aussie in the Outback in no time. We worked out the kinks, for now and wound our way up to the ridge line that jumped back and forth to where, for 10 minutes we could have incredible, yet clouded views to the north (or the back) and endless paddocks. Then spectacular vistas of the coves and shoreline that made up the Sounds (the front) which we had glimpses of throughout Day 1. The clouds were low, or were we just high? They were whisping by us as we crested a hill and ambled on down. These swales in the path continued for most of the day; steep incline followed by knee-cracking decline. Where was my wheelbarrow when I needed it?

On a trip like this we soon realized that the coveted items became the End & food. We were not yet to the end but when we came upon the Bay of Many Coves shelter, it was definitely time for lunch and a temporary escape from the elements. The peaked roofed structure overlooked the coves from the top of the ridge. We enjoyed a bit of crackers, salami, tomato and cheese with a bit of warmed instant soup. Ahhhh...it almost felt like rolling in a pit of hundred $$$ bills, you know? We moseied along after just short of an hour, both of us in our red wind/rain jackets (matching, how cute). Again, up and then harshly down the hills. Not many hikers to be seen this day. Eventually down a steep stretch of patch on the backside we passed a mtn biker spinning his legs making his way. No thanks - we decided to mtn bike this thing was too gnarly for us.

We were counting down the kms as the occasional sign post gave us an indication of our progress or lackthereof. We must close to the damn camp I was spewing. But, as it was only 3pm and the sun was warming the trail, Stacy could have cared less. She had other ideas, the main one being to continue on, past Black Rock camp and double time it to Portage, a small blip on the map about 4-7 kms past. We talked a bit about it - you know doing math actually passed the time nicely - and if we made it to the camp in Portage we would make our attempt to finish the trail in 3 days, rather than 4 much more realistic (20km to the end from Portage vs maybe 25 km from Black Rock). What it meant though was to struggle onward, sore feet, knees and now shoulders caring us the remaining bit. I was less then excited but the idea to get the trip done early suited me fine and we were quickly off. Our minds agreed we could do 4-6 km before dark, no problem. Our bodies, however, authored a different point of view. It was tough. Up til now, it'd be possibly the more difficult section of downhills we'd faced. We tentatively stepped our way out of the rain forest and onto a sealed (paved) road with signage! For the last several hours the nicely innerspersed signs had dissappeared, leaving us to wonder and hope that the next curve would be our last, or, maybe the next one...Stacy began to sing again, "Oh Portage Bay, oh how I hate you, where are you Portage Bay?". Hope to be there soon :)

The sign at the paved road indicated if we followed it down the road we would arrive in Portage in 10 minutes. Well blymy, that must of been in a car because it was the longest 20 minutes we'd ever experienced. Over the last few hours we had inspected our map/info guide some and knew a nice Resort was in Portage and visions of an icey brewski were vivid. The damn downhill continued on - felt like we were gonna be in Greenland at this rate, but there it was, in all its slendid glory...the bar, and it was open for business!! We ordered 2 tall Montheith's Lagers and took a seat ourside alone facing the water and setting sun. Ahhh. I said earlier that the end and food were our motivation, but this tasted like gold as we took a load off and enjoyed being HERE. I took a quick shower in the lobby sink, changed into a new shirt and felt like a new man. Stacy read some of the paper and soon, we were off to our camp. No, it was not a fantasy ending, no villa for the Bergdahls! The 3 day trek was not going to be tainted by a night in white sheets, hot water and a room card, no sireee.

Cowshed Bay camp was empty and we found a spot quickly, one with a picnic table too! I set the tent as was our routine and the Mrs got the cooker going and the feast boiling, sitting all the while for sure! Noodle packets, broccoli & corn made up our dinner in a bowl. We threw in some protein in the form of kidney beans the size of kidneys! They were huge! - glad to have those out of my pack I tell you. We nailed some buttered bread which I must say was the highlight for me. Butter never mmmmm'ed so good. The weka birds were around, interested in our scraps and making themselves unwelcome. Unbeknownst to them, they would be having a plethora of kidney beans soon enough!

We got cozy in the tent, graciously gave each other a shoulder rub (massage might be overstating it) and popped another of those little white treasures known as Ambien. We had sacked out, UNTIL, in the middle of the night god-awful screams robbed us of our pharmaseudical rest! We imagined it must be possums on the prowl doing their nightly thing. We heard their calls followed by shrieks of death, maybe birds they were ravaging, who knows, but it was brutal! Ear plugs por favor? The rest of the night we tossed and turned, anxious to move along the track and soak in another days work! 2 down, hopefully only one more to go!

DAY3 - April 23 - 20km (6 hours max!) - Sunny & warm (55+ degrees)

We awoke today, sore and a bit lethargic. We actually set the damn alarm last night and rose at 6AM! We knew the boat would be picking us up in Anakiwa (THE END!) at 4:30pm and sure as hell did not want to miss that. The sign read 8 hours to make the remaining 20km, but we were quite confident we could do it 5-6 based on our previous days' success (BERGDAHLS RULE!).

To expedite the packing up process, we decided to grab our daily coffee back at my shower, the Portage Bay Resort Hotel and keep the gas cooker in the pack. Sure enough those giant kidney beans had been swallowed up. I wonder after last night's blood bath if the weka AND the possum got to taste them...if you know what I mean. Based on our finish yesterday, we knew a steep paved hill was our first challenge. Boy, those trail makers loved making those morning hikes dreadfully uphill!! We hunched over with our cappuchinos and trudged up and homeward bound. We were alive and by now somewhat kink free. Up we go. The pavement arrived at the trail head and another steep hill through a canopy of native trees.

I learned on Day 2 that my best strategy for overtaking these inclines was to keep my head down keeping an eye on my steps and not looking up. This kept me focused and didn't allow me to get frustrated, looking up and seeing how far I still had to go. Again, the sweat came early and got us down to our bare clothing essentials. It looked like an amazing day today with clear skies and a warm sun. There was definitely still a chill in the air, however, which was perfect tramping weather as far as we were concerned. Our packs were considerably lighter now as well which did not hurt the cause. The roller coaster track climbed and fell, past wild goats and through private land. At one point we headed down a grassy path with quite a steep hill further up ahead. Something caught our eye to the right at about the same time we noticed someone on the hill, driving an ATV with his dog frollicking about. Upon closer inspection the specter in the tree was in fact a possum in a steel trap! Immediately, the vermin from our past looked to us like a poor innocent creature. Funny how that works, eh?! We continued up the hill as the man drove by with a toothless smile. As Stacy let him know the creature was waiting down below, I saw 2 items in his box on the back of the ATV: a hammer and a dead possum! Apparently he was working, and well aware of what was waiting down below. We're not in the OC anymore Stoto!

We continued on through a rather flat section of the trail and spotted km marker 16 sooner than we thought!! So close we could taste it! Shortly thereafter we reached our halfway point, at Mistletoe Bay. We rested a moment before trudging along. I could hear myself thinking 'We're on the home stretch!' We found a sunny spot on the side of hte trail with a view of the Bay and stopped for lunch and a rest for our knees. We were both stepping ever-so-tentatively down the hills now and quite satisfied with a momentary stop & stretch. At this point, we finally passed our first trail walkers - seemingly day hikers dressed in jeans and later, one woman smelling like she was heading out to the Ritz for a dinner date. The intrigue of this track continued as we dipped into a dense & wet Fern forest, shortly after a dry sun dried patch. I watched, or should I say waited, as Stacy stopped to touch and pick each and every species of fern she found. Walk 10 seconds, stop and gather. I was not sure if these were destined to be wallpapered in a future bathroom in a future house or what, but she was enjoying herself. By now, the knee problems were acting up, however and each stop to smell the ferms was actually a much needed therapuedic rest for hte left knee. We passed the 6km marker and from here on out our pace slowed; Stacy limped straight-legged and I shuffled down the path, both of enjoying the beautiful rain forest all around and the lapping water of the Sounds on the coastline. Stacy was hurting now and luckily enough for us the trail had flattened out down the finish and we walked along the curving coastline now, ever so close to Anakiwa, our destination. Passing the 1km marker we began to see families and happy-go-lucky day walkers enjoying the hidden beaches, smiling with a certain hop to their step. JERKS! We were down to a pace Mr. Snail would be laughing at. I was telling Stace that "There better be a Welcome Party at the end, clapping and singing to us. Maybe a lei?" I laughed at my thoughts, but as we got closer, we heard off to the left, coming somewhere over the water of hte Sound, singing. Chanting more like. We saw the boat teh sounds were originating from and sure enough, soon could make out the Welcoming music. No ukeleles or flower-laden necklaces, instead we were amused by an ancient-looking boat filled with men, chanting as they rowed in unison in the direction we were heading.

"Everywhere we go,

People wanna know,

Who we are,

Who we are,

Where we come from,

Where we come from..."

A fitting tribute we felt for the Bergdahls and our 71km adventure. With less than 100M to the end we relished out feat and marveled at what we had physically accomplished - oh, and also looked for the first place to sit our butts DOWN!

We ran into a fellow trekker who had just finished the trail herself, in 4 days! She called us crazy for doing it in 3. Nothing like a little more boost to our egos after all was said and done ;) We rested on some grass, swatted at sand flies that came to congratulate and waited peacefully for our 4:30 boat to take us to Picton and to our car. It felt great to have done it and to now be finished - I know Stacy would be happy if she never had t walk again! But, somewhere inside me, I felt a touch of melancholy with it being over. During, I wanted nothing more than to get to teh END and now a part of me wanted to tackle the next Trail. Funny how the mind and body fight sometimes.

We drove into Blenheim, the marlborough Wine Region home base and searched for nice accomodation (with TV!) so we could veg a few days. Turned out the horse races were going on in town and we struggled through 3 places before I said, lets just find a nice motel, babe. Stacy stared at me in disbelief!?! Luxury? She was in. We ended up at a motel in town and found ourselves booked into a 2 room suite, complete w/TV, spa bath, king bed, kitchenette, patio, BBQ, couch & dining room. I could hear the relaxation overtaking Stacy's body as I drew a bath for her and the sun set somewhere in the distance.

Aghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...it was over!