Comfortably Challenged

joyclaypoole
Apr 28, 2016
5 min read

I run, but right now life would beat me in a race. Time is running ahead of me so quickly that I can barely keep up.

I apologize for the absence and lack of posts… life caught up to me. Kinda got me down, and dragged me down for a bit. I’m sort of back on top and seizing every day as much as I can. It took some nature to bring me out of the funk… being comfortably challenged out in in nature is food for my soul. Living out of back pack and cooking food with a friend on a portable stove are simple pleasures in life. So cheers to nature getting me out of a funk!!

The challenge which pushed the boundaries of my comfort zone came this past Saturday when we lost the orange markers…. Anyone who has tramped in New Zealand knows how lovely it is to keep sight of those markers along the trail. Or perhaps anyone who has gotten lost (dare I say the ‘L’ word…) knows how lovely it is. A group of lovely people and I went tramping in Arthur’s Pass, just north of Aoraki (Mt. Cook). We were well prepared (Thank you JD!) with maps, compass and direction skills. We knew the trail followed the river upstream so we headed in that direction for a few hours. Lots of getting stuck between and under trees because our packs were still big and heavy (being our first of three days), the goon (official tramping wine) came out at lunch to warm our bodies a bit (it was rainy and cold and we were needing a pick me up), and then came 31 RIVER CROSSINGS!!!!!!!!!!!! RECORD??? Possibly! You’re not supposed to do that many river crossings people, but because we were simply bush bashing and scrambling our way up the river, we crossed it 31 times. Can you imagine the yippies/horrahs/yeehhhaass heard throughout the valley when we found the trail and beloved orange marker?? We kissed that thing.

Got to a hut that night, thankfully no one else was there because it was about the size of an a small apartment’s kitchen. Had three beds, so some of the group was on the ground. We had a lovely first night of cooking, card games, roasted marshmallows with kitkats (new kind of s’more?), and hoping the sky would clear so we wouldn’t be again tramping in the rain the next day.

SUNSHINE :D We lucked out and had gorgeous weather. Good enough to wear only sports bras and soak up some vitamin D! This is when the views, cameras and jolly singing voices came out. What a lovely day. Approximately 7 hours of tramping, heading towards a hut. It’s an unserviced hut, so free and not reservable. All we could do was hope no one else was there. However, we did have our tents with us incase it was full. Most photos are from this day, so go ahead and look at these now!

After spending some time hiking by torch light (english: head lamp) we found the hut and shelter! The shelter was more recently renovated than the hut so we stayed there. Another night full of good food, roasted marshmallows, goon, good conversations and camp games. Unforgettable. Just as unforgettable as the frosty morning sunrise we got up for before we began our hike out. The hike out was blessed with amazing weather, amazing mountain passes (which called for some birthday suit streaking!), lighter packs (since we were almost out of food), and lots of great music. Sang the whole three hours of hiking. If we had a playlist of all the songs we sang, it would make the top hits on Spotify. The forests and mountain tops made for extremely good acoustics.

Accomplished another first! Acro yoga! Our trail let us out at a different spot from where our car was, so one of us (Thank you Jeffery) hitch hiked down the road to get it. This let the rest of us rest our legs and wait where we were. What better to do than yoga? Get a good stretch after walking and carrying a big pack for three days? Made a lot of cars driving by bewildered by out headstands and acro yoga. Hope they enjoyed it!

Following our hike, we stopped at the limestone, underground, water filled cave at Castle Hill. In one side and out the other, it is approximately a 30 minute underground walk. Walking through nicely cooled water which numbs your legs within minutes and sometimes spidering your body against the limestone on your left and right to get over a section that is a bit too deep. WICKED!!!! That was the word I kept saying down there. Absolutely one of the coolest spots I’ve found in New Zealand. Possibly because I was down there with a brilliant geologist who was able to explain everything I was seeing - thank you Danny!

I drove home!!!! Not all the way, but four and a half hours of the way home! Driving on the left side isn’t bad at all if you’re careful and observant. Thinking cap was on for those four+ hours so I was exhausted when we all (safely) made it home, but well worth it!

Back in Dunedin classes hit. Had an essay due to the next day at noon, but the rest of the week was pretty chill. Missed out on some adventures to go somewhere this weekend, kicking myself about that since I realize what good this past weekend out in the nature did for me. I’ll just have to use the bus service and my own two feet to get a wee ways out of Dunedin and pop my tent up! Adventure’s always out there, right? Just waiting to be found! Takes a bit of effort and easing into the unknown, but it’s always rewarding!!

Plus side is I’ll get to stock my groceries up at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning! Fresh is always best! I’ve enjoyed cooking for myself, but would love some recipes if anyone’s got some stellar ones they swear by!

Last little update/story… did a beach workout with a friend yesterday! We both love fitness, so went for a couple mile run and then designed a circuit to do on the beach. Got full of sand with our up hill/sand dune sprints, bear crawls and wheel barrows. Lots of ab work too and then topped it off with a quick dip in the brain freezing arctic waves! Best part, all done at sunset hour- so gorgeous!! Favorite time to workout! The not so great and lucky part…. had my first encounter with a police officer! He accused me of putting my seat belt on while he was behind us, but I ALWAYS WEAR MY SEAT BELT!! And ironically, my friend and I talked about the NZ seat belt laws while we pulled away from the beach. I most CERTAINLY had my seat belt on before the car turned on. All Kaua’i kids have been impacted by the lose of friends not wearing seatbelt. Never will I not. Mr. Popo let us go with a promise that I’ll “wear it from now on” and I got myself out of a $150 ticket - but one I didn’t deserve. Thanks though Mr. Popo for keeping us safe :) I do appreciate that!