Day 11 ~ Raetea Forest I
1st December 2020 | If we can do this forest, we can do the trail
They say that if we can do this forest, then we can do the trail.
Yikes, no pressure!
We’ve read the books and trail comments and know that the Raetea forest is gnarly, steep, slippery and muddy. 18kms, the highest spot in Northland and apparently it takes between 10-12 hours although plenty take even longer. We decide to break it into two days. Word on the street is that we can camp at the summit. There’ll be no water available for the two days so we’ll need to carry 20 litres (yep, 20kg) to give the five of us enough to drink and cook with.
Once we hit the track, our pace slows to somewhere around 1km per hour. That is very slow going. It's full-on but kind of like ninja warrior and the bush is bloody beautiful so we have fun as well.
Delight was hearing voices behind us and having a few new mates to chat with for a while. Fabrice , Seth (soon to be Baggins) and Marco before they speed ahead to try get the track dusted in one day and maybe even make it to the Mangamuka Dairy (apparently the best dairy on the entire trail!) before it closes.
We make it to the summit by afternoon. Oh what a feeling walking around without 25kgs (or more) on your shoulders.
We have a crack at cleaning the mud off our legs, butts and hands in the long grass (no water to spare), eventually peeling off our muddy socks. The wind is gusting like crazy in patches up there, meaning we pitch the tents nervously, but soon realise that they can handle the jandal. The view is more than sweet, but we’re all in our sleeping bags by 7pm. Shattered!
I snooze then emerge to grab a few sunset snaps. Shivering in the cold wind, I head back to my warm bag listening to gently snoring kids, wind and birds.
Cheers to Fabrice for that group shot in the bush. So good.
“We have a crack at cleaning the mud off our legs, butts and hands in the long grass”
Can we Raetea?
