Training Log Archive: slow-twitch

More line marking, linking up where Ripley had got to yesterday morning and where we'd got to with the afternoon's exploration. And a bit of time moving trap boxes on to the line, almost running out by the time we needed to start driving out.

Spent the morning hauling boxes on to the line marked out yesterday, despite most of the time only being able to take in 2 at a time made it almost to the kiekie of doom...

...then the afternoon nutting out how to keep the trap line close to the river like it's supposed to be when the terrain was working against us.

Marking and cutting new trap line. Made great progress until hitting a big kiekie patch too big to detour around, the timestamps on the trap sites marked on the GPS will tell an interesting story....

Orongorongo boot camp II. Lost a fair bit of the day on the way in, digging the road out from under a slip and trying to rebuild a useable 4WD drive-line at one of the major creeks, (so we could call it arms and shoulders day) but still managed to put in a few hours marking out the new trap line and moving trap boxes onto it.

Mt Vic. Very messy. Frustratingly from the start, felt I'd slipped right into a good orienteering flow, with even a rough route choice plan for the first long leg (3) sorted, but that all went bye-bye when I tried to find the dodgy 1st control (the location made more sense when I collected it later, so while it still rates as dodgy I no longer believe that I went to the right place first). Then got funneled down into completely the wrong re-entrant despite being cautious dropping down to 2, overran 3 after a good route to the general area, and got caught in fight (I think more than mapped but did definitely end up in the mapped bit) trying to cleverly conserve height to get to 4... after that it improved (had to really) but I had a second run of minor issues this time at 10 & 11. Also lost some time contouring a couple of legs as opposed to using the tracks, but that was to get good practice. Physically was doing ok especially for coming off a lazy week and not much running for even longer than that, it appears a clean run would have had me just in or out of the top 10, easily in the 50 something minutes anyway.

I thought this was going to be a real mission and maybe have to be spread over two days, but all went smoothly. Up Whakanui and along McKerrow ridge to my first gear cache, which with the remaining tunnels from the ridge turned out to be still a comfortable packload, just had to take the descent at a cautious pace. Then my 2nd cache was both further down the hill and smaller than I'd thought so the 2nd trip up and down only added an hour or so. Found a couple of handfuls of snow on the ridge.

Whakanui loop, last check of the tunnels and starting to pack them up and out. So a bit of extra faffing around and a bit of pack-horsing, but not enough of either to give myself more than the 'walking time' for the loop. Tomorrow likely to be a different story. Very very cold, but the views from the clearings were superb.

Whakanui loop again, even quicker - I think combination of fewer tunnels to check (due to those closed on Friday) and less additional ones to close. And a bit of knowing my way around a little better. So total time out somewhat closer to actual walking time. If I'd known in advance I might have thought about starting a bit earlier so I could still make the orienteering in Wellington. Yeah right.

Same loop as Wednesday, only in reverse, without the sherpa-level packload and without running out of daylight. Conclusion: it is far easier checking tracking tunnels than it is to install them.

Setting up another trial for ZIP, Rimutaka FP Whakanui, McKerrow and Boys Brigade tracks. Very stop-start but with a heavy load (and a big hill!). Finished in the dark! But heard a kiwi so it all balances out (which is more than what the packload was doing much of the time). Ankle survived though enough near misses on the downhills I was glad to have heavily strapped it.

Horoeka track plus a bit on the pylon road. Rolled off a tree root onto the weak ankle on the way down, probably solving the question of whether I'd be able to fit anything like the weekly plan into the busy week ahead.

One last there and back on the trap line, then because I couldn't time it right to cadge a lift with the Landcare guys (first humans I'd seen since Tuesday morning - just love being in a country where you can do that just a few hills away from the capital city), walking back out to Catchpool.