Day 83. Too Much Rain. January 24, 2016.

14 km
Kiwi Hut km 2132 to Morrison Bridge km 2146

Today the trail provided me with 3 guardian angels. Their names were Brett, Sean and Arno. Sometime in the middle of the night it started raining. Not good.

Just after the hut we had to cross the Taramakau River. The first crossing wasn’t too bad. We had a bunch more water crossings which were higher and swifter. The 3 guys stuck by me and made sure I got across safely. It was so nice to have them with me today. So much of the route was along the river bed and not marked. When we got to the Flood Track – Aitkens Car Park junction we decided to see if we could cross the Otira River and get to the highway there. Surrounded by my 3 angels I made it across. We then walked the highway to Morrison Bridge. The next section of our route is a run portion of the Coast to Coast Race which happens in 3 weeks. Several people were there training and there was lots of discussion about whether it was passable today. It didn’t seem to be and more rain was on the way. We got a ride into Arthurs Pass and are staying at the YHA Backpackers. A hot shower never felt so good.

I bought the guys a beer as thanks for the help they gave me today. It is still raining.

No photos today…. too much rain.