Thursday, February 20, 2014
Start Time: 9:20am
Arrived in Anakiwa at 4:30pm
Distance: 21km
Weather: Sunny and hot
Unlike the Heaphy, I had not mentally checked out when we reached our third’s night stay. I was extremely uneasy about our last long day. What’s the saying? It ain’t over until the fat lady sings. Well, it took me a long time to start singing today. It took us the better part of an hour and a half to summit today’s Category 6 hurricane or what should be Mount Everest’s cousin, but holy views! Shamrock Ridge was incredible. I soaked up as much of the 360 degree views of the Marlborough Sounds as I could. The morning fog gave the green mountains against the glistening water an eerie kind of depth that made the entire scene seem more mysterious and magical. This was the view I worked so hard the past three days for, and I was not disappointed. The rest of the day was quite enjoyable, and if I could delete day three, I would happily travel the distance of the Queen Charlotte again. We certainly had our ups and downs, both physically and mentally, but accomplishment is an irreplaceable feeling. And I might add that I am not sore and blister free this time around! Looks like I might have learned something from my past tramping experience…
Steph Dobson 