Striding out
After a full year of rehab, last summer’s hiking started slowly.
My intention was to start with a few day hikes and gradually work up to an overnighter. Then do another five or so low-key trips out and back with little weight aboard.
Then, I slowly migrated down to Central Otago, starting some multi-day trips while walking on the numerous four-wheel-drive tracks.
That is how the first two months panned out, although I did tend to overachieve with my efforts.
Eventually, I had three nights getting up to Dynamo Hut behind Skippers, near Queenstown, and a few similar trips.
That culminated in seven days on a loop south of Lake Sumner as I made my way north.
After the Heaphy Track with my sister and her husband in February, a great social trip with companionship for the first time in years, I returned to Nelson via Johnson and Kakapo Huts and the Wangapeka Track over 11 days.
That all added up to a summer with 75 days spent in the hills with a pack on my back.
Looked like my Achilles was capable of surviving some decent punishment once again.