I’m In The Fives!

I loaded a new map on my GPS compooter: “5.1 Greymouth to Queenstown.” Six weeks ago in Cape Reinga I started on map 1.1, “Cape Reinga to Rangiora Ferry Terminal,” and a couple weeks from now I hope to finish map 6.2, “Walter Peak to Bluff.”

There’s no rhyme or reason (or at least none I can see) as to why the Ones go from 1.1 to 1.7 while the Twos go up to 2.3 and the Threes go up to 3.5. The maps are not all the same file size, not all the same mileage, not all the same elevation gain, nothing like that. So I guess it would make more sense to say I’m in the Twenty-Ones (somewhere between 2,100-2,199 kilometers from Reinga) or the Fifteens (1,500-1,599 miles from Reinga).

Better yet, I could say I’m in the Dead Marshes. That’s where Frodo and Sam are when they’re in the Fifteens: following Gollum through the muck, mostly heeding his advice about not following the lights. By that measurement I can have elevensies here in the Fifteens and also stay on brand.

However you measure it, I’m pretty far. About a third of the way down the South Island, with about 800 kilometers to go. That’s 300 kilometers longer than the Tasmanian Trail, which, lest we forget, kicked my ass just three months ago. The fact that Bluff seems reachable is just mind-boggling.

So count me happily boggled. The weather on the South Island has been a real challenge, but this is still beautiful country. If you love the rainforest, you better love the rain. Overall I’m feeling good and Booster is taking all of this in stride. We lost a taillight (rain killed it) and maybe a dumbphone (ditto; it’s in the RICU* right now), but those have been the only mechanical failures. Her new brakes totally kick ass. So mind boggled, body fueled, blog posted.

*RICU: Rice ICU