Prince Albert

Today we booked a ferry to Great Barrier Island for tomorrow morning. We plan on being there for three days. The idea is to camp for both nights, so we spent today getting food, fuel, and insect repellent. I am still a bit jet lagged so when the effects of my morning tea wears off, I am quite useless. We did manage to find Albert Park so that we could have lunch as it tried to rain on us. We are both excited to get out of the city. I think that we have explored Auckland as much as we would like. If I can stay awake, there is a New Zealand vs. Australia rugby match tonight. Unfortunately, it is being played in Hong Kong, so we will have to find a pub here...

samosas and butter chicken

We made it to Auckland. 13 hours on a plane is not fun. Then through customs at about 5 am local time. Jumped on a bus to downtown Auckland and hiked up the only hill in the city to find out hostel. Not surprisingly, we couldn't check in at 7 am, so we wandered around the empty city. Not far from our hostel, we saw our first NZ transvestites. We stared like zombies at things until we sat in a coffee shop for way too long. Eventually, we checked into our hostel and took a nap. Refreshed we were able to walk around a bit more and find some Indian food. Now we are trying to stay awake until we eat dinner. Then we can try to get on a normal schedule tomorrow.

15 kilos

Women's REI Sub Kilo Long sleeping bag            2 lbs
Go Lite Oddysey Backpack Medium                     4 lbs
REI Quarter Dome T2 Ultralight Tent                   4 lbs
Big Agnes Insulated Air Core sleeping pad         .75 lbs
Vasque Breeze hiking boots                                   2 lbs
GSI Soloist cook system                                       .5 lbs

So why was my bag 35 pounds when I checked it in today?! I mean I threw in a water filter, some socks, running shoes and shorts, two titanium sporks, one tshirt, pocket knife, some chapstick, sunscreen, toiletries, dehydrated mashed potatoes, and probably some other useless stuff. Let's go hiking!
My carryon/daypack is a really cool Rudy Project hydration pack that I am sure you will see in lots of pictures.

Page 2

"When people see some things as beautiful,
other things become ugly.
When people see some thing as good,
other things become bad.

Being and non-being create each other.
Difficult and easy support each other.
Long and short define each other.
High and low depend on each other.
Before and after follow each other.

Therefore the Master
acts without doing anything
and teaches without saying anything.
Things arise and she lets them come;
things disappear and she lets them go.
She has but doesn't posses,
acts but doesn't expect.
When her work is done, she forgets it.
That is why it lasts forever."

Tao Te Ching

4 days

 Te Araroa or "The Long Pathway" is a proposed hiking trail the entire length of New Zealand. Their website is here. One guy has already tried to do the hike. From his website, he has only done the North Island. It is exciting to have so many options upon arrival.

I purchased the Olympus Stylus 1030 SW. Waterproof, shockproof, freezeproof, and crushproof. Sounds like a good camera for a traveler. The squirrel outside wasn't too sure about it, but a little bread helped him warm up to it.

Test run

Here is Mojdeh standing in the water testing out her boots to make sure that they are waterproof.

 

We went on a hike to make sure that we know how to do it. Our stuff mostly worked. My new lightweight hiking crew Patagonia socks are better than any North Face stuff that I wont be buying.

My boots are waterproof as well! (As long as you don't step in the deep water.)

 

Our water filter works too, so hopefully Giardia won't be an issue! (Can you see my cool socks?)

Royal Stimulator with a Zebra Midge.

We went fly fishing just below Gross Reservoir in the South Boulder Creek. There were a lot of fish in the river, but only a few were hungry for our flies. Our great guide Wallace showed us how to catch fish and we tried to emulate him as much as possible. Check out his website here (www.mudbugco.com) to see more great pictures and info about his novel!

From the beginning, there was a competition to see who could catch the most fish. At the last minute, Mojdeh pulled in her 7th fish so that the day would end in a draw. She pulled in the first Rainbow, and I pulled out the last one. My "hero" fish was a 13 inch Rainbow Trout that made me feel like a champ for the rest of the day.

Crowie, Snow, and Baselayers

I wished that I would have been in Kona to watch Ironman this year. After seeing Bree's photos and Rachel's race report, I am more and more tempted to try and qualify some time in the future. Instead, it snowed here last night. We made some hot chocolate and enjoyed the cold. Congrats to Crowie for winning this year. Looks like I gave him the right words of advice after last year's race. I swam 1.5km today while the snow melted outside. It made me realize that I am out of shape, but love racing. My running shoes and goggles will be in my backpack for NZ.
I have a small rant about North Face. I like their products, but I am starting to feel like it is all a brand name and only their very high end stuff is made for being outside. I tried to exchange a pair of pants at the North Face store for a different size. They didn't have any in stock and refused to order a pair for me. The said I should walk around in them to make sure that they are too long (they are) or I could hem them. The pants are available online and in the warehouse, but they won't send them to the store here in Boulder. I called thier customer service number I was told that I could purchase the pair that would fit online, but the Boulder store can order them for me if they want to. Apparently, they don't want to. Now I need to purchase a baselayer for my trip. You will find me at the Patagonia store.

10 degrees C

Just before noon it was about 50 degrees. I put on tights, had a big bowl of Bear Naked granola with yogurt and a banana, and went running. It has been a while since I have been that cold. It has been a perpetual summer since last February. I am glad that I will be continuing it. The cold is fun when you are warm. Everyone here is getting ready for the winter, snowboards, jackets, and heavy layers are on sale. Here are some pictures from my last warm weather run. I found a snake. I like the outdoors. Of course I should stop harassing the wildlife.

Back in the People's Republic of Boulder

Since I have returned from Las Vegas I am still trying to catch up on sleep. Rent needs to be paid, but I am trying to disappear into the mountains for some practice camping/hiking. I feel like my priorities are switching back to the traveling kind. October 29th is the departure date for New Zealand. I would leave tomorrow if I could. Well maybe just one more trip to REI for last minute things. I have my outfit planned for New Zealand. One pair of pants, one shirt, two mid layers, and my rain gear. It isn't much. Today I ate dehydrated pasta with meat sauce for lunch. It was expensive, but very tasty. I think that I will look for meals like these while camping. I am sick of eating the same oatmeal with powdered milk and sugar every morning when camping.