Cinque Terre: Riomaggiore to Manarola

location: trail 531 between Riomaggiore and Manarola
distance: 1.25 km but so much uphill
lodging: Ostello 5 Terre

sights: we left our plans for Cinque Terre a little fluid, knowing we'd probably spend our full day hiking from town to town but not much beyond that. we opted to hop off the train in Riomaggiore, rather than riding the few extra minutes to Manarola, making it easier to take in all five of the Cinque Terre during our visit. after a glass of wine on a lovely terraced cafe in Riomaggiore, we set off.

Via dell'Amore

Our flexibility was tested straight away.; the Via dell Amore - the easier coastal route between Riomaggiore and Manarola - washed out during the previous season and had not yet been restored. (We later saw it from above and no way we're people getting through; washed away with a fifty foot sheer drop to the sea.) in fact, the only section of coastal route open in all the Cinque Terre was the segment between Vernazza and Monterosso. Not a big deal in the face of our flexible hiking plans, but no small consideration, as we now faced the prospect of the steeper route to Manarola.

Those of you who know me, are aware I am do not shirk from a hiking challenge. Andy and I did lots of mountainous climbing in California and New Zealand and my pack and I are dear old friends. In fact, I can scarcely imagine doing a strenuous hike without something on my back! Even so, the hike up that first hill in Cinque Terre was a challenge. Straight up, up, up, up, up under bright Italian sunshine, with limited hydration and no proper fueling to speak of. For Rebecca, who was hiking with weight for the first time, not to mention with a pack, the ascent was even more taxing.

But, we made it! The views along the coast were stunning, if somewhat unexpected in how closely the towns were clumped together. We took a brief breather at the top, took a few silly poses, and steeled ourselves for the equally, shockingly step descent.

Descending into Manarola

 As quickly as we'd ascended on the Riomaggiore side, we descended even more quickly down into Manarola. It truly felt as if we were standing atop the town and descending a steep exterior staircase, weaving through private yards and gardens before emerging out into the upper square. Looking at the distance now, it hardly seems representative for the effort exerted. I wouldn't write off doing that hike again - and in fact, I'd probably largely prefer the inland and less-travels trails in future - but would certainly take steps to better prepare for it in advance before foolishly jumping to climb straight up the side of a terraced valley.

Husbandless Honeymoon

In high school, my friends and I came up with the concept of a Husbandless Honeymoon. This was long before any of us had any serious romantic contenders in our lives, but well after we'd been bitten by the travel bug and had big plans for how often we wanted to travel "when we grew up" and what kinds of amazing adventures we'd have as #ladieswhotravel. (Of course, at the time we came up with this idea, the concept of hashtags was at least a decade away. Times change and one adapts technology as one needs to; Skype and SnapChat? Very useful.)

and because of this idea, Rebecca and I found ourselves boarding a plane bound for Venice on the last Saturday in March. Destination: a litany of places that neither of us had ever seen. Condition: significant others and pets stayed home. For two weeks, through Venice, Lucca, Pisa, Manarola, Milan, Marseilles, Carcassonne, and Barcelona, we were #ladieswhotravel, walking just about everywhere and soaking up as much of European sunshine and wine as we could muster. we actually didn't do that much hiking exactly - except for two days in the Cinque Terre - but we didn't worry too much about maps as we explored all these towns, managing to hit more than 20k steps every day save the one we only hit 18k and spent 8 hours on a train. 

I'll write more about our adventures over at ericagoestraveling.com, but I'll share details from our two hikes coming up soon!

Abel Tasman: Anchorage Bay to Bark Bay

location: Abel Tasman National Park - Anchorage to Bark Bay
distance: approx 7 miles

sights: after a day of paddling from Marahau to Anchorage Bay and giving our shoulders a good, hard work session, we gave our upper bodies a rest and gave our legs a their first Great Walk outing.

ours were the first outbound tracks on the beach that morning (though at least one person was up and headed off to the south before we left the hut), and didn't see anyone until past the tramper lodging in as is our wont, we were up well before many of the other hut-dwellers - though not as many as at our shelter on the Routeburn Track.

the first section of trail had two options - the shorter low-tide route and longer high-tide route. even though we had a fair bit of time before the tide came in, we opted for the longer route, which ascended a hill and led through the forest around Torrent Bay. we even opted for a side trek of a couple hundred meters to a spot called Cleopatra's Slide - a weathered rock formation in the river that looked a little like a waterslide. the water was far to cold for a dip to be enjoyable, but one could only imagine how satisfying it might be in hotter weather.

the village of Torrent Bay included a couple dozen private properties - rentals mostly, and some vacation homes - as well as a proper hostel right on the bay. we managed to get up the hill between clumps of people and enjoyed mostly solitary walking and spectacular views from the cliffs overlooking the sea. at Falls River we got to cross one of the more dramatic and scenic swing bridges of the trip before passing up on the opportunity to descent to Sandfly Bay.

we reached the Bark Bay DOC hut with more than a bit of time to spare before our anticipated water taxi. took advantage of the facilities and had a rest and started camp lunch at the noon-time-deserted hut. more rugged (probably older construction) than the Anchorage hut, with two bunk rooms that were just big platforms stacked one atop the other. small communal area - which probably made for cozier confines in cold weather - and only a few meters to the water's edge.

after brief recon, we deduced that the water taxi was more likely to pick up from the narrow spit of land in the bay on which the campsites were located, and headed there to enjoy our lunch, the soft sandy beach, and the feeling of having our hiking boots off. we watched kayaks arrive and explore the estuary; a young couple meet their kayak guide off a water taxi; tour boats drop ladders for passengers to climb onto the beach for a brief wander; the water taxis adjust their routes based on the changing tide level... and then realized that we technically had two hours between when we finished our lunch and when the water taxi was scheduled to pick us up ...

Bark Bay

but all the same we flagged down another taxi heading back to Marahau - didn't clarify before we heaved our packs onto the boat and helped the skip haul a couple of kayaks into place on the back of the boat - as to which taxi/company we'd booked with. turns out, we were supposed to go with a different outfit, but this type of situation happens so often and the guys who run the charters know one another so well that he just called in to notify the right people and handled it. bar tabs and beer debts owed were discussed in familiar terms.

overall, the combination of kayaking and hiking was wonderful. one of many instances while in New Zealand that I wished we'd had more time - to kayak, to hike, to go farther and see more. and that we were close enough to make a weekend of it again in the future, like one of the groups we encountered!

Routeburn Track: Mackenzie Hut to The Divide

location: final leg of the Routeburn track - Lake Mackenzie to The Divide
distance: 12km
sights: after the up and down of the preceding days, the third day was pretty level and mostly downhill - and still pretty gorgeous. (one tiny, strenuous uphill bit before the final descent...)

a trio of women headed towards Routeburn Falls did a marvelous disservice to the entire hut by waking up at 6:00 am and proceeding to pack their bags. while everyone else was trying to get a final bit of sleep. this would have made sense in the world of the Camino where numerous people would awake at such an hour - and everyone else would follow within 15 or 20 minutes - but here, it was clear that people intended to have a lie-in. important point in bunk etiquette; if you anticipate getting up before everyone else, take a few moments before bed to pull out morning necessities and arrange your pack. otherwise, everyone you wake up (and you will wake everyone up) will send bad bad energy at you.


and so we got up earlier than we'd planned, ate our tasty camp breakfast-in-a-bag (thanks Backcountry! now we just have to find something adequate stateside.) and were out of the bunk welllllll before those three early-rising ladies, sipping their coffee and getting gnarly looks from other bleary-eyed trampers. another reason it pays to pack your bag the night before ...

as a consequence, we were out on the trail before anyone else - again - and had marvelous, unspoiled tramping nearly all morning. we went through several avalanche zones with dire warnings to tell us not to stop for the next xx hundred meters. for the first third of the hike or so, we had unobstructed views of the mountains across the valley; I stumbled on a couple of occasions from looking at the view and not the path in front of me.

the highlight of the hike were the Earland Falls (178 meters high). the guidebook recommended it as a lunch spot, but we reached it mid-morning, earlier than we even wanted to stop for a snack. so we just took a few moments and enjoyed the sounds and view and the pool at the base of the falls.

from there, we remained below the treeline ... and began encountering giant bags of gravel dropped in the middle of the path. since the track isn't accessible by road, material to build up and repair the track are dropped in enormous square bags by helicopter, smack in the middle of the trail. made for interesting obstacles.

Routeburn Track - Falls to Lake Mackenzie

location: Routeburn Falls Hut to Mackenzie Hut
distance: 11 km
elevation change: gain of about 600ft, loss of about 1000 ft, net loss about 400ft

Harris Lake, north side of the saddle

description: the trek from Routeburn Falls to Lake Mackenzie was much easier than the previous day. the elevation gain was all at the start of the day, and the views over the mountain valley, back down over the falls were more than enough to make up for the effort.

as habituated by our previous hiking treks, we were some of the first up and moving in the DOC hut, and some of the very first out on the track that day. we could tell because it had snowed the night previous and the single perplexing track was accompanied by bike tracks ... something that isn't allowed on the trail. the early start made for slightly treacherous track near the Harris Saddle/Tarahaka Whakatipu - it snowed the previous night and it certainly hadn't warmed up enough by 9am
to have melted.

south side of the saddle

through the saddle, it was a bit remarkable how much the landscape changed. compared to the previous day of climbing steadily through dense forest, making the occasional bridge crossing, the hike from the Falls to Lake Mackenzie was almost entirely above the treeline - with stunning views of the Hollyford valley and mountains beyond. the bulk of the tramping was relatively level, with moderate descents and climbs until just above Lake Mackenzie. the early start meant we encountered few people for most of the day; it wasn't until we began descending towards the lake that we ran into a guided group just finishing their climb from the catered hut below. most were a bit winded, or taking their time to make it up the climb (which was nothing to sneeze at). one delightful older (possibly 70s) gent said to us as we passed him, "It's a long way to Tipperary" with a great big grin on his face. I think we both hope to have that kind of energy when we reach that age!

the descent to Lake Mackenzie was longer than it looked, as it often is in the last stretch of the day. we passed a spot where two young people were killed in a sudden storm several decades ago, when the track washed out. for all the track's beauty, it was a reminder that conditions could change quickly and prove deadly, particularly in the exposed areas. not much farther on we stepped into what felt like a prehistoric forest - reminiscent of Fangorn in the ongoing LOTR comparison.

view of Lake Mackenzie to the north

we were the first to the hut by hours - which meant pick of the bunks above the main room! the Mackenzie Hut was much more cabinlike and heaps warmer for it. no mutinous rumblings about raiding the catered guided-hike building this night! the warden had been staffing that hut for decades - spending the better part of the afternoon on structure projects/improvements - and had delightful anecdotes to share in the evening's hut talk. if I had my druthers, I might just hike in to Lake Mackenzie to camp and then hike back out the next day!