Lessons from the St James

Aka – first shake down/solo hike (19th to 20th of January)

I couldn’t believe my ears when mum, (yes the extremely worried about my life choice to do the PCT type), suggested that I should do a solo hike for preparation for the Pacific Crest Trail.

Previously, mum had been dead against me doing anything solo – even a walk through the local forest was out of bounds. So, I took this opportunity and made the most of it. She suggested that I do an out and back of a local trail called the St James walkway in the Lewis pass area of the South Island of New Zealand. I could spend the night at the family bach at Hanmer Springs and then I could drive to the trail head at Boyle village. This sounded like a good idea so I put the plan into action. The goal was to just see how far I could go just to see what the distance really felt like. This was important for me because previously I had no idea how long a distance meant while hiking – how much effort it would take, how many breaks would I need, how many hours.

I felt super independent as I pulled my car over to the Boyle village parking area. I paid for parking as it was an area susceptible to thievery. When I walked over to the office, the lady asked me a ton of questions including whether I needed a shuttle to take me over to the other side of the trail. Generally the St James takes about 5 days (66km long), but I was only going for the weekend. She asked me where I was going but as I just wanted to see how far I can go I just told her the direction. She got me to fill out this pink sheet with my intentions and it had a tick box system at the bottom with boxes saying what safety equipment I was bringing. I was proud of myself when I pretty much ticked all the boxes. She took me to where I should leave the car and said to put my pink slip in a box by the parking area. The lady said to make sure I took the slip out when I left otherwise they would still think I was there and would call search and rescue on me!

So I grabbed my gear and used the long drop one last time before starting my adventure. I’ve done an off shoot track of the st james before to the Magdalen hut but had never done this one before. I was excited to see what it was like. As my first solo hike I knew there were bound to be lessons to learn to prepare me for the PCT. Ten particular lessons came to mind.

1. Sometimes the perfect space to have a break is just around the corner:
But what can you do? I was starting to need a rest and sat down next to a water source on some tree roots. Turns out there was a beautiful bench over looking the river right around the corner. These times are hard, but it’s not like you know what the trail looks like around the corner. You can’t spend all your time looking for the perfect spot.

2. Hikers are really nice people:
It amazed me how many people talked to me that were going the other way. It was nice to have a good yarn with some people and share the beautiful nature experience together. One thru hiker asked me if I was going north. I cracked up because she thought that I was thru hiking. I didn’t want to give away my secret and as I was walking north at the time I said yes.

3. Crazy trail ideas are best to try out before you commit:
I heard of this scheme from the Australian Hiker podcast of putting some water and tea tree oil together in a zip lock bag for cleaning yourself down at the end of the night. I was keen to try it; especially since I get kind of grubby. This idea was all fun and games until I got tea tree oil all through my kit and my dynema ditty bag still has a smell it just can’t get rid of.

4. Stretch, stretch, stretch!
I should have stretched before I started each day and at night. I was incredibly stiff from this adventure. I’m sure my recovery would have been easier if I had just put attention into stretching before hand.

5. Elevation is everything:
This is something I am still learning- not just paying attention to the Kms but also how up or down it goes. In this particular hike it steadily went up the whole way without me actually noticing but at the end the track shot up steeply and went over a saddle. It was the highest point of the whole track so I went up to 1136 meters (3727 feet). My total accent of the day was 1035 meters (3395 feet) and it felt like most of that was when I was exhausted at the end of the day. When thinking about how far you go it’s important to realise how much effort it will take to go the distance and elevation gain plays a huge role in this.

Don’t I look absolutely shattered!

6. Terrain affects your timing:
On this hike I went through tree rooted areas, pasture lands, bogs, rocky outcroppings, wire bridges and even navigated around a slip. In different terrains you could go at different speeds and there is no way of telling that on a map.

7. Blisters and blackened toes:
Before I did this tramp I noticed that my toes were starting to stretch to the ends of my shoes. This was because I have starting wearing barefoot shoes a lot. These shoes have made my feet wider and somehow a bit longer. I didn’t think about it too much before I started but I tell you what, I really regretted not getting bigger shoes when three toe nails went black including one of my big toe nails. These since have come off and I am really hoping they grow back normally – especially with all the trauma of the PCT to look forward to.

In this trip I also got so many blisters. I should have swapped my socks out when they got wet at the start. This was a bad decision that led me to get terrible blisters. I struggled to walk properly for at least the next week.

8. Sometimes the goals you set for yourself are unrealistic:
This was very true on this hike. I wanted badly to see how far I could go so I over did it. I thought what’s a big distance on the PCT – 20 miles. Okay, let’s do 20 miles to see how far it really is. With this basis I can judge everything around this. But – this was a bit crazy. I was cocky. I knew that the reccomed regime waa to get to where I was in two days but I wanted to say I could do it in one. Sure I could have camped anywhere and that there were plenty of huts along the way but I had trained for this and I could do it. This was my goal, my ultimate goal was to get to Anne hut 31.89 km (19.8 miles) down the track and even though I could have stopped earlier I just did not want to. Determination has become my vice.

Oh look Anne hut!

I got to Anne hut in the twilight. I quickly pitched my tent, scoffed some yougurt and went to sleep. I got up super early the next morning as it dawned on me that I have to do the same distance again and also drive back to Christchurch for work the next day at 9am. Fun times. The second day my whole body ached and if it wasn’t for strong pain killers I may still be there today.

The slip – this was hard to climb over!

Work was impossible in the morning. I remember hobbling to work from my car in jandals, grabbing 3 packets of compeed blister plasters off the shelf and being in pain as I stood all day. I did survive the week but hardly.

9. I should listen to my own advice:
When I came home late that night looking like I was on deaths door my mum said to me, “I thought you were going to take it easy at the start of the PCT”. Well, that is true mum, but I wanted to see how far I could go in my training hike. I felt like an idiot saying that after a week from hell at work but there you go. It was a further reminder to take it easy at the start of the PCT as my body gets used to it. No point rushing it at the start.

All the advice I knew so well swirls around my head – don’t wear shoes that are too small, cut your toe nails before you go, take care of hot spots as soon as they come, listen to your body, stretch as you go, hike your own hike. I guess sometimes it takes a few reminders before you actually make life changes. And boy – this was a wake up call!

10. I love riding solo: first solo and I absolutely loved it. It was so nice just to go my own pace and enjoy it. I didn’t have to look after anyone else or think of anyone else’s pace. It was just me and the freedom of the hills. Yes, I still absolutely love hiking with others but it’s nice to know I have more than one option.

As I left the St James I felt a huge sense of achievement and yes – I did remember to remove my pink slip.

Pacific Crest trail I am coming for you but thank God I am not doing it this week! I left I felt a huge sense of achievement and yes – I did remember to remove my pink slip!

Kiwi slang –
Bach – holiday home
Long drop – pit toilet
Having a yarn – having a chat or conversation
Jandals – flip flops
Tramp – overnight hike

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