Day 59: Mt. Lee Reserve to Palmerston North

Distance Covered: 34 km

How many miles must a young boy (road) walk, before you can call him a man? The answer, my friend, is blowing in the (rain and) wind.

Another day, another 30+ km of walking on a busy road. This time with temperatures in the low 60s, rain, and wind. Still the same feelings of not sure why they call this a trail.

The “highlights” were walking briefly on an active railroad track when the trail didn’t make sense. And a short forest “trail” section parallel to the highway. And the takeaway places all being closed for the holidays. And the river trail into Palmerston North being a cement highway.

More seriously, we did have a 15 minute conversation with two boys on bikes curious about what we were doing. They said they were “outdoor” boys and preferred riding bikes to playing video games. They knew everyone in the small town we were in for lunch.

Also, I was able to fix my broken umbrella by engineering a solution with a random piece of carbon fiber tube I found on the side of the highway.

Also, Emily and I had a serious conversation about our priorities and had time to work through the little things that bother us. It’s hard to have these types of heart to hearts in a world of electronics, so the mindless road walking is good for facilitating real communication.

Camping was stealthily setting up our tent in a public park next to a bridge. The local campsite in the city wanted $32 for a little plot and no amenities. The public park had a small forest section about 40 meters wide. There was a little, overgrown dirt path crossing it to private land. We waited until dark, cooking and talking, and then setup the tent. The weather is bad so it’s not likely that people will find us.

Tomorrow is supposed to be more road walking, but with some mix of parks and trails. Today was largely forgettable so hopefully we can get back on track here soon.