Parapara Peak

Within 24 hours of arriving in Takaka for our Christmas holiday with Tom's family, I ask my brother-in-law Joe, if there are any trig beacons nearby.  He's a DOC ranger and well qualified to send me the way of a nice trig I could pick up on a short run.  He looks out the lounge window at this mountain range providing a towering vista, and says "There's Parapara."

And, instead of explaining that I was thinking more of a 5-10km trail run, I'm immediately captivated and nothing but the best (highest/hardest) will do.  I think I possibly need counselling for this obsessive trait.

Anyway, the grandparents offer to look after the kids, and we leave early morning nearly a week later.  I don't want to leave the kids for too long on our family holiday, so we figure by leaving before they wake up, we gain a bit of time.

We carefully rock hop the first creek, having planned to keep our feet dry and in good condition for a full days walk ahead.  Within five minutes of that, my socks are drenched from the long grass we're walking through.

The track to Parapara peak is not really advertised, DOC do some maintenance but not a lot, it's generally a walk for locals and the experienced.

We walk up this creek bed which has huge slips and blockages from recent storms.  At one stage we have to balance across a tree trunk resting.

 The first HOURS are up.  Straight up.  Sometimes we're pushing with our hands on our knees, at other times we're pulling ourselves on tree branches.  I'm sick of going up, but I'm also realising that this is SO steep, it's going to be just as hard to come down. 

My lunch box.  The boys carried all the water and proper food.  I was trying to slow them down with heavy packs, but had to make sure I could survive in the wilderness if we got separated.  

Eventually we make it to the top for our hard earned lunch.

But the trig station is all the way over............. there - leading to another walk!

A chance to air my soggy feet at the top, hoping the clouds will clear.  Got some snatches of a brilliant view, will have to return for the full 360.

The walk back down was a killer.  I was pushing the pace a little, anxious to get back to the kids.  You know that incessant pounding of your quads, where each step you are dropping, gravity assisted, but then your muscles have to contract to stop you??  Repeat a million times.  On some of the gentler slopes I was jogging, which may seem mad, but actually stretching out my muscles felt blissful.  I got to the stage where my legs were visibly shaking when we stopped for a rest.  Oh the pain.  It was nearly as bad as it got two days later when my legs were still screaming at me!  :)









1300m gain.  AND loss.  :)