words with kitchen

real life adventures of an aspiring adult

Tag: Te Araroa

  • Invercargill Zero Day

    Welp. The second day of my hike was a zero day. And I’m really glad I did this. It’s still very very warm, with lots of sun. And the trail would have been entirely exposed to the sun all day. The only thing today’s setup would have had going for it is I would have…

  • Day 1: Bluff to Invercargill

    The weather forecast looked bleak today. 30C (about 84F) and sunny. And there’s very little shade on the route which is mostly a road walk, at least according to Google Maps. But hey, I thought. 84 isn’t that bad, and I have a hat and long sleeves and pants so I should be fine! Hah!…

  • On Te Araroa!

    Greetings! I’m currently hiking New Zealand’s Te Araroa trail, starting from the south and heading northbound, aiming to complete the full South Island portion of the trail! As I am on the trail I have limited cell service and internet access, so posts will be infrequent and bursty (a bunch will go up when I…

  • The time has nearly come

    I’m sitting here in my lodging in Wellington staring out at the city from the 10th floor trying to think of what else I need to do before I go. A little while ago I picked up my backcountry hut pass. Right now I’m filtering through my gear again trying to figure out what I…

  • Trail food planning

    My current plan is that I’m going to ship food boxes from 2 places on the trail: Invercargill (one food box to Birchwood Station or Ohai) and Queenstown (food boxes to Tekapo, Lake Coleridge, Arthur’s Pass, Boyle Village, and St. Arnaud) The Birchwood Station box only needs about 4 days worth of food, and is…

  • Obligatory Gear List

    I’m going backpacking for 3 months. Here’s the obligatory gear list and gear pic. Sleeping Kit Jacks ‘R’ Better Sierra Sniveller top quilt Zpacks Duplex tent – The Trash Bag (it looks and sounds like a trash bag. A very expensive trash bag) REI Flash Sleeping Pad Sea to Summit Silk + Cloth sleeping bag…

  • Google My Maps to Galileo Offline Maps

    As I mentioned in a previous post, I’m using Google My Maps as my primary tool for creating my map for Te Araroa, mapping estimated day stopping points, resupply points, etc. This tool has been invaluable for this purpose. It’s very easy to use, allows me to add custom icons to the points on the…

  • Preparing my navigation tools for Te Araroa

    As I mentioned in my previous post, I’m using Google Maps’ My Maps feature to create a map of the route, accomodations (read: huts) along the way, things to be on the look out for, etc. This has been immensely useful. However, there’s no way to get this information in the Google Maps app when…

  • Farewell, Stripe. Kia ora, Te Araroa

    Wednesday was my last day working at Stripe. It’s definitely a sadness that I’m no longer there. But I think it is for the better, in many ways, so there’s that silver lining, at least! One of the things I’ve been wanting to do for a very long time is a cross country bike trip.…