Our boots are in tatters, but they made it the whole way. 3000km, or there abouts ;) Unprecedented for Te Araroa boots i think? Amazingly rugged these Zamberlands, and super light too. They took a BEATING, let me tell you. Almost bald, but rugged as hell, they’re the Bruce Willis of hiking boots.
Sad to see these little fellas go! My feet will never feel the same again ;) You’d think after all those miles that our feet would be in a right state, but funnily enough after time they just get used to it. And with all those river crossings they’ve had grit-a-plenty exfoliating them. They’re almost back to normal. Mad huh?
Are we glad to be Finished?Yes and no. It’s good to get to the end, but we’ll miss life on the trail - It’s a simple life with a clear black & white purpose, very little stress, lots of healthy exercise and no feeling of guilt when stuffing your face with town food!
I suppose to an outsider walking across a whole country must seem like a monotonously repetitive thing to do, each day just walking south. But the reality is I’ve never experienced anything more varied or interesting than long distance walking. A common amazement shared with other thru-hikers we’ve met is - We can all remember every step of the way, our minds can drift back across the whole trail and remember in remarkable detail what we were doing on each and every day. That just doesn’t happened in ‘normal’ life, I often can’t remember what I did the previous week, never mind 6 months ago! Each day was unique, they will be sorely missed, but fondly cherished :)
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