2022

Sam Hansby 2022 SK Valley

chrismartinc

I decided to give the SK Valleys route a go after a race, I was training for, was cancelled. From what I’d seen in photos, it seemed like a nice way to spend a day. The image I had in my head was of easy flat valley trails and a couple of saddle crossings. The romantic imagery I had didn’t reflect the eventuating reality but it never does. 

A week before the attempt I checked out the Ruamahanga River section of the route. I picked a pearler of a day and it ended up being fun day out swimming and running along a very quiet Ruamahanga. So far, the valleys had matched my sunny outlook. 

Figure 1. Ruamahanga River, a week before my attempt. 

In the days leading up to the run, the weather was playing games by being really unsettled which was unusual for Wellington. Wellington is known for its calm predictable weather. The forecast presented a day sat between some humid squally wet days and before a big 3 day deluge. So, on Thursday 10th February 2022, I was on my way to Putara for a 7am start. 

I got going at 7.43am. The air was dense with water and it didn’t take long for me to feel like a wet flannel but I had a bounce in my step. My muscles were full to the brim with glycogen produced from the previous few days of carbohydrate loading. Nutrition before the run was plentiful, and by all accounts, delicious. 

I reached Roaring Stag Hut after an hour carrying some trepidation. I was hoping the river wouldn’t be too high to run along and on first look it appeared fine. The water level looked low and was clear. On closer inspection, the river was running a little faster than what it had been a week ago. About 100m into river-running, I passed a spot where I’d swam the week prior and noticed the area where I’d sat was now underwater. It was all very manageable, it just meant I would have to engage my brain. I had really hoped not to have to use my energy hungry brain too much on this run. Instead of worrying about the next 4 steps ahead, I had to think 30-40 steps ahead and it was draining. I ended up not loving the river section but made Cleft Creek in pretty good time. Once I’d scrambled up to the track I sat down and emptied stones from my shoes and checked out how my Airpod Pros were going. All its individual components had been submerged and although they were clean from the swimming, they weren’t performing their core role of producing sounds. 

Figure 2. Ruamahanga River 

I carried on to Cow Creek Hut without any music. Luckily the bush provided enough noises and sights to keep me entertained. This was all new terrain for me and the novelty of running new trails is always fun. 

At Cow Creek Hut, I decided it was time for a wrap. Preparations for this run had been rushed and messy which was why I didn’t have the time to prepare my usual quality of food. I had decided to bring 4 Mars Bars, 4 peanut butter wraps and 2 peanut butter sandwiches. I’m talking ‘top of the shelf’ peanut butter though so it was still above average running food and I was looking forward to digging in. After a couple minutes of searching various pockets, I realised my wraps and sandwiches were on the front seat of my car back at Putara. I hadn’t quite got round to packing those… darn it. 

Figure 3 Waingawa River 

After some deliberation I decided I would carry on because I was feeling good and although I love a large spread on a big mission, my recent long runs had been run on very little nutrition. I had 3 Mars bars left after eating 1 back at Cleft Creek. I’d also found a caffeinated gel in my bag during the sandwich search which was the decider on whether or not to bail. My new food plan was to eat 1 bar after Atiwhakatu Hut to get me up River Ridge Track, a 2nd bar after Totara Flats Hut to get me up Cone Saddle Track and the rest of the food as I needed it after Cone Hut to get me to Kaitoke. It looked like a great plan in my head where time and fatigue doesn’t exist.  

I kept the pace easy but the humidity was sapping. I counteracted it by drinking loads of water at nearly every stream I crossed. Dehydration is one of my least favourite feelings so it was good not to worry about that with streams aplenty. I was running well along the Waingawa River but still managed to slip and fall comically on the slipperiest plank of wood in the world before reaching Mitre Flats Hut.  

I wasn’t expecting a climb out from Mitre Flats Hut. For some reason, I thought the track would follow Waingawa River until it somehow magically turned into Atiwhakatu Stream. It doesn’t. Barton Track climbed and dropped me into the Atiwhakatu Valley where I felt the first signs of negativity. 

Figure 4. Near the highest point on Barton Track 

“I’m tired” 

Reaching Atiwhakatu Hut meant I was allowed to eat a Mars bar. It lifted my mood and I was running smooth again on familiar trails until I reached River Ridge Track where the walking begun. This was when walking started to overtake running as the main source of movement. My stomach metabolised the latest Mars bar really efficiently, it seemed, as my brain received messages from my belly to send more food down not long after having eaten it.  

“Very soon Belly, when we get to the next hut.” I reminded it of the food plan. 

Figure 5. Waiohine River 

It was great to see Totara Flats Hut appear in my eyesight after crossing Waiohine River. I decided I would eat my next Mars bar really slowly for it to hopefully last until the start of Cone Saddle Track. It survived a couple kilometres helped by the distracting surroundings. I passed a massive swimming hole not long after leaving the hut but had to urge myself on. I didn’t want to waste energy on anything other than what would get me to Kaitoke. I focused on reaching the start of the next climb up to Cone Saddle – the gloomiest part of the route.  

I’d heard stories of time warps, wormholes and mushrooms that look like orange triangles on the Cone Saddle Track so I kept it pretty slow. My slowness could also have been attributed to the lack of energy I had. I still had good light for this section though and track-keeping was going well. Getting lost would’ve capped the trip off. I managed to find my way over Cone Saddle to Cone Hut. Unfortunately my stomach convinced me to eat my last Mars bar before reaching the hut. The food plan was a little vague at this stage of the run and so it seemed like a good thing to do. 

Figure 6. Cone Hut 

When I had day-dreamed about doing the valleys route I imagined myself running at just below Kipchoge pace along this last section. All I could manage was a strong walking pace. My muscle’s glycogen supplies felt as if they had been completely drained which made sense with the lack of fuel I’d given them. The lack of fuel also meant my sodium levels were probably lower than usual not helped by the large amount of water I was drinking without any electrolytes. It was the kind of mistake that an experienced outdoors person shouldn’t make and made me feel stupid for carrying on despite the forgotten food. Fortunately I was self-aware and still in a focused state. I knew I could make Kaitoke but accepted it wasn’t going to be much fun. After searching the hut for some salt, I left for Smith Creek unsalted.   

I ate the caffeinated gel just before reaching Smith Creek Shelter. It did wonders for my stomach, causing quite the stir in there. The gel tasted old but it likely did more good than bad and I made Puffer Saddle just before 9pm. The head torch made a cameo and 40 minutes later I was lying on the soft gravel at Kaitoke carpark, 13 hours 46 minutes after leaving Putara. 

Figure 7. Checking out my watch the morning after the run 

After-thoughts 

As I lay in the gravel and the rain started to fall, I didn’t have many positive thoughts. I didn’t get the time I wanted, my Airpods were broken, and I’d probably damaged some internal organs. However, lessons were learned and a few days later I followed Michael Stuart’s Triple SK. I’m awestruck by that kind of adventuring and it’s hard not to be inspired by it. I mentally booked in another attempt at the valleys for March. Then Dan Jones went and ran it, as I write this, and I don’t see the point anymore. I’ll think of something else to run in March. 

Thanks very much to Courtenay Brawley. She picked me up and drove a large distance and some more when I realised I forgot my car key on arrival in Putara, had to go all the way back to Wainuiomata for it. 

My watch also had some GPS issues, tracking just my run to Cow Creek Hut which begs the question: if it doesn’t appear on Strava, did it really happen? I don’t know.