I left Christchurch today to drive to Nelson, where I’ll be preparing for my five-day, four-night trek across the Abel Tasman trail into the wilderness.
I have no idea what I’m doing.
I’m starting to feel very anxious as the reality of this trek sets in. I’ve never even been camping, let alone gone on a multi-day hike—by myself no less. Will I bring enough supplies? What supplies do I even need? What do I eat? How do I eat? Are there animals I need to worry about? Is it going to be cold? Hot? Both?
I decided to leave it to the experts and drove into town to visit a tramping store. After about an hour of harassing the workers there and carefully considering dehydrated spaghetti bolognese or dehydrated chicken carbonara, I finally left with all of the essentials.
My pack is pretty small, so space is valuable. Here’s what I will be bringing:
- So many bags of dehydrated food and smoothies
- Jerky
- Trail mix/nut bars
- 2 pairs of socks
- 5 pairs of undewear
- Thick leggings
- 1 pair shorts
- 1 pair waterproof pants
- Zip-up Hoodie
- Scarf
- Thick, long sleeved top
- Hiking boots and sandals
- Collapsable spork
- Poncho
- Bug spray
- Sunscreen
- Sleeping bag
- Inflatable pillow
- Camelbak
- First aid kit
- Flashlight
- Cell phone and battery pack
- Journal
- Leaves of Grass by Walt Whitman
- Nintendo Switch (you know, the essentials)
Anyone who knows anything about camping is probably curious why I don’t have a stove here. I learned that you don’t need hot water to reheat a dehydrated meal, and a stove and gas would take up a fair amount of space. Walt Whitman takes priority over hot food.
My primary concern right now is with my pack itself. It has been great so far from getting place to place, but I’m not sure how well it will fair stuffed with forty pounds of stuff, being carried all day. It’s pretty small and doesn’t have much padding. I’m hoping I won’t hate myself in a few days for being cheap.
I was hoping to head to my Airbnb, relax, pack, and get everything ready, but the woman I was renting a room from wasn’t answering her phone. After two hours of trying to get in contact with her, and having a meltdown on the phone with Airbnb, I finally got my reservation canceled and booked another stay close by.
I had issues getting into this place as well, as the woman who owned it wasn’t home, but she told me I could climb through the window if I really needed to get in. I didn’t want to do this because I don’t want to get arrested, and she said her husband was home, but he wasn’t answering the door. I did not want to scare the shit out of him).
Around nine at night, I finally got in, four hours after starting this whole fiasco. So much for my relaxing night. I feel less prepared than ever for this hike tomorrow, and I just hope I haven’t forgotten anything vital.
But, I’m as prepared as I’m going to be. Time to put my life on my back and hope for the best.
I’m not feeling optimistic.
I’m unprepared. 
My life for the next 5 days.
Scary and exciting!