Balega socks review
![Balega is a Zulu word that means "move with speed." I'm happy to move with comfort, blister-free and in a spectacular array of colors.](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/IMG_2096-1-1024x1024.jpg)
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TA audio narrative: hitting a wall
![I didn't always find soulful campsites on the Te Araroa.](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/img_9237.jpg)
We suffer thru-hiking for the transcendent, and appreciate it more because of our suffering.
a chorus of birds from both sides (of the world) now
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/img_6395-1.jpg)
The chorus of birds on both the Te Araroa and the Pacific Crest Trail were glorious. Hear them for yourself!
sauntering 5,000 miles
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/IMG_8561-1024x768.jpg)
Life is too short to waste on speed.
GUEST POST: Meet supergirl harpist-hiker Emily Granger
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/img_6367.jpg)
Music is the great uniter. An incredible force. Something that people who differ on everything and anything else can have in common. Sarah Dessen I met Emily Granger a bit by accident while nosing around instagram. The minute I saw this accomplished musician who doubles as a hiking fiend, I messaged her that she’s my […]
To: Mark Weatherall, Chief Executive of the Te Araroa Association
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/img_8090.jpg)
Kia ora, Mark. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with me by phone on that cold, blustery and rainy day last March as I holed up in Otautau after an upsetting encounter with an aggressive male tramper. Your calming voice and sensible advice helped me complete the trail in Bluff full […]
audio narrative: the joy of missing out
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/img_1711-1.jpg)
Instead of desperately missing the things you can’t do, it’s better to enjoy what’s right in front of you.
forest fungus fotos
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/img_3773-1-1024x1024.jpg)
Fungus was certainly among us when Richard and I walked the Kepler Track in New Zealand’s South Island.
TA audio narrative: in the South Island
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/img_0200.jpg)
When talking about the islands of New Zealand, you say “in” the island, not “on” because they’re huge.
TA homeward bound
![](https://blissfulhiker.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/img_3632-2-1.jpg)
Of course, there had to be just one more tramp before leaving.