Day 2 [30km] - Badlands
The Badlands, starting just east of Mercy Bay, are a region where fast flowing rivers have cut deep gorges into the slate hills.
Steep cliffs and snow-covered slopes surround the rivers. I hiked along the rivers, but was frequently cut off by cliffs on one side and deep water channels on the other. I crossed these rivers 20-25 times.
Hiking was fast on the plateaus at the tops of the gorges, where the ground was hard and dry, but I then needed to navigate down the steep slopes of loose rock, snow and mud.
