Certified wilderness weirdo Hazel Phillips tramping in Tongariro National Park and weirding out her tramping buddy Nate by asking him what he’d opt to have for his final meal. Photo: Hazel Phillips
A longtime dearth of whackos in the bush leads solo tramper Hazel Phillips to conclude that, statistically, she must be the weirdo. People often panic when they see a woman tramping alone. Once, at Lakehead Hut in Nelson Lakes National Park, I arrived in the dark by myself and was received with a moderate level […]
About the author
Hazel Phillips
Hazel Phillips is an alpine adventurer and the author of Fire & Ice, Solo, and Great Hearts. A firm believer that ‘you can’t be what you can’t see’, she’s passionate about representation in the outdoors. She is a self-confessed Ruapehu addict, and she’s never met a topo map she didn’t get along with.
Each issue of Wilderness celebrates Aotearoa’s great outdoors — written and photographed with care, not algorithms.Subscribe and help keep our wild stories alive.
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Are solo trampers the weirdos in the wilderness?
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January 2023
About the author
Hazel Phillips
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Each issue of Wilderness celebrates Aotearoa’s great outdoors — written and photographed with care, not algorithms.Subscribe and help keep our wild stories alive.