Letter of the month: Gear rewards for Walk1200km milestones

My partner Roni introduced me to the Walk1200km challenge last year. We have since walked the Tongariro Northern Circuit (October 2022) and recently

the Milford Track together (January 2023). We are doing it for pride – rainbow/queer visibility and mastery of physical/mental challenges on the track.

As a reward, we give ourselves hiking gear each month and at the end of completing the challenge. I am in my second year of Walk1200km and recently gifted myself an Aarn pack.

Walk1200km is such a great idea – thank you for getting us all out there more.

– Luca Fox

– Luca can add a down-filled Marmot Highlander Hoody worth $449 from www.marmotnz.co.nz to her gear cupboard. Readers, send your letter to editor@lifestylepublishing.co.nz for a chance to win.

It’s easy to judge

On a recent Tararua Ranges tramp, I met Ivan Elliott and his wife Sinéad at Tōtara Flats Hut. We chatted over dinner and then breakfast the following morning. Ivan knew the ranges well. Ivan and Sinead were well-equipped and having a good time.

I’ve since learned that Ivan died the day after we met, after setting off his PLB. The headline and opening paragraph of a news report suggested he might have made a fatal error (‘Tramper died in “dangerous” range after carrying on journey without wife’).

Only later in the article does it cite local police opinion that it was more likely a medical event than a misadventure.

My heart goes out to Sinéad, and to Ivan for what were probably some desperate final moments. It’s so easy to judge, isn’t it? I’ve done it myself – dissected the story of a tramping death and thought about what I’d do in that situation, imagining, of course, that I’d never make that same mistake.

The thing is, I had a bit of a close call myself on that trip, and on an ‘easy’ track. Some factors were outside my control but I did contribute an error of judgement. All I had to do to retrieve things was keep a calm head and talk myself through some steps. Lucky me. But I might not have been. Perhaps that’s why I can’t stop thinking about Ivan and Sinéad.

– Karen Vaughan

Our trips, your walk

At airports I always buy either a book or magazine, depending on how long the flight is. On a recent trip to Wellington, I discovered Wilderness.

What a great magazine. I loved it so much that I ordered a subscription when I got home.

Heading away again this January, I packed both my December and January issues for the flight. I like to think I know New Zealand pretty well, but I was surprised to come across the article ‘Mars on Earth’ (January 2023) about the Clay Cliffs near Omarama. After a quick Google search I discovered that we would be driving right past them on our trip, so the stop was added to our itinerary. I can confirm they are definitely worth visiting.

Thanks Wilderness for the inspiration.

– Irene Adderley

– Readers, if you’ve been inspired to do a walk after reading about it in the magazine, send in your pix!

Pulling, cutting wilding pines

I usually go to places without tracks or huts, but in recent times I’ve been staying in huts.

The favourite topic of conversation in South Marlborough is wilding pines. I always ask, ‘how many have you pulled’? Every time, a blank facial expression from the tramper. In the Branch Valley, I would have pulled 200 seedlings from along the track.Recently, in Lake Alexander, I cut down all nine pines I encountered with a pruning saw.

If we all pulled a few as we go, and cut others, we will make a difference. My pruning saw is 175g, It’s one of my essential items. 

– Simon Wyatt

Film for thought

I enjoyed the article ‘In 35mm we trust’  (February 2023) which discussed the benefits of tramping with a film camera.

It provided food for thought and brought many evocative images of my own past trips to mind. I’m seriously considering digging out the old film camera for my next tramp.

– Ben Wilkins

Packed pack weight

When Wilderness arrives in the post, I turn straight to the ‘What’s in my pack’ page as I am always looking for new ways of doing things.

What could help readers with this popular item would be for the pack owner featured to give the base weight of their paed pack. This would help all of us to work towards having as light a pack as possible.

While lightest is not always best, and people go into the hills for different purposes, I feel the lightest pack for the journey gives the safest and happiest trip.

– Bryan Dudley

Milford memories

The story ‘The Dunedin rebels who saved the Milford Track’ (‘Five from the Archive’ email, January 14), reminded me of an amazing family trip in 1963 on the Milford.

I was studying at Otago University when our family walked the track. We went by boat to Glade House for the first night. Then it was up the Clinton River and through the beech forest to Six Mile Hut for a cuppa before proceeding up the Clinton Canyon to Pompolona Hut for the night. The bush was wet and the wekas’ noisy!

Day two we tramped past Lake Mintaro and up through the ribbonwood forest to MacKinnon Pass. The wind was cold, the views amazing. Then down to the Arthur Valley. The track was stony and rough.       Dad’s boots fell apart and had to be held together with rope. The track led under the crags of  Mt Elliott and the Jervois Glacier. Then into the bush, and a side trek to Sutherland Falls.

Day three was an easy walk from Quintin Hut down the valley past Giant Gate Falls to Arthur Hut. A launch met us at Sandfly Point for the trip to Milford. Each walker was given a certificate by THC to commemorate the walk.

– Karen Palmer