Letter of the Month

Patagonia article a disappointment

The article ‘What I learned tramping in Patagonia’ included some fine photographs, but the accompanying words and the ‘us and them’ theme were disappointing.

Two of the finest skylines in the world deserve more than a few complaints and comparisons with New Zealand. In peak season there will be too many people, like a Khumbu trek or the Tongariro Alpine Crossing … or Venice! But the free Poincenot campsite below Lago de Los Tres – wow! – what a location. Perito Merino, a wooded headland where boardwalks face the sheer tongue of a calving glacier: unforgettable! And the climb to the moraine lake under the breathtaking Torres del Paine: so memorable! I am lucky to have been to these places.

The cynic might say that Argentina and Chile should follow New Zealand’s lead and close free access to the best trails, call them ‘Great Trails’, put up the prices (overseas visitors of course pay more) and require punters to book 15 months ahead on a website that crashes as soon as bookings open.

There is always work to be done in both New Zealand and Patagonia to maintain balance between popularity, access and affordability.

– Bob Lancaster

Bob receives a Cotopaxi Teca Fleece Pullover worth $200 from www.cotopaxi.co.nz.  Readers, send your letter to the editor for a chance to win.

Make your time count

I was inspired by #microchallenge26 (June 2023): create a quote about walking.

It reminded me of my personal motto – ‘Not even the richest person in the world can buy back time’ – which was inspired by walking the Milford Track several years ago.

My brother and I had talked about walking it one day; however, he passed away with cancer at only 28. He was in hospital with Justice Peter Mahan (who led the Erebus inquiry) and they talked about things they now didn’t have time to do.

When I eventually walked the Milford, a tramper on the guided-walk option approached my husband and me to ask if the Sutherland Falls was worth a visit – then decided that drinks at the lodge was a better option. Thus, I came up with my motto, and I live by it.

– Sharon Boulton

Mysterious disappearing trails

Could a reader solve the mystery of the disappearing trails, please? I learnt recently that the Old Ghost Road was inspired by the discovery of an 1866 surveyors map detailing a never-completed gold miners’ trail. I wonder how many more old trails are out there?

There’s a walking track on my local maunga, Maungatautari. It is complete with orange triangles and wooden signs. Recently, I helped a friend find this track, which he remembers from a school trip 40 years ago. It has great views.

Why has this trail disappeared from topo maps? How are tracks included  or excluded from LINZ maps? I’d love to know.

– Warwick Prewer

Karl Baker, a senior digital cartographer at LINZ responds: Maungatautari is a very beautiful and significant maunga. Our first map series, NZMS1 from 1969–1979, has no tracks across the mountain. The NZMS260, 1980, has a single track across the mountain. The original NZTopo50 map shows the same information. Topo50 BE34 v1-03, the latest version, has more tracks added and also the southern enclosure tracks – the tracks in the enclosure are probably at the lower end of what we would accept as being needed to show. We do not show any of the walks that are within the northern enclosure. I’d guess there is a local map showing the track that Warwick walked on.

Daily quiz a highlight

Thank you Wilderness and those who prepare the quizzes in the Wilderness Daily newsletter.

I don’t know all the places featured, but I give it a go and dream of how to get there.

I’ve been tramping for 40 years and like the magazine’s map quizzes the best. I have set up a family group chat for my two children and partner, who have learnt the basics of the outdoors in the past five years.

I share the question each day and they try to answer it. They usually work it out fine, but I take note of what they get wrong so we can work on those skills and make them more confident trampers.

– Simon White

A great community

Having embraced the Walk1200km challenge and the little thrill that the microchallenges bring, I’ve joined the Facebook group and really enjoy and appreciate the fact there’s a whole lot of us all over the world doing things and discovering places we normally wouldn’t if it weren’t for the microchallenges. Thanks for coming up with the Walk1200km idea as it sure has morphed from idea into a galvanised community of like-minded souls.

Thanks too for the great virtual community and real-life experiences Wilderness has brought into being.

– Susan Duncan