Letter of the month: Please pay your hut fees

Recently we drove to and stayed at Sedgemere Sleepout, a standard hut in Molesworth Recreation Reserve. Although we had our tent and gear the night was very cold and so we settled in the hut for the evening.

It was an unexpected stay and we had not bought a hut ticket. At the toll gate, we were advised against leaving money in the honesty box because of robberies.

That night two DOC rangers arrived and slept in the ranger’s quarters. Next morning, we chatted to Paul and John, who were doing hut inspections. I can’t remember how many huts Paul said there were, but the blue hut icons covered a fair portion of the map. The safety checklist was long and included, Paul said, “Sticking my head down the toilet to see how full it is”, assessing breakages, including deliberate damage, and arranging and carrying out repairs.

It’s one thing to know that hut fees cover maintenance but another to be confronted with the actual extent and attention to detail that is required. The fee for our stay was $5 each (that we have since paid). However, the cost of our stay was likely much more than this. I am a lover of huts as I’m sure all Wilderness readers are and this is probably preaching to the choir, but please pay your fees.

– Jill Burton

– Jill receives a Macpac Kahuna 18l pack worth $110 from www.macpac.co.nz. Readers, send your letter to editor@lifestylepublishing.co.nz for a chance to win.

Access denied

I love the way Wilderness gives our family great ideas for day hikes in this beautiful country. We’ve had some fantastic experiences. But one hike from the June 2022 issue has been out of reach due to access issues. It’s the Mid Dome trip in Southland, which requires trampers to cross a farm en route to conservation land around the peak.

When we approached the farm manager in June, he demanded to know how we had obtained his number. (We had tracked him down through the corporation he works for.) He denied us access at that time and suggested we do the hike in summer. In January the property manager denied us access again, after another respectful request. Have other readers encountered similar difficulties?

– Jason Eberhart-Phillips

– Access over private land can change with new ownership or management. Seasonal operations may also be a factor when a farmer denies access. Wilderness publishes information that is correct at the time.

Another old tent made to last

I found correspondent Brian Boyer’s letter about the durability of his Hallmark tent (Pigeon Post, January 2023) interesting. My experience matches his.

My tent was purchased in Christchurch around 1968. The brand was Rayfor and it was a simple pup tent without a floor.

It finally died an honourable death on Thunderbolt in Kaimanawa Forest Park in October 2017 – nearly 50 years old.

I had arrived at Thunderbolt (lee side) in strong wind gusts (every 30 seconds) and passing sleet showers. Before retiring, I checked the guy ropes. As I checked, I noticed the front pole wobble and then the nylon split 30cm back from the pole and a metre down each side wall.

I kept the tent largely in one piece with a leather thong tied to the ripped nylon and the pole. Okay, albeit with a view of the stars as the storm abated.

I am now onto the second, and probably last, tent of a long tramping life. My new tent has a floor, fly and insect screens.

I have found New Zealand-made gear to be of exceptional quality.

– Mike Colley

Non-existent track section

I don’t mind which term is popular – hiking or tramping (‘The World Outdoors’, January 24) –  as I enjoy doing both activities. It’s when you turn to the maps on DOC’s website that the meanings of walking, tramping, hiking, and tracks, trails and ‘track sections’ are important because they inform users about the quality of the path and how serious the undertaking is.

But what’s caught me out is ‘Track Sections’. They are boldly marked and coloured in purple on DOC maps, which suggests to me that they are accessible and well-maintained. However, when I drove to Mātaitai Forest in Auckland to enjoy a day walk, I discovered from the land owner at the start of the ‘track sections’ that they had been closed for years. What a waste of a day. An email to DOC elicited no response.

– Duncan Peters

Picking a good boot

I am amazed at the range and styles of boots, of manufacturers, the multitude of colours, soles, lacing arrangements and materials across brands.

A friend has expensive German-made boots: synthetic material, mid-height. In less than a year, the sole is peeling and the fabric has failed where the foot bends.

I’ve seen boots lined up outside huts and seven out of ten have the inner heel torn and worn through. Are these failures part of boot manufacturers’ planned product obsolescence?

Currently, I tramp in a pair of Grisport boots. Very comfortable, wide fitting, Vibram sole and sub-$300. They’re not perfect, but for the price I can tolerate a few foibles. They are more comfortable than a pair of $600 boots I once owned and less comfortable than a pair of $140 boots I used for many years.

– Jamie Gray

Heuristics and mental health

As a farmer, tramper and one who has lost friends, I wish to add mental health to the current heuristics series (Wild Skills, December 2022 – April 2023), I have attended seminars from Sir John Kirwan where he identifies similarities between the physical and mental conditions when ‘identifying aspects that one can or cannot control’.

None of us can control the weather or the flow of a stream.

Similarly, life-stream currents can be too swift to negotiate alone. That weight upon one’s shoulders, an unyielding burden. Blisters hindering a free pace.

We can be focusing on the goal while mist obscures the cliff in front of us.

There will be a time when we need to STOP! and reassess the situation. Take the bridge from despair to delight and seek professional help when lost. The Walk1200km challenge is designed to traverse all four seasons. LIFE traverses four seasons, hence four letters.

– Sharon Boulton