Letter of the month

Polar travel and winter tramping

Now, I was either in a relaxed, receptive frame of mind, or ‘What polar travel can teach us about winter tramping’ (June 2023) was a fantastic article. I suspect the latter.

The article’s structure – sectioned into staying warm, food and nutrition, sleeping and safety – is refreshingly simple. But within that format, two things struck me.

One was the repetition of the advice from three explorers. We aren’t talking about esoteric opinions here, and the consistent advice is not rocket science. This is simple life-saving stuff.

Secondly, all the advice is based around ‘what, when and why’. For instance, eating on the go – high energy snacks, starting immediately after breakfast, more calories needed in the cold and the brutal consequences of fatigue and hypothermia in cold weather.

Thank you for the clearest, briefest and most effective article on this subject I have ever read.

– Keith Brockway

Keith receives a Drinktanks Session Growler worth $79.99 from www.gearshop.co.nz. Readers, send your letter to the editor for a chance to win.

Patagonia is bigger than one walk

Regarding the article ‘What I learned tramping in Patagonia’ (June 2023), I agree that the W Trek can get very busy, but do not agree on judging Patagonia by only this walk and two other places on the Argentinian side.

UNESCO sets Torres del Paine as the eighth Natural Wonder of the World so it’s expected to be very busy. And there are, naturally, restrictions applied to tourists regarding times and capacity. However, Patagonia is much more than Torres del Paine. There are 1.061 million square kilometres to explore and so many other places apart from Torres del Paine where you find yourself alone tramping in the middle of nowhere surrounded only by nature. Patagonia is quiet, wild, gigantic, remote and isolated. The article cannot judge Patagonia by only visiting the W Trek, Laguna los Tres and Perito Moreno.

The article would more appropriately have been titled ‘What I learned tramping in the eighth natural wonder of the world’. It is the same as tramping the Milford Track in summer and calling this ‘Tramping in New Zealand’.

– Pia Garces

Tracking Walk1200km progress digitally

Thanks for the inspiration to attempt to walk 1200km in one year. I am now doing it. Always a late adopter I have resisted, as I knew I would be useless at recording my distances manually. I have since discovered the Strava app can set goals weekly, monthly and annually. I have also set up a challenge for my friends to walk 1200km and invited them to participate. Your readers might be interested to know this is a good option if more digitally minded.

– David Short

Great reading and walking

I have been a subscriber for many years. Wilderness is a great read and getting better every year.

About six months ago, my wife Jane was cleaning the coffee table. She glanced at a recent issue and got interested in Walk1200km. She signed up the very next day and has since become obsessed. She is well ahead of the pace and just loves it. We were in Kaikōura on Anzac Day – the walk still had to be done!

– Chris Reid

Patagonia is tramping’s last frontier

In ‘What I learned tramping in Patagonia’, the author compares two of the most remote tramping regions on Earth: Patagonia and New Zealand. I have worked and lived in Chilean Patagonia for two years and I have been a Queenstown local for many more, so I was keen to read this story.

I was disappointed to see that the author travelled to Chile and Argentina just to visit the three most popular Instagram spots of Patagonia during peak season and then judge their performance and infrastructure from a very un-Kiwi egotistic pedestal.

Patagonia is four times larger than New Zealand. It boasts a population density that is 10 times smaller.    Patagonia is as remote as it gets, wild and sometimes very hostile. Patagonian people, flora and fauna are rugged, always bending but never breaking. Patagonian skies appear vast, its winds feel formidable, its mountains loom larger, and its trees are resilient. The country is temperamental and challenging, it can kill you if you are unprepared or overconfident. It can feel like the last frontier for tramping, and I can’t think of a better place to find solitude.

For your next Patagonian tramping adventure I’d suggest going during the shoulder season and looking at Sierra Baguales in Torres del Paine, the Dientes de Navarino in Tierra del Fuego or the Vuelta al Huemul in El Chaltén. Don’t forget that in Patagonia, distances are measured in time and the wind embraces people tightly.

The author ends his article with a petty rant about queuing to see one of the biggest glaciers on Earth accessible by self-driving a well-paved road and condescendingly assuming that Argentina, currently one of the 30 major economies in the world, is a third-world country.

– Enrique de Azcoitia

Beautiful views (featured image)

I took this photo on a beautiful sunny morning at Lake Ida. I’m 67 years old, retired and loving the Walk1200km challenge, which has given me a further boost to maintain an already healthy outdoor lifestyle. I’m on track with my year-to-date tally at 597km.

– Chris Harbour