A wrap of the biggest stories and best writing about the outdoors from New Zealand and around the world.
When US hiker Philip Powers started a fire around a dead tree, in Sycamore Canyon Wilderness, Arizona, he was hoping it would save his life. His plan was to create a signal to alert authorities that he desperately needed help. It was a last resort.
It was also a reckless one, as the fire spread in the searing heat and became a 230-acre blaze that took authorities a week to get under control.
When he was rescued, Powers was diagnosed with heat exhaustion, acute renal failure and dehydration.
But a judge decided that he was responsible for his desperate situation because he was woefully ill-prepared for the tough walk in temperatures close to 40C.
For starters, he didn’t bring enough water. He set off without a map, compass or GPS – relying instead on a phone app that didn’t work because there was no signal. And he was also on the wrong track, attempting a far more difficult trail than the one he thought he was on, some 80km away. Read the full story at Backpacker.
New search fails to find missing tramper
After four days of searching, the mission to find the body of tramper Christian Prehn was called off.
Christian went missing near Travers Saddle in Nelson Lakes National Park back in 2014. Back then his pack was found, but there was no sign of the 19-year-old, who is thought to have attempted to climb Mt Travers.
His family funded another search the following year, but to no avail. This latest search offered new hope that his body might be returned home. But sadly, unless drone footage reveals something new, it wasn’t to be. Read more at Stuff.
Wilderness investigated Christian’s disappearance back in 2017. Read this article here.
24-hour walk to mark a year of war
Walkers are encouraged to don yellow and blue and join Hanni Hopsu on a lap of Bluff Hill’s loop track in Southland.
Hanni is walking the track over and over for 24 hours to mark one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, and raise money for Kiwi K.A.R.E Ukraine – a charity that offers aid and refugee evacuation support.
“As a Finn, the war in Ukraine touches me a lot as my great grandparents went through what Ukraine is going through now,” Hanni told Otago Daily Times.
“Independence in Finland is not taken for granted yet the war in Ukraine has made us appreciate it even more and truly brought it home how valuable independence, freedom and democracy really are.”
You can support Hanni’s walk by donating on her Give a Little page, or by joining her for one of the laps (the track takes around 2½ hours to complete). Read more here.
Life-saving log
How do you lower the risk of falling into a crevasse if you’re climbing solo? Carry a long log with you, of course!
Experienced alpinist Jost Kobusch is using that very technique as he attempts to climb Denali – North America’s highest summit – solo. The log slides alongside Jost as he walks, the hope being it’s long enough to prevent a fatal plunge, should he unwittingly step into a crevasse.
If he were to complete his ascent, he’d be only the fifth person to do so in winter – and one of the previous four died on the way down. Read more at Gripped.
