US hiker/blogger walking in ANZ

[paradza]

Thought some may be interested in this.

A young American women, Erin 'Wired' is doing a few of the big walks in Australia and NZ; Larapinta (currently) then in WA Bibbulmun and Cape to Cape and Te Araroa.

She's pretty accomplished Thru hiker having done the US 'triple crown'; AT, PCT, CDT. plus few others. Nice if you can ...

Anyway, interesting perspective from a US point of view, and good pics if you're stuck in front of a screen rather than hitting the trail.

http://walkingwithwired.com/lt-2016

[url=http://walkingwithwired.com/lt-2016[/url]

Cheers
Clive

[wayno]

6kg gear weight. A few TA walkers have had their light weight shelters trashed by nz wind. Even on a beach. Don't see any spare clothing. One down jacket for insulation. Chances of getting cold and drenched in n.z on the TA.. guaranteed. Chance of a storm on the TA. guaranteed

[Zapruda]

6kg gear weight. A few TA walkers have had their light weight shelters trashed by nz wind. Even on a beach. Don't see any spare clothing. One down jacket for insulation. Chances of getting cold and drenched in n.z on the TA.. guaranteed. Chance of a storm on the TA. guaranteed

Valid points Wayno, but I would expect someone with her experience has dealt with more bad weather than most of us combined.

I imagine her gear list has been refined numerous times since her first Thru hike in 2011. It should be more than up to the task.

Good on her, she's living the dream.

[wayno]

nz is a very windy country, in the states the ultralighters usually wait out storms in nearby towns their long trails have a lot of exit points where they can head down. theres are a lot of towns reasonably close to their trails. nz varies more. some parts of the track are in the middle of nowhwere, and often there isnt much shelter

[Zapruda]

What about your Huts? And doesn't the TA bypass most of the higher elevation stuff on the South Island? unlike the CDT and PCT.

I agree that New Zealand is a very windy country, No doubt about it.

There are some sections of the CDT and PCT where there are at least 7 days in between resupplies/towns. I don't think anyone is just strolling down to town on the CDT during a storm.

[wayno]

nothing to do with elevation, its exposure, the TA doesnt have huts all the way through

[JohnStrider]

As some who has done 10 days thru-hiking in New Zealand, I can vouch for what Wayno is saying. We had 8 days of sun and two days of rain. One of those days where we had lots of sun was 28 degrees but it felt more like 35 degrees.

[whitefang]

I think Wired deserves more credit here than she's getting. With so many miles under her belt I'm sure she knows what she is getting herself into and what her gear is and isn't capable of. I know she's been planning on the TA for a long time now and she has consulted with others who have been there and done that before.

[wayno]

as a NZer I say her gear list is inadequate for the TA...

[Neo]

Cool, thanks for the link.

[photohiker]

Her current gear list is more than adequate for the Larapinta and Bibbulmun tracks.

On her gear list page, she says: "As with many hikers, my gear is constantly evolving." If you look at the previous hikes, the base pack weights change for each hike.

Before we start canning her and her gear list, lets wait to hear how the list changes for her NZ hike. It's quite a way off yet.

[wayno]

giving an opinion isnt caning. the TA is not a good place for ultralight gear lists the ovewhelming majority of nz trampers i know agree. theres a guy doing the ta at the moment, he got ultralight gear, he keeps having to stop and buy more gear to cope with the conditions, and its not just because its winter.
experience is relative, plenty of extremely experienced trampers have serious injuries or die tramping in NZ... ultralight walkers tread a finer line on safety.. for every news story about something that goes wrong in the NZ outdoors there are a lot more near misses that dont make the news, me and my friends have a lot of near miss stories ourselves. most NZ trampers do as well...
if you're taking ultralight gear you need very good judgment about when your gear isnt good enough for the conditions and you need to act according to those conditions and wait out bad conditions. there are alot of people needing rescue along the TA and their equipment is often part of the reason they need rescueing , quite a few people have had their lives saved by search and rescue. it can snow at any time of the year in the south island, you name the month it can get snow... storms come year round.
huts are often over crowded in summer and you need your own shelter.
the te araroa is an ongoing work in progress, the track barely exists in places and bad weather can wipe out sections of the track, its a collection of tracks in varying conditions that have been cobbled together and named a trail. theres limited money to maintain it.

[photohiker]

Sure wayno.

Her gear list is current for the Larapinta.

When there is no change to the list when she arrives in NZ, go for it.

[wayno]

her gearlists only vary by half a kilo from trip to trip on her last rounds of the major US long trails.... and the larapinta trip is a similar weight... all around the 5 and a half to 6 kilo mark...
i dont see her increasing her gear weight much for NZ. her trend has been to reduce gear weight over the years as she repeats the same trips. she has dropped from an original gear weight of 7 kilos. americans dont increase their gear weight when they come to the TA.. i've read through a lot of peoples gear lists.
she may know what shes doing but these lightweight gear lists have to be understood for what they are, they arent for novices who want to do long distance trails
andrew skurka writes about this in his blog, he deliberatley doesnt call himself an ultralight hiker even though most of his gear is ultralight gea but he isnt aiming to get under a specific weight to qualify as an ultralight hiker, he takes the gear he needs for the trip, he talks about stupid light, going too light..

http://walkingwithwired.com/gear

[Zapruda]

she may know what shes doing but these lightweight gear lists have to be understood for what they are, they arent for novices who want to do long distance trails

Wayno, what would you take on the TA to ensure you weren't caught out or ill equipped?

Here is an example of a successful ultralight TA - http://www.zpacks.com/adventures/ta_gear.shtml

[wayno]

a spare set of clothing for camp including a
thermal base layer
and an insulation layer,
thermal leggings,
extra insulation item or two for walking in, that's resistant to absorbing moisture, moisture, not down, even if its water resistant down.
i'd prefer a shelter with curved poles and roof in it to resist the wind better to cover me for a bigger variety of campsites, you might not plan to camp in exposed places, but circumstances may force you to and there are several high mountain sections to get through...

theres a chap on the TA at the moment, he only had the same down jacket that this lady has and he's always struggling to get it dry...

[Zapruda]

a spare set of clothing for camp including a
thermal base layer
and an insulation layer,
thermal leggings,
extra insulation item or two for walking in, that's resistant to absorbing moisture, moisture, not down, even if its water resistant down.
i'd prefer a shelter with curved poles and roof in it to resist the wind better to cover me for a bigger variety of campsites, you might not plan to camp in exposed places, but circumstances may force you to and there are several high mountain sections to get through...

Well put, cheers!

[Lizzy]

Thanks for the link - I am enjoying following her travels

[Wired]

Hi everyone, Wired here. I can assure all of you that I'm more paranoid about safety than most of you. I have had the full range of experience in challenging conditions with the gear I use and feel fully confident that it is appropriate for the TA. I do not deny that NZ has strong winds and weather, but it's about being aware of your surroundings and knowing when to be where. A key to all gear is knowing when and where to use it. Just like a mountain climber wouldn't attempt a summit in foul weather, I know where the line is and will be safe. I'm sure NZ will throw some good storms my way, but I have the gear to get through them if need be and also pay attention to avoid seriously dangerous situations. Those unfamiliar with my lightweight (not ultralight by any means) gear will judge it, but it is strong and durable and acceptable for what I'll be doing in NZ. I am definitely not the lightest hiker out there and have many friends who have done the TA with lighter gear than my own and been more than fine. My gear has been tried and tested in the harshest of conditions over 10,000mi of long distance hiking and I'm confident that there is nothing to worry about. I know this type of gear is less common over here and that some think that just because something is light, it is insufficient. That isn't necessarily true and I do see how people may make that mistake and judge things they aren't fully experienced in. To each their own and hike your own hike. Everyone uses the gear they are comfortable with and people can have their opinions, but know that I'll be just fine and the gear I have is more than sufficient for NZ.

[photohiker]

Good to hear from you, wired!

Hike your own hike. Good for you. Having read your previous hikes, I think you'll be fine.

Enjoyed your Larapinta blog, looking forward to reading your bibbulmun track walk.

[Watertank]

Hi wired, lovely to see you on this forum, I've also been enjoying reading your blogs for quite a while. It is quite funny seeing how some people on here worry about you, and you have already done some extraordinary hikes. I hope you are start
to feel more relaxed around our wildlife!

[wayno]

my issue is not necessarily with wired, its as much to do with how you use your brain and the no of people who are adopting lightweight gear and dont have the skill to cope with lightweight gear or make the wrong gear choices. thousands of people can read a blog and try and copy what someone is doing. I"ve seen that happen and go wrong a lot...

[jensnell]

Thanks for sharing - what an awesome blog. Loved reading over Wired's adventures!

[newhue]

I think you have to pack for worst case scenario. All good being light but when the unexpected weather arrives you want to be prepared. Well that is if you want to be comfortable, confident, and perhaps safe. In summer it can snow in the Blue Mountains or hail for days in the Arthurs. Rain and wind in NZ can often be liken to what us Aussies call a cyclone.
Some are lucky, some are not. But its easy to misplace the feeling of being cold, wet, the possibly hypothermic when ones sitting at home in relative comfort. I find just get fitter and carry the stuff. Its cheaper and not that big a deal.

[ribuck]

I think you have to pack for worst case scenario.

The worst case scenario is always so bad that it can't be packed for.

The best one can do is to pack for the majority of scenarios, and have the flexibility to avoid/escape the majority of the remaining scenarios, and philosophically accept that there is always some tiny remnant of risk.

[norts]

Hey Wired. Taz here( we met on the AT near Port Clinton).
Good to see you in the Southern Hemisphere. Enjoying your blog still.

Taz.

[Wired]

Hey Wired. Taz here( we met on the AT near Port Clinton).
Good to see you in the Southern Hemisphere. Enjoying your blog still.

Taz.

Hey Taz! Shoot me a personal email through the blog if you can. It would be great to be in contact as I hope to hit up Tassie in March after the TA!

[RonK]

"Bomb" low pressure systems, gale force winds, prolonged heavy rain, rivers and streams at the highest levels they have been for years, flooding, road closures, huge land slips, heavy snowfall - all have been reported in the last few days.

Once again the New Zealand weather has proven to predictably unpredictable. Very dangerous conditions to be caught out in the back country with scanty ultralight gear.

How would outsiders have any inkling of the extreme conditions they'll likely encounter? Local knowledge and advice has to be respected.

There are apparently many walkers on the Te Araroa - let's hope all remain safe.

[wayno]

a foot of snow on the mountains, never a dull moment... if you don't like the weather, wait a day, if you do like the weather, wait a day....
estimates are there could be around a thousand on the TA this year

[photohiker]

Wired has finished the TA without major issues (unless replacing worn out footwear is a major issue)

http://walkingwithwired.com/ta-201617

BASE PACK WEIGHT: 12lbs. 15.4oz.

120 days on the TA.

Well done wired! good on you!