Tasgirl wrote:Hi, Im new to the forum and relatively new to hiking.
Tasgirl wrote:On another occasion, I did the Overland track. Hub and I tend to come prepared and have relatively heavy packs. A little over 20kg. I know- I know! Anyway, this young guy and his partner came in late, sporting 10kg. The guy noticed my pack and then started preaching to me how I need to maticulasly weigh every ounce I carry and only take what I need. All fine advice perhaps. However, by the time he and his partner reached Pelion, they literally ran out of supplies. Im talking toilet paper, gas stoves, and some food. They still had 7 more days left of their hike and then started asking other hikers for supplies. He didnt even have a change of clothes and it was due to rain and snow after departing pelion!
Joel wrote:What's the big deal? She had a bag with water and a phone and was going on a 14km day walk. I can't see any cause for concern.
Tasgirl wrote:Unfortunately, I dont quite know how to quote your text, like you did to me.
Tasgirl wrote: I have admiration for people who can carry 17kgs in winter.
Lizzy wrote:Hi Tasgirl,
It’s sounds as if maybe you are looking at a lower limit of your sleeping bag- not a women’s comfort rating. Some brands advertise the bag at the lower limit to make it sound good- but it is actually a temp that a man can survive in for 6 hours if I recall correctly.
Good thing to check for when buying a bag!
Regards
Lizzy
ricrunner wrote:I As an ex-soldier I was trained to expect the worst and always be prepared. This has left me in good stead ever since my career ended.
Christchurch doctor's drowning highlights 'inherent' river crossing risks
A Christchurch doctor who drowned while training for the Coast to Coast was inexperienced at river crossings and panicked before being swept downstream.
Tasgirl wrote:Any recommendations? I'm a side sleeper too. I don't like the mummy style bag either. I find it suffocating in terms of movement. Or lack thereof
wayno wrote:ricrunner wrote:I As an ex-soldier I was trained to expect the worst and always be prepared. This has left me in good stead ever since my career ended.Christchurch doctor's drowning highlights 'inherent' river crossing risks
A Christchurch doctor who drowned while training for the Coast to Coast was inexperienced at river crossings and panicked before being swept downstream.
https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/103087 ... sing-risks
yes and that is what i see missing from a lot of young walkers now.... they grow up just doing what their peers do, wing it. just do it, minimal preparation and planning.
usually they go out and scrape through, but i know of so many near misses where things could have gone a lot worse.. It's hard to know how many incidents there are in the bush, because most will never be reported
today theres lots of blogs and videos online, people see someone doing a trip , often in good weather and they don't have any idea about the range of weather conditions for that place and they just head off expecting the same conditions themselves and they don't prepare for any other scenario... they don't have extra food if they are held up. a big problem in NZ is the availability of huts and people not taking any emergency shelter because they are planning to be in a hut every night....
NZ trampers are far more cautious than mos of the overseas people who come here, usually because we know how our outdoors can turn around and bite hard.... we've all had adverse experiences... people come from overseas and expect the easier conditions they are used often to.
we'll get a year of good weather and people are flooding the internet about how great the weather is here, then the next season everything will turn to custard and it will be a completely different place.
the weather forecasting isnt great here, because it comes from large bodies of water where very little weather information can be accurately gathered compared to places where there are large land masses...
NZers don't fully trust the forecast. I walk to work, i take a raincoat every day in my bag regardless of the forecast. if i trusted the forecast i end up getting wet at some stage
we had wind up to 200km/h and tornadoes the other day, it wasnt forecast...
ultralighting hasnt taken off here, the gear is too flimsy for our highly changeable weather,, i read about peoples shelters breaking or shredding in the wind. or they have to look hard to find a sheltered enough place where they can pitch it, or they change their plans and head to a hut,
ultralighters are more likely to sit out a storm in town than normal NZ trampers.
buy a shelter that was designed in a place where the weather conditions are the same as you are going to use it..
today it seems theres more casualisation of recreation, people dip into more activiies because they have been setup to make it easier for them to do so, theres lost of recreational activities people can do as a one off, decades ago it wasnt like that... you tended to commit more to particular activities in organised groups where there was a good skill level and you learnt what you needed to... but now people want to be more independent before they have the necessary skill level to function safely all the time.
there trend for river crossing seems to have become, one person cross and when its difficult someone else makes sure they capture the other people in difficulty with their camera.... there are exponentially more recent photos and videos i see on the web of people crossing streams and rivers on their own than i can find anymore with people crossing as a group. NZ has kept its drowning rate relatively low by being more systematic about crossing rivers in a group. it was drilled into us by experienced people.... but foreigners are far less likely to do so, they pride themselves on their independence... often NZers are having to bale out foreigners in the bush because they get out of their depth.
their decision making skills and risk management skills can be poor to appalling, every risky thing they do is exciting and fun, until it goes pear shaped...
i see people bragging online about pushing their limits in storms and laughing it off. i know people who used to do that and are now dead or had serious accidents. rescue helicopter services are flat out rescueing people from incidents that often should never have happened in the first place if the people knew what they were doing.... without the helicopters there would be a lot more deaths which is what used to happen, but the young people don't realise that... but the helicopters cant always get to people in time. and in NZ they don't have the funding anymore and they are starting to look at cutting at least three rescue helicopters around the country that all cover mountainous areas.... and specialise in rescuing people from the mountains...and they are often flat out rescuing people.
Tasgirl wrote:Any recommendations? Im a side sleeper too. I dont like the mummy style bag either. I find it sufforcating in terms of movement. Or lack thereof
Strider wrote:Tasgirl wrote:Any recommendations? Im a side sleeper too. I dont like the mummy style bag either. I find it sufforcating in terms of movement. Or lack thereof
Have you considered a quilt? There are two very good quilt makers on these forums (undercling_mike and simonm).
Tasgirl wrote:My advice is. Leave them unless you have some legal obligation to interfere. Like someone else said, they need to learn from their own mistakes.
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