Bushwalk Australia

Hi all. I tend to think - and write - quite a bit about bushwalking. This time it's: what are the things you would warn a newbie walker about? For some reason I thought of nine things, from its weirdness to the weather; and from gear freaks to the discomforts involved. It's partly light-hearted, but I think we might all see a bit of ourselves in some of what I blogged about here.

http://www.naturescribe.com/2013/10/9-things-you-should-know-about.html

So what would your warnings include?

cheers

Peter

Risks of remoteness and injuries.

Watch out for Drop Bears, Yowies, Min Min light and the Kurdaitcha Man.

Never be without a Plan B, and C and D... And an exit strategy.

KISS
Keep it simple stupid
It really is a simple activity, keep it safe and simple.

Teaching yourself how to establish North from South day and night would be a good start (no batteries required ) a Compass is also very handy
corvus

Don't stress the small stuff. Relax and live in the now.

Take a large bite and chew like hell.

Never forget about plan "A"
Never tell others how good it is/was.
Don't forget to mention ants bees wasps leaches spiders ticks mosquitoes sun burn sunstroke exhaustion rats qualls possums snakes (even the venomous ones)
Marty

whynotwalk wrote:Hi all. I tend to think - and write - quite a bit about bushwalking. This time it's: what are the things you would warn a newbie walker about? For some reason I thought of nine things, from its weirdness to the weather; and from gear freaks to the discomforts involved. It's partly light-hearted, but I think we might all see a bit of ourselves in some of what I blogged about here.

http://www.naturescribe.com/2013/10/9-things-you-should-know-about.html

So what would your warnings include?

cheers

Peter

Peter Y. Not

I like your list a lot.

I was thinking along the same lines but was expecting another '9 things to remind you of how scary the bush is and why you shouldn't be there and why us bushwalking writers are superior but its OK to mine it cos it's scary' kinda The Australian Puff piece.

Glad to read otherwise.
My response was going to be something along the lines of:
- The pain gets more fun the more you do it,
- it's ALWAYS worth doing
but mainly - If it DOESN'T change your life you're doing it wrong.'

Would like to hear others along these lines - about time we dropped the obligatory scare message from every walking promo.
cheers
Steve

If people look at you funny after you've been walking it is only because you're radiating from over exposure to beauty

TerraMer wrote:If people look at you funny after you've been walking it is only because you're radiating from over exposure to beauty

Brilliant.

Caution: A weekend's exposure to the wilderness may cause sadness, distress and even anxiety when returning to suburbia. This is natural and shows that you are still human.
Have you considered moving?

If your family find you sitting in the backyard gazing wistfully into space after a walk, just smile and say 'you are remembering'.
(Maybe they'll come too next time).

Steve

Happy Pirate wrote:I like your list a lot. ... (snip) ... My response was going to be something along the lines of:
- The pain gets more fun the more you do it,
- it's ALWAYS worth doing (but mainly)
- If it DOESN'T change your life you're doing it wrong.'

Hi Steve/HP - glad you liked it, and thanks for your words too. I particularly love your last point. It's hard to put in words that aren't cliched (eg "no pain, no gain"), so I like how you've approached it,

cheers

Peter

whynotwalk wrote:

Happy Pirate wrote:I like your list a lot. ... (snip) ... My response was going to be something along the lines of:
- The pain gets more fun the more you do it,
- it's ALWAYS worth doing (but mainly)
- If it DOESN'T change your life you're doing it wrong.'

Hi Steve/HP - glad you liked it, and thanks for your words too. I particularly love your last point. It's hard to put in words that aren't cliched (eg "no pain, no gain"), so I like how you've approached it,

cheers

Peter

Thanks Peter

I am always disappointed by the number of (usually well-meaning) articles that exaggerate the isolation of people from wilderness (e.g. Try bushwalking - it's not as hard as you think) instead of reminding people that this is our home and always has been.
The really scary thing is actually the extent to which we have lost this idea; not the body-count of lost, missing and injured that gets paraded across the papers and even (understandably) within this site.
It seems to be the discussion we still refuse to engage in except in extreme deep-green circles.
We are born of the bIoody creation of nature and that birthing-cord has never been cut but still we determinedly exaggerate the disconnect as an insistent attempt to declare our own self-determined impunity.

keep on blogging
Steve

Always buy the best quality gear you can afford - just spent six days of rain and snow on the OLT in a waterproof jacket that wasn't......was very envious of the walkers I met whose jackets clearly WERE waterproof. Was only $80 on special so I guess I learned that lesson. The rainpants were $35 cheapies which ended up making me wetter from sweat than the actual rain would have.The only gear which didn't let me down were my boots, my trangia mini and my leki hiking staffs- all things that are good quality and priced accordingly.

MichaelJ wrote:Always buy the best quality gear you can afford - just spent six days of rain and snow on the OLT in a waterproof jacket that wasn't......was very envious of the walkers I met whose jackets clearly WERE waterproof. Was only $80 on special so I guess I learned that lesson. The rainpants were $35 cheapies which ended up making me wetter from sweat than the actual rain would have.The only gear which didn't let me down were my boots, my trangia mini and my leki hiking staffs- all things that are good quality and priced accordingly.

Agreed but...
I spent $30 on a discount pair of *namebrand* overpants and $40 on a Chinese factory backdoor sale on supposed *namebrand* Goretex fleece pants and they were the best $$$ ever spent. My earlier first big spend on a $400 Goretex off-the-shelf jacket is a regular PITA.
It's not always the money you spend but the research you do that determines gear satisfaction.
(And how often you lurk in online sales sites)
Steve

TerraMer wrote:If people look at you funny after you've been walking it is only because you're radiating from over exposure to beauty

Gee, and I always put it down to the Wicked Witch of the West look I get after a day or two out bush.