HDCC on the track

[bernieq]

I know I have a fixation on HDCC mats (high density, closed-cell – usually blue or green) – I use one in preference to the more common ‘self-inflating’ sleeping mats because I find it more comfortable (true) and a great deal lighter at 260g. It’s 35+ years old and still in one piece (and never a puncture :)

However, my fixation is not on the mats but on bits of them – the bits I find along almost any track that involves pushing through the occasional bit of scrub.

Having just completed a great Sth Tassie tramp (from Lune River along the Southern Range to Precipitous Bluff, down the New River Lagoon to the South Coast Track and back to Cockle Creek), I was disappointed to discover that even in the very very dense Richea scoparia scrub on the Southern Range, walkers still choose to attach their mat to the outside of their pack. The result can be seen in the photo.

Collected from the Tassie Southern Range

HDCC.jpg (254.57 KiB) Viewed 6452 times

These turkeys must get into camp and discover there’s only half their mat remaining (perhaps there is some justice in that).

Come on! HDCC mats are great but PLEASE, carry it inside your pack or inside a sturdy bag.

Is it reasonable, when you meet such a walker on the trail, to (politely) point out the error of their ways?

[bernieq]

Just 6 weeks ago, I walked an old track in the Nth Grampians – overgrown and little evidence that it’s used much (other than by echidnas).

I walked it again this weekend and was very surprised to fine bits of HDCC foam littering the length of the track.

HDCC from Nth Grampians.JPG (411.97 KiB) Viewed 6129 times

There may have been a few pieces I missed first time but the colours suggest 3 or 4 mats.
I don’t understand the thought processes of a bushwalker who drags a sleeping mat through close bush. Do they enjoy being in the environment, birds/flowers/scenery - but with no thought for the rubbish they leave behind?

Have a thought for the environment – please carry them inside your pack or in a bag!

Which track? It runs north-south from near the communications tower near Hollow Mountain carpark to meet the main track heading south from Mt Stapylton.

[juxtaposer]

Imagine how much of it must be inside possums bellies.

[ollster]

I've got a great idea - don't strap junk to the outside of your packs! Why the HELL to people persist in doing this?!

Is it that hard to shell out a few more bucks for a bigger pack?

[Ent]

I've got a great idea - don't strap junk to the outside of your packs! Why the HELL to people persist in doing this?!

Is it that hard to shell out a few more bucks for a bigger pack?

+1

[andrewa]

Bernieq - you remind me of the NZ weka - collecting all sorts of nice bright, and hopefully insulating stuff for the ultimate nest. Imagine a nest made from those off cuts??!

Seriously though, I only ever carry skis, snow shoes, fishing rod, fishing net, fish, or an ice axe on the outside of my pack.

A

[ILUVSWTAS]

Seriously though, I only ever carry , fish, on the outside of my pack.

A

Hahaha for real?? That'd be a sight to behold

[Taz73]

I strap mine on the outside of the pack but inside a $10 dry sack from Ebay.

It not only protects the mat and the environment but also keeps your sleeping mat dry.

This solution is very simple and cheap.