Trail Mix or Whatever You Call It

(Photo: Zazzle.com - you can buy the t-shirt there too!)

Frank and Sue over at Our Hiking Blog just posted their favourite recipe for scroggin (that's trail mix or GORP for those of northern hemisphere origins.) Their preference is for a sugary combination including licorice allsorts and gummy snakes.

Since hooking up with G, my trail mixing has been cut to a minimum. He's a big fan of keeping the elements separate. Nuts in one baggie, dried apricots in another, chocolate in another...

But I actually love a nice trail mix, and so I was inspired by Frank and Sue to list some of my favourite things to include. Let's give it a catchy name too.

Maple Kiwi Mix (contains neither maple nor kiwi)
Salted almonds
Peanut M&Ms (or peanut butter ones if I can get them)
Honey roasted peanuts
Yogurt dipped raisins
Dehydrated pineapple (not the crystallized stuff)
Dried apples
Dried peaches
Dried cranberries
Animal crackers

I aim for a good balance between sweet and salty, crunchy and chewy. A full water bottle is mandatory when the trail mix comes out!

Starlight, Star Bright

Something I've been following in the back pages of the news for a while is New Zealand's application to UNESCO to make the sky over Lake Tekapo on the South Island the world's first heritage site in the sky.

There is an observatory beside the lake (Mt John Observatory), taking advantage of the area's complete lack of urban areas and light pollution. By creating a UNESCO Heritage Site, the area will be controlled so that no major light-creating developments can move in and spoil the view.

I wish I could tell you how beautiful the starry sky above Lake Tekapo looks, but when we were there just over a year ago it was cloudy. But I just love seeing the sky full of stars when it's blacker than black and it seems like you can see the entire universe unfolding above you. If there's a way to protect that view in just one place in New Zealand, I'm all for it!

Apparently eight proposals for night sky reserves went to UNESCO from around the world. At this point they are looking at New Zealand's proposal as well as one in Spain. The final decision will be made next year.

Right now New Zealand has three UNESCO World Heritage Sites: Milford Sound, Tongariro, and the Sub-Antarctic Islands.

Haunted Hut?

As we all know, ghost stories are best told out in the wilderness, preferably by the dim light of a campfire, or no light at all.

It stands to reason then, that New Zealand's backcountry huts make a perfect setting for one of those spooky tales. Miles from civilization, cut off from any means of communication, dark, full of strange noises without and within - it's a ghost story waiting to happen if you spend the night alone in a hut.

And yet, I've never had anything spooky happen in a hut, or heard of any spooky happenings. But a recent story in the Timaru Herald (Timaru is a town on New Zealand's South Island between Christchurch and Dunedin) talks about strange experiences at Hooker Hut (pictured above), which is in the Southern Alps near Mt Cook Village.

The original Hooker Hut was built in 1910, and has apparently had ghost stories associated with it for decades. The hut was rebuilt in 1948, then shifted intact in 1963 due to instability in the glacial moraine, and shifted again in 1994. The collapsing moraine walls near the hut make it difficult to reach in its current location, so they are looking at moving it once again.

All of this confusion seems to have annoyed the local spirits. According to mountain guide Jane Morris, who spent a night there recently with a DoC Visitor Centre Assistant, they were not alone in Hooker Hut that night.

Shortly after going to bed, the pair heard footsteps on the deck outside, followed by what seemed to be someone rummaging through a backpack. Then they heard what sounded like an ice axe banging against corrugated iron.

They got up and looked outside, but saw no other people or wildlife. After returning to bed, various noises continued through the night, including the sound of pots clanging and someone shuffling around.

Likely candidates for haunting the hut include a man who helped to build the original hut, and later died in an avalanche in the area.

This is the problem with New Zealand - if this happened in Canada you'd just assume it was a bear! Here - well there's only so much noise birds and possums can make. Anyway, if you're headed to Mt Cook you can check it out for yourself.

New Zealand Cycleway Update

A lot of people seem to be following the possible creation of a New Zealand cycleway, so I thought an update might be in order.

First, it seems that I was correct in thinking that $50 million to build the thing seemed like an awfully low estimate. A more educated estimate from a company currently paving a shorter cycling route was that a completely paved option that ran the entire length of the country would cost at least $300 million.

Various options are now being discussed, including a network of shorter cycling routes throughout the country instead of one big one, and routes that are not paved all of the way. (ie they may be dirt or gravel.)

Still, it seems like there may be some merit in attracting more cyclists to New Zealand. A recent article in the New Zealand Herald quoted some figures from the Ministry of Tourism:

"For the year to last September 45,000 of the 2,469,064 international visitors to New Zealand took part in a cycling sport.

The cycling tourists spent $199 million on their trips - excluding international airfares - an average of $4386 each. The average spending of all international tourists is $2692.

Cycling tourists on average stayed in New Zealand for 49.2 nights, more than twice the average length of stay of 20.9 nights.

Britons make up the biggest number of cyclists at 19 per cent, followed by Australians at 17 per cent and Americans at 9 per cent."

So cyclists are a small percentage of New Zealand's tourists, but they are good value tourists because of their long stays in the country. Having longer touring routes available can only help to keep them here even longer, so it does seem like a good investment. Maybe not worth $300 million though. That's a pretty tough call.

More as the story unfolds...

Topping Up the Calorie Count

I'm always reading about how long-distance hikers (especially those in cold conditions) have trouble consuming enough calories to make up for the energy they're burning every day. They tend to lose weight over the course of their journey, in extreme cases to the point of near starvation. Those who can leave the trail for resupply often try to eat as much as possible while they're in civilization, downing huge plates of steak and fries and as many donuts as they can stomach.

Well, if you're looking for the ultimate energy source, I have a recipe for you. Pictured above is a 30,000 calorie sandwich. I kid you not. That's about ten day's worth of calories for the average adult male. Someone not only made this sandwich, but claims to have eaten the whole thing over a 12 hour period. Not a hiker - just a student with a hollow leg and too much time on his hands.

If you're curious, you can read about it (including the ingredients and preparation) here.

I never come back from my hikes any lighter than when I left. Clearly I'm not walking far enough. Ah well.

Thanks to Little Houdini for the link!

Cycling to Save the NZ Economy?

Not long ago, New Zealand's Prime Minister, John Key, held a "job summit" to try to find ways to save jobs during this global recession. He gathered together a bunch of business and labour leaders to see if a day of brainstorming could produce a miracle solution.

While many ideas were bounced around, one of the ones that seems to have really caught the PM's attention is a proposal to build a cycleway the entire length of New Zealand. This would become a major tourist draw, and help to boost falling visitor numbers. It would also create jobs building the trail, which was estimated to cost around $50 million. (Sounds low to me.)

There's no doubt it would be great to be able to cycle New Zealand from north to south (I don't know why, but that sounds easier than going south to north. For no apparent reason heading north equates in my brain with going uphill.) Is it the best way for the government to spend taxpayer money when people are having trouble paying rent and putting food on the table? I'm not so convinced. In the grand scheme of things, it would make more sense to me if they put the public works money into improving public transit. But then again, I wasn't invited to the "job summit" - probably for very good reasons.

The cycleway idea has also ruffled the feathers of the folks at Te Araroa Trust. Te Araroa (The Long Pathway) is a long-planned hiking route that will run the entire length of New Zealand. Sort of an Appalachian Trail or LEJOG for the Southern Hemisphere. They've been working on it for over a decade, with the major problems being access through private land, and funding.

Certainly the funding needed to complete Te Araroa would be far less than that needed to create a whole new cycleway. On the other hand, it would not require as much manpower, so fewer jobs would be created. Also, as you and I and the whole world have realised, you don't make as much cash from tourists who spend all of their time hiking as you do from people cycling who are more likely to be staying in hotels and eating in restaurants.

I can see where the cycleway may be a winning idea, depending on the cost. But I would also love to see the government throw a bit of cash at Te Araroa to get the damn thing finished. New Zealand is arguably the hiking capital of the world - a title it would really deserve if it had a long distance walkway.

Keeping Track of Tourists

I'm not sure what the numbers are, but every year New Zealand's police and search and rescue units spend a whole lot of time looking for lost tourists in the bush. People from around the world have heard about how magnificent the hiking is down here, and so they are determined to see it for themselves, whether or not they've done much hiking before.

Now New Zealand is mulling over ways to keep better track of visitors who may be wandering aimlessly around the back country, ill-prepared and without any proper understanding of local conditions. The latest proposal is an online service where visitors can register their intentions before they even arrive in the country.

The registry and other information (such as the availability of locator beacons) would be available in several languages, and users would be able to update their intentions as needed. The idea is to get people to take responsibility for their own safety. This isn't Disneyland. You can't expect barriers in place to prevent you from falling down a cliff, or slipping into a crevasse, if you don't have the skills to be there.

I'm guessing this is going to take some time to set up - if it happens. But if it cuts down on the number of people who are genuinely surprised when their cell phones don't work in the middle of a national park to call in a rescue because they forgot to pack a fleece - well, that would be a step in the right direction.

The Beijing Workout

The Ming Dynasty may have taken track maintenance a bit too far!

First of all, my apologies for not posting anything for a while. I managed to get sent to Beijing, China last week for work, and since they charged for internet access by the minute at my hotel I figured I should save my blogging for the return home.

China was certainly an eye-opener. As you can see from the photo I took of the Great Wall above, everything you've heard about air pollution in Beijing is true! The roads are full of cars where only a decade ago most people would have been riding bicycles. Add to that the coal-generated power for heating and massive factories and you've got an environmental nightmare.

You don't hear much about outdoor recreation in China. I guess in the past there wasn't that kind of leisure time available. And now, it just doesn't seem to be part of their culture to appreciate being out in a natural setting. And yet, on a smaller scale the Chinese do enjoy getting outdoors. Tai chi at dawn is practised in almost every park around the country. Why exercise indoors when you could get some fresh (well, not exactly fresh) air at the same time?

While exploring a small, urban park in Beijing, I saw what I assumed to be a children's playground full of brightly coloured equipment. On closer inspection, however, it wasn't for children at all. It was an outdoor gym.

That's right, a full set of gym equipment in the park for anyone to use. No joining fee, no monthly fees, no pulsating dance music. In the photo above you can see the elliptical cross trainers in the foreground, the stationary bicycles to the right, and directly behind the cross trainers are treadmills. Nothing there used external power of any kind. The treadmills use sets of metal rollers on an uphill slope, and everything else just works with mechanical resistance. It's low-tech, low maintenance and probably quite effective.

So that's how folks in Beijing can get their workout for free. And perhaps that's why you see so few overweight people in China. There it's cheaper to be healthy than it is to be unhealthy - as long as they stay away from the local McDonalds!

Don't want to carry it? Eat it!

I saw this linked to a friend's Facebook page and just had to share it. I'm somewhat ashamed to say how long I considered whether this might be a real company producing edible outdoor equipment for campers! (At least I haven't responded to any of those e-mails telling me I've won an online lottery - yet...)

For pure entertainment value, go check out the EAT website where you can learn all about the joys of edible gear, from tarps made of "gummi skin" to sleeping bags filled with "veggie loft". There are even trekking poles in meaty flavours like chicken, shrimp, beef and for the vegetarians TVP.

Edible gear means you won't have to carry all kinds of food with you, and your gear gets lighter and lighter (and smaller and smaller) over the course of your trip.

OK, maybe an edible sleeping back or backpack will never really be a good idea, but I think they may be onto something here. What about edible packaging for the food you bring along? What if your cup-a-soup came in a gelatin envelope that dissolved right into the soup? No more empty packaging to carry around! Any food scientists out there? Hello? Bueller?

Anyway, have fun with the website. It looks like it's been kicking around since 2003, but then I'm a bit slow to notice these things!

Tararuas Southern Non-Crossing

One of the classic tramps in the Tararua mountain range is called the Southern Crossing. It is usually done over two days plus one evening.

The first evening is spent walking up onto the ridge where Field Hut is snuggled beneath the bush line. This is a three hour walk for someone like me, but I'm sure there are some trampers out there who do it in two hours.

The second day takes you onto the ridge, past Kime Hut, another three hours along. From there it's about an hour to the summit of Mt Hector, where the "tops" part of the walk really gets started. The ridge tops in the Tararuas are known for their fierce winds, and most local trampers who brave the tops have tales to tell of crawling on hands and knees at some point to avoid getting blown away. The tops lead you to Alpha Hut, the stop for the second night.

Day three is less precarious, but quite a long haul. You descend back below the bush line, and spend most of a day (6-8 hours depending on your downhill speed) making your way down a long ridge to Kaitoke Regional Park in the Hutt Valley.

G and I had been hoping to attempt a Southern Crossing this summer, but once we looked at it in detail I lost my nerve. Days one and two seemed do-able, but the long final day seemed beyond my current endurance. I tend to get wobbly after a few hours of downhill, and there's no hut between Alpha and the end of the track if you decide you can't make it all the way.

So instead of the crossing, we decided to just walk the first half (well, not quite half) of the route and then head back the same way.

We started in the morning, reaching Field Hut in time for a late lunch. A helicopter could be heard in the distance, which we later learned was searching for a lost tramper in the park. (She was found the next day, in good shape.)

From Field Hut we continued up above the bushline and the clouds moved in. Although we were walking along a ridge, the view on either side was completely obscured. I realised at some point that not having a view, and therefore a constant temptation to stop and take pictures, was actually moving me along much better than usual. I began to wonder how much time I add to our average day of tramping by stopping to take pictures so often. Not that I think the time is wasted, or plan to stop - but it was an interesting thing to ponder.

We finally crossed a flat on the top of the ridge, and almost out of nowhere Kime Hut appeared in the mist. It was a welcome sight after six hours of uphill travel. The hut was busy that night (I seem to have a knack for picking the busiest huts!) with a grand total of 24 people eventually spending the night there. But the mood was relaxed and friendly, and there was enough room for everyone to squeeze onto the bunks.

The next day we decided to play things by ear. It was still pretty misty and cloudy up where we were, and we set out towards the tops not knowing how far we would get. The ridge narrowed, at times dropping off steeply on both sides. The track was pretty well defined though, despite the marker poles being quite sparse.

Eventually we got to the top of Mt Hector, and had a look at the memorial cross up there which is a tribute to the Kiwi soldiers lost in WWII. It was up at this exposed point that we could feel the full force of the "breeze" blowing that morning. It certainly wasn't the worst that the Tararuas can offer up, but it was strong enough to make continuing onwards an unpleasant task. So we decided to be nice to ourselves and head back the other way at this point.

As we turned to go, the clouds around us actually parted, and gave us a view of the farmland far below. This was precisely the same moment when the batteries in my camera died, of course. Within 30 seconds the clouds closed in again and the view was lost. But I did put new batteries in my camera as we made our way back along the ridge, so that I could grab a few pictures of the track itself.

After a quick snack stop at Kime Hut, we made our way back down to Field Hut in increasingly sunny weather. We saw the rescue helicopter once again (this must have been right around the time the lost tramper was found) as we descended the ridge.

At field hut we stopped for lunch, and I noticed that someone had hung his (0r her) smelly socks out on the upper window. Probably a good idea! Some socks shouldn't be allowed inside.

By the last hour of the walk it was actually quite hot out, and I wished I had brought something to wear in the river at the bottom. It was a perfect day for a swim, but with so many others thinking the same thing, it was way too populated for skinny dipping or even a swim in my underwear. Instead I had to settle for a quick change of clothes at the car, and air conditioning on the way home.

I'm hopeful that some day I'll have the endurance (and speed) to complete a Southern Crossing, but in the mean time I've at least knocked off part of it.

And as for my recovery time - well, it's Wednesday and my legs are still pretty stiff. Guess I still have some work to do at the gym!