Some Hut Wardens take their "voluntary" positions seriously.
Madpom post of 5 Sept tells of an overzealous warden, whatever his intentions were, giving advice of a type which is not quite what he is "volunteering" to do.
Wardens cant stop people from doing their own thing , but they can offer advice ,if asked to do so.
Wardens can give weather forecasts , which were available daily from radio schedules they make at 9am and 4pm everyday for the Tararua ranges, so that people can make their own judgment about what they want to do.
Madpom was probably a bit "green" in those days, maybe fresh from the "old country", but by his recent posts he has obvously learnt a vast amount about bush travel, weather,commonsense and what his capabilities are.
I was very careful about selecting Hut Wardens; but on one odd occassion i made a terrible mistake of taking on a person ( i knew his brother)who not only didnt do the "voluntary " part of the job but actively discouraged hut users not to pay for hut usage.He got the DCM,but i was writing "please explains" to my boss for a long time.
The old story , you can do 999 things right but 1 mistake can bite you hard.
some places the rangers will exert their authority by default in certain circumstances, debateable how much authority they have to do so as indicated by other posts here.
on the routeburn in spring often they use the helicopter the guided walkers use to ferry people around any avalanche danger area, usually harris bluff by harris lake i think sometimes they go clear across to mackenzie hut if it's bad. often its just a thirty second flight around the bluffs though. the rangers try and tell the walkers they have to pay the helicopter, they charge $80 for the flight, doc try and get it out of people when they pick up their tickets at the visitor centre.. some people get out of paying, possibly by telling doc staff they won't go past the bluffs but when they get on the track they just tell the ranger to get stuffed and walk the avalanche prone section. someone i read was saying they walked the avalanche prone section and they said it was no big deal. they couldnt see any major danger... then when the danger lessens doc will tell people they have to go through the dangerous section with the doc ranger.. usually avalanche danger is in the afternoon if it's a warm day unless there has been heavy rain. so the risk will vary.... on the kepler when theres avalanche danger they just advise people to start walking as early in the day as they can and leave it at that. on the milford , when theres heavy rain they "close" sections of the track complete with a chain and sign across the track saying it's closed.... they closed it when i was on it one morning until they had the updated weather forecast as there was a heavy rain warning... but they opened it straight after the forecast indicated we had enough time to get out before the worst of the rain came.
I tend to take the advice of hut wardens with a grain of salt, most of them are just insanely bored and looking to have half the adventures that the rest of us that are passing through the huts they are caretaking are having .
I just like to have fun in the hills, as long as you have the right gear and are fit and experienced enough, you will have the time of your life, if that is your thing .
Yes ,gaiters, thats what its all about . Enjoying the freedom and complete removal from everyday humdrum,noisy, smelly civilisation , being able to make your own decisions,and relaxing .
Kindred spirits !
Jaysus. Well, Josh, as a fellow journalist and a big fan of the epic fantasticness that is Wilderness that you guys produce each month, I'm in awe, and I'm sorry for the negative responses you've had on this thread.
I guess it's hard for non-journalists to appreciate and understand what journalists do and how it works - and at the same time, we 'operate' in a particular way that often alarms and disturbs people (but, being so ensconced in the profession, it's hard for us to understand why it's so alien/disturbing for others). It goes both ways, IMHO.
Wilderness is a fantastic magazine, one of my favourites, and you and Alistair and the rest do a great job. Brilliant read. Epic pics. Good reads. Just keep trucking.
Hazel , these responses you call "negative"....this is a forum , take the time to look it up in a dictionary.
If a person cannot express an opinion in this country , on any subject be it politics, sport or Wilderness mag journos
actions , we are in danger of of losing a democratic right.
Anyone can agree or disagree, but its an inalienable right of every New Zealander to do so......as long as its within the law of the land.
The comment about Wilderness mag is accurate, a well put together publication ; maybe its time for them to consider some sort of reward to contributors of articles;who knows these contributors may be budding journalists themselves one day.
people can agree to disagree but why put in loaded comments like "latte lapping" that comment was unecessary, and made a big assumption, its people attaching people and select groups of people. we can throw insults to till the cows come home but it doesnt really achieve much its just a bad look for anyone who is looking to start up tramping who reads posts like that... a latte lapper who tramps gets the thumbs up from me. not all latte lappers are the same.... so perhaps we can try to avoid unecessary negative generalisations in trying to put our points across...
ok so some people have issues around who reads wilderness and the fact they are being asked for their stories for nothing, then thats ok. but its not necesariy to throw derogatory comments into the mix, say why you dont want to give your story without insulting.
"Hazel , these responses you call "negative"....this is a forum , take the time to look it up in a dictionary."
That was rude. I didn't attack you, OldGoat, that was uncalled for.
one easy question that If I had asked it would of seen a dozen or so interesting stories and little else. I didnt ask it though a professional reporter for a magazine that most of us read did. The result about one page of possibly usable stories and 6 more complaining about being asked without offer of payment.
Now to make it worse its turned into personal attacks and retaliations.
Maybe its time we all looked in a mirror and read our last post on this subject out loud to ourselves.
I have only ever written one article for a magazine. I received an email from the editor who I only know by name and at that stage hadnt met. It was about an event I had been involved with and taken a minor role in organising. As You probably notice from my posts writing articles isnt one of my strong points (failed UE English miserably) but I gave it a go and next edition saw a 2 page article with my name at the bottom. No discussion was had on payment and the only payment I received was my name in print. Interestingly Ive never been asked again. That makes us all happy.
If I was writing a regular column then I would want to be paid. If I had some story that was going to triple the sales of the mag I would want compensation but a few anecdotes on hut life doesnt fill either of these. Payment should be the same as that for a letter to the editor.
If any person feels that they have been attacked, or worse in this forum , a referral of the complaint to the Webmaster is the recourse.
Like life in general " nobody said it was going to be easy ,Princess"
