Already happening to some degree with local tramping clubs maintaining tracks in their area.
"you may have to accept rough unmaintained tracks as the future of going where you want to go in the mountains and to get the solitude you may be after."
And the problem with that is?
As long as we know where the track is we can follow it but Doc have gone as far in some places as removing markers and disguising the track entrances.
We are going to find our tracks by "head down stream x till the 17th rimu on the true left then 123 metres further is the start of the track"
I feel like ripping out markers and disguising entries is wrong. Just a simple sign saying the track is no longer maintained and may have associated risks would suffice.
Then if locals wish to maintain it, they can. Takes the load off DOC and would be a better compromise than just closing down tracks and doing their best to make them unuseable.
On another note.. Auckland council have made a few of the tracks in the waitakere ranges bloody annoying to find. Because they made a few of the tracks nearer to civilisation parts of nicely boardwalked scenic walks,they moronically decided to replace the signs giving the track names with nice little "scenic walk" signs.... and then they have modified some of them somewhat so they dogleg differently (with the nice new boardwalks) to the topo map. Was part of a group that spent a good half hour locked in debate as to whether we had found andersons track or not...
If DOC want to make tracks hard to use, just call in the auckland council! They are experts at impairing useability!
This post has been edited by the author on 9 August 2015 at 11:08.
the waitakeres are an exampled of how not to mark and put up signage, once you're in the labyrinth of tracks in the bush there, theres no signs to tell you which road end is which. given the no of inexperienced people who can access those tracks its a good lesson in how to get lost you need to know where the tracks go or have a map to relate the names.. good thing is its not a big park and the terrain isnt dangerous if you stick to the tracks, and people getting lost there doesnt end badly for people..
Good think about the waitaks is if you really end up up the creek without a paddle you should be able to find your way out to piha pretty easy, or out to a road that will lead you out without too much issue. Some of the signage in there is fairly dismal at points I agree. All the hillary trail stuff is alright tho.
thats until people started nicking the hillary trail signs...
Why on earth would someone pinch the hillary trail signs? Most of em still seemed to be in evidence last time I went through, of course, some coulda been missing and I probably wouldnt have noticed.
they look nice? they made new plastic ones to replace the metal ones that got nicked...
Isnt the Waitakeres one of the places with the sick kauri?
Yeah. Something like 10% (or was it 20%) of the total length of the tracks in the waitaks are closed due to kauri dieback.
