Unprepared & foolish: stories of idiots you've met

My friends flatmate decided she wanted to come with us tramping in the SI. I didn't think much of it as I have tramped many times with my friend, the household was full of outdoors/adventure junkies, and assumed he knew her gear before she left. I met with her in Nelson and decided to warm up on the Abel Tasman before meeting up with my mate (who was making his way up from elsewhere) Her pack looked passable but it seemed cheap. We were both in sandals (I used to wear Tevas a lot back then) but her's looked a little flimsy. I got her to put on shoes, which she brought out some chunky boots with quite high heels ... again cheap looking desert army style but didn't ring any alarm bells as they were better than her thin sandals Over half way to Anchorage one of her shoulder straps started to tear from the pack. After checking the pack I could see it was really bad made and the stitching was giving way when I was pulling at that strap. So when I started to check her gear I could see the majority of her stuff was that really cheap fashion that looks like outdoors gear, including her boots that came from "Number one shoe warehouse" and a kids tent that looked like it was bought from the warehouse. Her rain gear was a nylon tracksuit/jumpsuit, with a rainbow pastel colour scheme ... and a matching hat! The thing that got me to turn her around and walk her back to Marahau was her food featured a large Agee glass jar full of 100 year old eggs in a dark liquid. There was at least one other glass jar (but nowhere near the size of the egg one) All told, her pack seemed to weigh more than my Macpac Canyon full loaded up. I wouldn't have noticed if her strap didn't break so early in the tramp.

"Later we saw him walking towards the SH1 from Holdsworth Camp Ground. I couldn't bring myself to offer him a lift because I was still cross. " Thats a long way

Fresh off the press. A mate and I did an overnighter this weekend up the Doubtful River in Lewis Pass Scenic Reserve to Doubtless Hut and back. Around 7pm we see a knackered tramper approach the hut. He said he was with a friend and they went for Lake Man Biv, but his friend left him far behind. This chap lost the track and eventually stumbled down to Doubtless. His friend had the stove and fuel so we offered him some of our hot food. He scarfed it down and crawled into his bunk. Late that evening as my mate and I were outside enjoying a tipple @ 10-10:30pm, my mate thought he heard a whistle then said he could see a head torch through the bush. Up runs the previous tramper's mate, whinging how he'd spent the last 5 hours looking for his friend. He went on to say he'd gone all the way to Lake Man Biv, his friend be damned, and had spread himself out, built a little fire outside the biv, really enjoying himself, then finally realized his friend wasn't coming. Meanwhile, 3 hunters who were policemen had also gone to Lake Man, so this tosser tells the 3 that he'll look for his friend back down the track then return in the morning to report either to raise the alarm or give the all clear. These hunters had intended to hunt along the tops on Sunday. I couldn't help but read them some of the riot act by stating that tramper 2 had caused this whole drama by leaving his slow coach mate to fend for himself and had not ensured they arrive together safely at their destination. This knucklehead had affected not only his friend, but us plus the 3 hunters as well. The arrogance, selfishness, and idiocy of this dolt was even more pronounced the next day as he sloughed off early Sunday to head back to the tops ("Unfortunately," said the martyr) to report back to the cops. He was again leaving his friend to tackle alone the same track on which he'd become hopelessly lost the previous day. When I pressed him if this were the best plan, that his friend could make it up the track alone, and that the 3 cops would be waiting for him, he replied, "What choice do I have?" Stupid is as stupid does. I told the hapless fella left at the hut that he should consider not tramping with this fool, in that he didn't give a rat's a** about anyone but himself. SMH!

thats why some people tramp. not team players just head down, not thinking about working in with other people, wouldnt last in team sports...

We were heading up to Mueller hut in Jan 2014. Did the usual, reported to the VC paid the excessive fee and headed up. The weather was starting to clear, and the forecast for the next day was bluebird, but even so we headed up in the tail of a mild front that afternoon. We were well equipped and warm and knew the route well but from the tarns to the ridge we encountered fresh snow and strong gusts. Part way up we met a young group of 5 or 6 heading down wearing an assorted collection of plastic bags over their bodies and footwear. They seemed completely oblivious to how stupid they looked. Once we got to Mueller the ranger informed us they had arrived unannounced the previous day in shorts and t-shirts without sleeping bags expecting to stay the night. They spent a cold night with a few borrowed blankets and the rangers supplied some of them with black rubbish bags as ponchos and shopping bags to cover their sneakers for the trip down. They were a mixed group of a couple of NZers who should've known better and tourists. The blind leading the blind!

huts like mueller are too well known and too close to the road end... attract too many novices, one tourist vanished up there, never found, believed to have fallen into mueller glacier in a whiteout

We were holed up in Dart hut together with a bunch of nice young Australians. That night and that morning we had the biggest rainfall in 500 years or something like that. Never seen torrents like that. It took out the Dart bridge. But the Australians were itchy. They had a bungee jump booked. At 4pm it had stopped raining, so despite advice to the contrary they had to go and make it to Daleys Flat hut. They arrived at midnight, and admitted it was the stupidest thing they had ever done in the intentions book. Got a very very stern talking to from the ranger. We talked to one of the girls later, and she said she had nearly died attempting to cross raging creeks. And the best of it all? They were so shattered they couldn't continue the next day, so missed their bungee jump anyway.

quite a few deaths in that area. one person wasnt found for months , they just found her bones half buried under the river bed.. if you're swept into he Dart river in flood, you're highly unlikely to survive

@berend and @waynowsky the dart river is the one that you cross coming down from cascade saddle just before you approach Dart hut right?

Technically that is Snowy Ck. It flows into the Dart from there.