Unprepared & foolish: stories of idiots you've met

you follow the dart river between dart hut and the cascade saddle. you cross snowy creek just before the hut

@Gregor there must be something in the water around Doubtless Hut/Lake Man. I had a very similar experience about 15 years ago when I went on a trip with two mates that was organised by a work colleague of theirs. The Boyle/Lewis river was a bit up and we had a rather wet crossing so when we got to Doubtful Hut one of my mates wanted to change his pants. My other mate and I were waiting for him to do this when we noticed the work colleague and our erstwhile trip leader was nowhere to be found. We spent a while looking for him around the hut area then I noticed him about 1km up the river when the track headed in to the bush. We took off after him as he was the only one of us who had been in the area before and had the only map. He must have been fair moving as we never managed to get near him. It was lucky I had managed a quick squint at the map before we left the ute and knew we needed to cross the river and branch right to find Doubtless Hut otherwise we would have kept walking for Amuri Pass I guess. Even then I missed the track and we ended up bush bashing around for a bit before seeing smoke coming from the hut. If that wasnt bad enough, the next day my two mates decided they would hunt the valley and the other fella and I went up to Lake Man Biv. That day there was no drama. However, the following day we walked out along the Doubtful Range. As we neared the end he wasnt sure where we should drop down to the river valley again. We did a bit of searching then I said Id head back up to a ridge to try and get a better look at the lay of the land. I was gone for about 5 minutes and when I returned he was gone again. Spent about 15 minutes searching for him and calling out but nothing. I ended up bush bashing down on my own and catching up with him at the river again. The weird thing was he never really had a reason for taking off either time and couldnt understand what the issue was. Needless to say I never went on another trip with him (or ever saw him again for that matter!)

Wife and I coming out from Lake Marion mid afternoon in Oct I think. Met a girl kiwi tee shirt,shorts and light running shoes. No one behind us met no others going in. Weather wasn't bad but a rolled ankle or similar the sand flies would have eaten her and she would have been pretty cold and hungry before she was found. Even short walks like that all the gear you need to survive the night isn't terribly much to carry.

This would be a better thread if it was personal stories we've all had them in the first year or two.

There's the "branch to a new thread" button....

I was on a Duke of Edinburgh instruction trip and this cowboy turned up with a pack and a wee front pack of cloth, containing tins of food. He said his wife had packed his gear for him. He was trying out to train as an instructor. He soon made his motivation for this clear by being unnecessarily officious and barking at the DOE students e.g. keep together on the track and suchlike. He told some BS story about being in the military and being dropped off on an exercise in Fiordland, having to find his way to the coast - yeah, right. When we did a scenario where the students had to build emergency shelters in the bush, he constructed a clever wee tripod direction indicator and I got intense shadenfreude by seeing the one of the 'searchers' in our scenario mindlessly trample over this thing on the way to view the next emergency shelter. He was not invited back.

was on a snowcraft course in my early teens, first trip in the south island, was told it would be -20, i was wearing everything i had with me... inc pvc leggings. weather was good, after ten minutes had to stop to take a layer off,, ten mins later stop, take another layer off.... ten minutes later take another layer off, till i ws down to shorts and a jersey.... a few years later i was back in the area, and it may well have dropped to -20 then...

One afternoon heading up a West Coast river valley less than an hour and a half from a road for me I caught up to a guy wearing what looked like all brand new gear moving very very slowly. He reckoned he had been walking all day. He had an emergency beacon and gps clipped to his clothing and was carrying a big pack. Whilst seemingly well equipped he obviously lacked fitness and from observation perhaps wasn't sure of his position as he was regularly looking at the gps as I approached from behind. Something seemed odd so I asked him his intentions. The guy gave me a detailed run down on passes he was going to cross and peaks he was going to climb over four days. (an ambitious plan for a fit experienced person) On asking where he was going to stay that night he gave me a place that was totally out of the question based on his speed of travel, current location and the time of day. When I pointed this out the guy said he was almost at such and such hut so he may get beyond there and on to his intended stopping place by night fall. I told him he was still many km's from the hut he was talking about let alone where he was planning to stay. It was obvious he couldn't interpret what the gps was telling him and near clueless about the practicalities of tramping/climbing on the West Coast. I politely told him his plans were unrealistic and that he could endanger himself attempting to climb the peaks he mentioned. I said if he hurried he'd make the next hut by nightfall and I'd see him there. He never made the hut where I stayed the night. Whilst this guy was not under prepared equipment wise he obviously was in terms of experience and fitness. I think he must have done an about turn after after my chat as I never saw sign of him or hut book entries by him when I passed through some of the country he had indicated he would visit. I was pleased that no missing person report eventuated.

What I tend to come across most is unfit people. I came across a really overweight guy who was out on his feet at the old dobson site. He plonked himself down pouring with sweat. I asked where he was off to he replied alpha hut. When I told him he'd be pushing to make it before dark he told me he'd be fine he had a bivvy bag. I was worried he'd have a heart attack or something. Another time doing the southern crossing. I caught up with an old fulla bearly crawling just before field hut. He must have been 70 plus. I asked where he was headed for the night he said maungahuka hut I was gobsmacked.

I was hiking about 900kms on the Appalachian Trail in 2008 and one thru-hiker I met in Tennessee had this real smug ass attitude and looked and acted completely different than anyone I've ever met long-distance hiking. So later that night we all end up at this trailside hostel and I hear him speaking to the owner of the hostel who lived above the tenting area in a big house. He says "well I don't have a tent so I'm at your mercy", a few moments go by then he comes down and has a key to enter a small caravan off to the side. We were staying in the hostel which was full but they had this beautiful, grassy tenting area under trees. Perfect spot on a clear night. Plus, the hostel was only about 300 metres from the point where the trail crossed the road, and there was a trail shelter about 800 metres up the trail from that road crossing. Meaining...the boy had options. The next day he heads off and I figure I won't see him again. Anyhow, we're heading into Damascus a few days later and I pull a couple long days as the terrain was easy and I had been through there before, I catch up to this guy at another hostel and we're talking about gear. He says that he doesn't carry a tent and if the shelter is full he hikes to the next one. I asked what happens if that is full? He said, then keep hiking to the next one, and then he said it "it's the discipline of not carrying a shelter". Classic bullshit artist. I never said I overheard him at the previous hostel where he made them feel like it was their problem he didn't have a shelter, "I'm at your mercy". Nice one bro. I would learn later on that more than once he hiked into full shelters frustrated announcing he didn't have a tent and had hiked 45-50kms, and some responsible hiker would make room and set up their tent so he wasn't in an unsafe situation. People man, unbelievable.