Seeking advice for Dusky, 3 Passes, Heaphy & more

take waterproof trousers, in a storm they are worth their weight in gold especially above the bushline. it can and does snow year round in the south island mountains, mesh shoes let the mud and grit in, people die of hypothermia here in mid summer, get the normal images of "summer" out of your head. summer anything goes with the weather here.

"take waterproof trousers, in a storm they are worth their weight in gold especially above the bushline. it can and does snow year round in the south island mountains, mesh shoes let the mud and grit in, people die of hypothermia here in mid summer, get the normal images of "summer" out of your head. summer anything goes with the weather here." We'll have other safety equipment (more than likely a few bivy bags, a group tarp or bothy bag, one or two space blankets [or alternatives], a radio to get daily weather reports, warm clothing) - so I don't think we need to worry about being caught out in a snow storm (also I have hiked in the snow in the UK without waterproof trousers and been quite alright). With regards to a regular storm, I suspect we will get extremely wet anyway and the pants will not do much other than keep us warm (having some thermal underwear for this purpose is probably a lighter way to achieve the same thing). Any other reason to have waterproofs? (only thing I can think of is against scrub, but hiking trousers should do that too). Good tip on the mesh shoes letting in grit - will gaiters help to stop this? I can't really find much info on boots that are super quick to dry out - most seem to have an infatuation with goretex. The only thing I can find that comes close, is this beast: http://www.altberg.co.uk/product/jungle-microlite/ It's super lightweight (623g each!), super well draining, yet still a proper solid boot. Or is this more of a go: http://www.keenfootwear.com/en-gb/product/shoes/men/koven-wp

"Good tip on the mesh shoes letting in grit - will gaiters help to stop this? " Short answer - no. Gaiters only slow down crap getting into the top of your boot. The mud and grit migrates through the material of a mesh material. I hiked for decades in heavy old boots - and it didn't kill me. The big difference is that light boots/roclites are a huge advantage on a good even trail where you are moving fast. No question of that. But when the footing becomes mud, scree, rock and roots - and you are travelling much slower because of the terrain - then that advantage is lost. Now it's security of footing that becomes more valuable. And protection of the feet from damage. Of course big old clunker boots are very unfashionable these days, and the modern lighter ones work ok but are a trade-off with durability. My first pair of boots lasted many hundreds of tramping days - nowadays you may be happy to toss them after several trips. The main thing I still look for is a decent Vibram style sole with solid edges and some stiffness.

Oh - and yes. The overtrou are to protect from severe wind chill. Not to keep you dry. A light pair with big long zips are the go. Cheap and light is fine - I tend to treat these items as disposable.

@CBL_Jon - I've posted some other feedback on Dusky if you want to check it out. Any other questions just shoot. Get Picaridin for the sandflies. Chemist at Te Anau recommended it and it works. They really are abominable otherwise. If, like me, you don't like being copped up in the hut take an insect hood too. Map. NZ topos are fine and cheap. What I do is cut out the sections I need them get them laminated. Small and waterproof. The NZ topo maps smartphone app is the same map covering the whole country for like $10. And it syncs with a phone's gps to show you just where you are on it. Priceless. I find that perusing the area while connected caches the info it for when disconnected. Navigationally the Dusky is pretty easy as the soft ground has seen the track becomes well blazed and markers are pretty frequent. In poor wx up on the Pleasant Range or Center Pass progress would of course be more challenging (watch out for how slippery tussocky slopes get when wet). Staying on track on the sections beside the Seaforth (which is in flood almost as often as not) can be a mission thanks to mud and surface water. You REALLY want to be doing those bits out of high flow times. If you can't see much of the drowned trees in Loch Maree take the day off if you can, and when you get good wx think about doing a double march. Mud. You can pick your way around most of the mud pits and others have bits of wood chucked in them that make great stepping stones. You need good gaiters though or you'll be de-gritting frequently. (I've got some large OR Crocs I bought just for Dusky and don't intend to use again if you're interested. I'd have to dig em out and see what condition they're in). Poles are essential. It's so slippery you'll still fall sometimes even with poles, but you'll fall almost minutely otherwise. Forget about fast drying boots or socks. Even if you find dry wood to burn, you'll only be getting em wet minutes out from the hut each morning. Light merino socks are fine and I can recommend these boots: http://www.outdoorgearlab.com/Hiking-Boots-Reviews/Salomon-Quest-4D-GTX "A trail runner on steroids". In NZ you should always take a bivi bag and sleeping matt. One day you'll praise yourself for it. I take Ice Breaker's warmest long johns and Montane Minimus rain pants, that combo giving me confidence to not bother taking any other leg wear outside winter. You need rainpants for storms but I sweat like mad in cheap ones. Light sleeping bag in Dusky is fine so long as you can keep all your insulative layers dry. Which is why they (and anything else susceptible to water damage) need to be packed in dry bags. Forget pack liners, dry bags will keep your vital kit dry even if you go pack swimming. I don't know about a rope. All major waterways in Dusky are wire-bridged (if you've never done one of those have a play on the first one to get it sussed before you hit the dangerous ones; pretty easy really, face front, turn feet sideways, maintain three contact points and watch your poles don't snag). But it is conceivable a flooded side creek could stand between your party and a hut. If you've experience with the techniques, maybe; if not, no way.

Thanks so much for the advice Craigo!! A lot to digest. I will have a think about my kit in light of this advice.

Thinking about your kit is always a good idea, as is listening to (and thinking about) all the advice offered. But nothing is as important as the sense and judgement you take with you. Consider doing your trips in the reverse order, (north to south) You'll experience a much better learning progression. hughvannoorden(at) gmail.com

its not a perfect world,. if something happens to slow you down full wet weather gear and over trousers are worth their weight in gold you minimise the extra chill because you cant move fast. just because you've been fine without certain items in the past means nothing if you end up in different scenarios like the above.

@Hugh vN: That was the plan, but I really wanted to hike with my parents on the easy tracks (I think it's their last chance to get into tramping), and one had only a 2 week window in which I had to arrange the easy track. So in order to do that, and time the Dusky so that it still fell within dry season, it had to be this way. @waynowski: I will carefully consider them and probably bring them. I guess over here I have been in very cold conditions, but not often when soaking wet (come close though, and waterproof trousers were indeed very warm - I was in the Cairngorms being sleeted on at -9 with high winds (80kms+) with just overtrou and thermals on the legs, and was quite okay).

@CBL Jon, trips like the 3 passes climb over alpine assets in the sthn alps. I don't wear longs or over trousers normally, but when travelling the alpine areas, I always have wind prof/waterproof over trou plus merino longs if case I get caught out in high winds snow rain etc. the alpine passes can be lethal, you may encounter winds you can't stand up in, and exposure is a real risk Cheers