How many Huts have you visited?

It's a bit like twitching. You can both cross a bird off your "life list" (I don't have one as I'm too lazy) and appreciate its character. I mean, let's be honest: some of us use spreadsheets recreationally, and that's OK.

@HughvN - Well put. Doesn't matter what excuse gets people out there ... so long as they get out there. @Matthew - regarding hutbagging - are we going to get the ability to look at _all_ the places we've visited on this site again, rather than the first 30-or-so? I miss it ... and a spreadsheet's just not as rewarding!

well if you're using spreadsheets recreationally , you might need to get out more :D yes one day you wake up and realise how many huts you've visted and think, I don't know what my problem is, but I bet its hard to pronounce :D

Yeah, nah. Up here in the NI, I've visited most of the accessible front country south of Napier-Rangataiki-Whanganui, and the main ridgelines. So I need some reason to spend two half days driving, or to spend most of the trip walking past all that familiar country yet again. Getting to visit a new hut is a good way of making that seem appealing. Even better if I can stay there. And a good way of getting myself into country that, on the face of it, did not appeal. I had no ambition to visit the Ureweras - just not my sort of country. But having coaxed myself there on the basis of 'you can visit 10 new huts in 4 days ...' - once there ... I have loved the trips, some of the best I've done up here. Ditto Whirinaki, Ditto Raukumaras. Plus - those huts you go to just to bag, are those huts in most need of a little TLC. The ones no-one ever visits, with 6 entries in 3 years in the hut book (3 of them DOC) and rat-shit knee deep on the floor. So bring on the hut-baggers, because without them those huts will be gone even sooner.

hut baggers welcome, just leave out peeing on the hut door....

Oh yeah I *do* need to get out more, but it's not so much spreadsheets stopping me. Yeah often I find you might plan a route just because there's a hut there, then 50% of the time you don't even stay in the hut, but it's still a good landmark. I do really enjoy visiting the old musterers' huts and such like.

@Matthew Yep guilty recreational spreadsheeter here :( It's not a real spreadsheet unless it's over 1000 rows deep. That's where the fun starts. I may have weighed all my gear and have it in a spreadsheet..... maybe. Shut up... anyhoo. @Madpom Totally agree. I'm just getting in to all this and part of the excitement is ticking off new places I haven't been. I'm not sure I'd be the type to want to do the same course over and over but could see in the future doing something again to HutBag a hut I hadn't been at last time.

Nothing wrong with weighing everything and putting it in a spreadsheet, then working out how much the pack will weigh. Helps with working out if you really need to take that item, or what the improvement would be if you replaced something with a new lighter version.

Here's a question for you all... Have you REALLY bagged a hut if you haven't spent a night in it? ;)

Each to there own on that one. Its not wrong to say thats your standard but its hard to get the big numbers. There are huts that really there is no point staying over. Ive been to Blue Range twice both times on the way to Cow Creek. Ive been to Kapakapanui twice and ate lunch there both timesOnce was a day trip the other passing through to Renata, Ive been to Cone once and had a snack there. Ive visited Waiatararu many times mostly be 4wd but have walked there twice. The only time we stayed overnight we camped over the river. The last time I was at Mitre flats we camped outside as we got there at 1am and knew the hut was full. By your standard none of these count. I count them as in every case I went inside. Some might count a hut they see in a distance but that is pushing it. I could count Jumbo that way but I wont