Incidents in the mountains

didnt the meetup group have an experienced tail end charlie to make sure no one got left behind or went the wrong way?

I honestly don't understand not being prepared. Oh, I can understand getting lost, for sure. I can understand having to hunker down unexpectedly. But I don't understand not being prepared. Every time I go walking - whether in a group or alone - anywhere away from a road, I carry the following: PLB sleeping mattress (rolls up quite small) sleeping bag and thermal liner (also compact) shelter of some sort; at the very least, my convertible poncho (have comfortably slept under this in the rain) fire lighting pack multivitamins small first aid kit knife two thermal pads compass hiking poles a small amount of cordage That is the absolute MINIMUM I take on EVERY walk. And it all fits in a very small day pack. I also wear a survival bracelet. If I'm not in NZ, I also of course take water. I usually have water here too, but I'm not too fussed, because if you die of dehydration in NZ, you've gotta be a special kind of moron....

Today, I was not in the mountains. I was at Farewell Spit. Actually, I was IN Farewell Spit! The Outer Beach (oceanside) is freakin' DANGEROUS! I crossed over from the Inner Beach at the 4km marker like I was supposed to, and the track across the spit had a lot of (fresh) water on it. Got to the Outer Beach, and it was beautiful! However.... Started walking out and along the beach, only to randomly start sinking up to my thighs. Had to start really paying attention where I was walking. But in the end, that did four-fifths of bugger all! I stood on what I swear was firm, dry sand and WUMP! immediately sank up to my chest! It was pretty scary! I was out there all by myself. I wasn't REALLY worried, unless the initial sinking was deeper. I knew the trick was to spread your limbs, and drag yourself out forward, going as wide as possible. So that's what I did. But almost completely covered in thick, gloopy quicksand. It was almost sunset, so once I eventually made it out of the danger zone, I hightailed it over the dunes and back along Inner Beach to the carpark. Wouldn't have been a problem if I'd been caught out overnight; I had my trusty day pack with everything I need. Still though, it was NOT an experience I ever expected to have in NZ, and definitely wasn't on my mind when I set out for a nice walk along the Spit today! :D

crikey Kreig, you must be looking forward to 2016 to be over with. i'm looking forward to a better year next year, this one hasnt been a good year for me employment or holiday wise

Mountainbiker with leg wound rescued from Heaphy Track http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/84445523/mountainbiker-with-leg-wound-rescued-from-heaphy-track

Actually it was a lot of fun; once I realised I wasn't going to drown IN the beach! :D But yeah, losing my passport bit the big one....

i lost my train pass in Japan, it fell out of my pocket on the train..... would have to pay to get out of the train station without it.... told the station staff, they rang the train and they found it.... it was late afternoon and they were going to hold it for me.... 500km away in tokyo.... I was staying in kyoto and we were due to check out of the hotel the next morning.... so i got a free pass to tokyo from the staff and took the trail up there.... so arrive at tokyo station and my train pass is somewhere here..... and the station is one of the biggest in the world and its rush hour.... eventially find the lost and found office, they don't have my pass there.... the guy rings around.... then eventually he locates it.... platform 17 staff have it.... find platform 17, go to the office, ask the staff, bit of looking around and asking around in the office and they produce my train pass.... ever imagine that happening in NZ? anyway its 7pm now and i'm 500km away from my hotel that i have to check out of tomorrow morning..... its back on the train to tokyo even in rush hour i can find a seat no problem on the long distance train without a booking..... thank heaven for bullet trains, two and a half hours and i'm back in kyoto, still amazed at the efficiency of the japanese....

Probably not in NZ and that seems like great commitment to service, but I'm wondering why so much messing around when the Tokyo staff could have just destroyed it while the Kyoto staff issue you a new one instead of a free pass. In NZ with tickets like Snapper and AT HOP, the normal thing is to tell people to register them, and if they get lost it'll be cancelled and replaced (for a fee).

Japan isn’t advanced as you might think in some ways at a consumer level it’s a carboard pass. They aren’t able to see any digital reference to the pass, so I have to have possession of it and its non replaceable…

http://www.police.govt.nz/news/release/search-and-rescue-and-landsar-help-man-marlborough-bush Search and rescue and LandSAR help man in Marlborough bush Sunday, 25 September 2016 - 11:51am Tasman Cold, wet, but otherwise uninjured, a Canterbury man was brought out of the bush this morning by a volunteer LandSAR assisted by Police Search and Rescue, after spending a cold and wet night high on Mt Stanley in the outer Marlborough Sounds. The man was on the way to Mt Stanley, following the Nydia Track, when he became disorientated in low cloud which enveloped the ridge the tramper was walking on yesterday afternoon. He phoned Police around 4pm as fog set in. He was disorientated, cold, wet, tired and had minimal warm gear. The man had a map with him, a survival blanket, and a Personal Locator Beacon, but no compass, and a phone which did not have GPS capability. Police were able to determine his location thanks to his locater beacon and by texting him. Search teams entered the track around 7pm last night , staying in touch via text, and reached the man around 2am. They fed him and ensured he had hot drinks, before beginning to walk him out around 3am once he regained his strength. Senior Constable Al Hendrickson of Blenheim Police says the LandSAR volunteers did a great job in cold and wet conditions. “It was slow going getting in there and slow coming out, but credit must go to the LandSAR team, they did a great job. They put in a great effort through the night and recovered our missing party in an untracked environment, which was a credit to those that went searching for him. Speaking with the searchers on their return, I know they are all going home for a hot shower and some well-earned sleep."