⛰️#30 - Pack Science, LoTR Mission, & My Favourite Track Of The Summer

And we are back with the 30th NZ Hiking Newsletter, sent every Thursday/Friday.

I'll let you know what’s going on in the hiking scene in New Zealand, along with other related bits and pieces I find interesting.

On last week’s adventure (epic, detailed below), a friend mentioned that rock bivs look like human mousetraps. I’m now all about trying to get rock bivs rebranded to human mousetraps. Thoughts?

Alright, let’s get into it.

🗒️ Track News Etc.

• Wanaka-based outdoor brand Kea Outoors has launched their 4th Kickstarter. This time, it’s for the Kea Ignite, a firestarter. They’ve had massive success with their campaigns thus far, and this one has already raised over $50k with 3+ weeks to go. Check it out.

• The University of Canterbury has finished a study comparing Aarn Packs to other, more traditional backpacks. Results? Traditional backpacks affect posture by 41% vs the 5% of Aarn Packs. In theory, that means less fatigue, less pressure on joints and more comfort. If you’re a fan of nerding out, here’s the PDF thesis thingy.

• The latest episode of Endangered Species was a goodie (season 2, episode 2), with the crew heading down to Fiordland to check out some of the awesome birdlife down that way. You can watch it on TVNZ on Demand.

😹 Hiking Funny

🗒️ Other Track News Etc.

• If you’re after following someone different with their hiking goal, consider following along with James Norbury’s adventure as he hikes ~500km from Hobbiton to Mount Doom with the ring. They’ve been fun daily reels so far. Based on some comments, it looks like there are a fair few who have had this idea before, but it was new to me. Fun idea.

• And yet again, there’s been heaps of work on making improvements to various huts around the country. Here’s a selection:

  • Middle Hill Hut in the Kawekas got a host of work done. From a new roof, woodburner, paint job, and windows to a new lock...that hopefully won't let people be locked inside. Details.

  • Rangipo Hut got a well-needed new paint job. With slushy snow on the deck when they arrived, they weren’t there for an end of summer holiday that’s for sure. Details.

  • The 60+-year-old Dundas Hut got some TLC thanks to a crew of ex-New Zealand Forestry Service people. Thanks to that, the hut won’t be put out to pasture when it hits the human retirement age. Details.

  • Castle Rocks Hut had some great work done on it with the roof and windows replaced, and other TLC with more to be completed in the upcoming weeks. One of the team counted 13 holes in the roof thanks to Kea…which is a perfect example of why a lot of work is being done (skim this) to remove lead from buildings where kea hang out. Details.

• If you’re looking for some small chat inspiration when passing hikers, this video is a goodie. If you can’t be bothered opening the link, you have to say something starting with every letter of the alphabet. Fun…and possibly awkward. This would have kids in stitches getting them involved I reckon.
  
  “Vehicular transport would be nice, wouldn't it?”

🎁 A Couple Of Competitions To Enter

• 2025 Thru-Hiking Giveaway c/o Garage Grown Gear - enter here

• Sweaty Betty x MerrellNZ Prize Pack - enter here

• KEEN Hyperport H2 Sandals Giveaway - enter here

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

Last weekend’s adventure would have to be the best so far this summer. Five of us went on a loop in Mount Aspiring & Fiordland National Park. Its mostly in Mount Aspiring but we were following the border of Mount Aspiring and Fiordland National Parks for a good chunk, which was fun.

There are plenty of variations of this loop but the main goal was to include Lake Nerine.

Our route gave us a 50km loop with about 3200 metres of elevation gain:

• Routeburn Shelter → Sugarloaf Pass →Theatre Flat →Park Pass → Lake Nerine → North Col →Serentine Range →Lake Harris → Routeburn Shelter.

• You can download the GPX file here.

That whole loop is awesome, but the Serpentine Range would have to be the highlight. The best view was from the unnamed tarn near Lake Nerine with Park Pass in the background. There’s plenty of camping spots along the way, and while there are side trips such as Lake Unknown and Park Pass Glacier, we only had two days to work with so didn’t veer off the main route.

We camped at North Col, which was a good shout with enough flat ground, shelter under some rocks, and flowing water. Wins all around!

I was hoping to have the full trip report post before seeing this out, but that was waaaaay too ambitious…hopefully next week.

More photos:

Have a great week, hike it up.

As always, reply to this email (or message me on Whatsapp +642041702764) with anything and everything…I’m happy to chat.

Chur,

Jub

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