And we are back with the 42nd 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.

Next week will be the last newsletter while we head into the heart of winter here (I’ll also be heading overseas). I’ll send the next newsletter on October 17th (yes, that’s the Friday. I’d say Thursday, but let’s be realistic).

Alright, let’s get into it with a quiz…

🤔 Quiz

The Merrell Moab shoe and boot is one of their best sellers. What does MOAB stand for?

A. Mountains On A Border

B. Must Outpace Angry Bears

C. Mother Of All Boots

D. Mountain Optimized All-Terrain Boot

The answer is at the bottom of the newsletter.

🗒️ Track News Etc.

• There’s one lucky American tourist out there (who is likely not reading this), who will be so thankful for 13 Search and Rescue folk after he got lost in the dark on the Earnslaw Burn Track. Lucky he had his large glass bong with him? More details here.

• In last weeks newsletter I mentioned a post about calculating the value of various quilts (this has sparked an idea for the future). It got a few email responses from those who love the data...and Cody from Kiwi Ultralight calculated the numbers for their quilts, which prompted me to test them for myself:

  • For me. I’d need the Kiwi Ultralight 175cm quilt with a 0-degree comfort rating. That contains 391 grams of 850FP Goose Down, with a total quilt weight of 575 grams.

  • This means a fill volume of 11722 (once converting things to ounces) which gives a warmth index of 577.4.

  • At current exchange rates for the NZD/USD, a Kiwi Ultralight quilt is ~ 359USD, leaving us with a value index of $1.61. Compared to the four companies last week (REI, NEMO, EE, HRG), Kiwi Ultralight quilts are the best value. Other variables that may impact decisions, but that’s pretty cool! Up the Kiwis.

• If you’re thinking of doing the Tongariro Northern Circuit next summer, you’ll need to be prepared for Oturere Hut and Campsite being closed. While you can still complete the circuit, you’ll just need to know if you’re fit enough to complete the 20km distance between the two huts that will be open. More details here.

• If you get nostalgic about magazine graphics, illustrations, and gear (and have a spare $100), you may like this, which I’ve heard good things about:

  • https://www.thamesandhudsonusa.com/books/the-outdoor-archive-the-ultimate-collection-of-adventure-and-sporting-graphics-illustrations-and-gear-hardcover

• There’s a thread that’s blown up on Reddit in the last few days regarding Sawyer Squeeze Filters and cleaning them. In short, if you use a non-chlorinated bleach/hydrogen peroxide, then you may well be damaging your filter:

  • Sawyer has stated: “Hydrogen peroxide (the active ingredient in non-chlorinated bleach) "can damage the hollow fibers" of the filter. Sanitizing with hydrogen peroxide" is unsafe. It has a chemical reaction with the fibers and destroys them." "If I understood our lead engineer correctly, the cost to test if the filter has been compromised costs more than replacing it. So we would recommend erring on the side of caution and replacing it."

    Apparently, this isn’t clear on the website. And Reddit being Reddit, this has evolved into quite the drama. This may interest a few of you reading this. It does seem like an easy fix for Sawyer to do?

• I stumbled across this listing for some land for sale deep in Abel Tasman National Park. The 100 acres is the largest block of private land available within the National Park. Anyone got a spare $2.5 million?

  • Does anyone remember when NZ came together in 2016 to buy Awaroa Beach in Abel Tasman National Park? If not, you’ve got to read this.

😹 Hiking Funny

🎁 A Couple Of Competitions To Enter

• Kathmandu x Ultimate Hikes Giveaway - enter here (entries close June 11th)

• Radix Protein Smoothie Giveaway - enter here (entries close June 8th)

• Avalanche IQ Quiz with Mountain Safety - enter here (closure date unknown)

• Remlite Launch Giveaway - enter here (entries close - unknown)

• Arc’teryx Winter Weekend Giveaway - enter here (entries close July 8th)

• Take Your Best Shot - Mammut Photo Comp - enter here (entries close July 15th)

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

Who said AI can’t be a positive thing?

Last weekend was Vert Day! You’ve probably never heard of Vert Day which is fair enough. In short, it’s a fun day out between trail running groups who can gather the most cumulative vert in a 24-hour period (6am Saturday to 6am Sunday).

This year, I decided to have a good go…and it went well…about as good as could have as I got 10,014 metres of ascent (and descent). 95 %+ of the uphill was hiking, with the downhill a cruisey descent…the goal was not to shatter the quads, and it was pretty successful.

It was a fun day with people popping in and out throughout the day. You can achieve the vert on any track you want, but a core group of us based ourselves on the same trail.

Unfortunately, Queenstown came up just short with Wellington pipping us. Next year, we’ll be back!

If you want to see the silly behaviour on Strava, here you go.

🤔 Quiz Answer

C. Mother Of All Boots

Merrell launched the first MOAB boot launched in 2007, and took the market by storm. Since then, they’ve sold over 25,000,000 pairs.

And in shops you’ll at the moment you’ll see the MOAB 3, so they haven’t messed around with the shoe changing something every year.

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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