⛰️#61 - Dodgy Shuttles, Blood Trails, Canyon Creek, Podcasts, & More.

And we are back with the 61st weekly NZ Hiking Newsletter.

There’s some variety in the newsletter this week as I let you know what’s going on in the hiking scene in New Zealand. Annnd other related bits and pieces I find interesting.

Also, I’ve been reading rumours that DOC are getting rid of intention books in huts…I suspect these are false. Surely it’s not possible. I’ll message DOC this week and seek an answer. This would be a massive change in kiwi hut culture 😭 If anyone has intel, email me, [email protected]

Alright, let’s get into it.

🗒️ Track News Etc.

• Dogs and National Parks = No Bueno. Feral cats may be the newest species on the pest list, but it looks like plenty of dog owners aren’t getting the memo that dogs are not allowed in National Parks, with Aoraki/Mt Cook highlighted. DOC issued a press release emphasising the point. It’s good to see they’ve issued infringement notices over the summer. Some dog owners can be quite the pests, ready with lines like: “My dog would never do that.” “My dog is harmless.” “I’ve never seen him do that before.”

• Two Lucky Trampers. A couple of trampers will be happy they're alive after getting stuck on a snowfield between Moraine Creek and Gertrude Valley (Fiordland) on Thursday night. They didn't have the right gear to make it over all the way nor the gear to back track. After surviving a cold night, they were rescued just before midday Friday. More details here.

  • On a related note, there has been a few people pop into work (Macpac) over the last few weeks who need to do more research on what they’re getting into. Two people mentioned ChatGPT as their guide on what hikes to do in NZ…I’ve had to persuade them to rethink their plan (you don’t just go and hike Aoraki) and do proper research into what Chat GPT is suggesting.

• DOC concession at risk for shuttle company. Tongariro Expeditions (shuttle company) looks to be in a bit of strife. Tongariro Alpine Crossing shuttle operators with a DOC concession have an agreement that they can’t operate when a DOC-issued Hazardous Weather Advisory is active.

  Over Waitangi weekend, multiple operators who cancelled their services (as required) mentioned Tongariro Expeditions didn’t, dropping people off throughout the morning. This seems like an easy case of knowing they broke the rules. But an investigation has been launched. If it’s found that they’re breaking their concession conditions, they’re at risk of losing the concession. Surely you can hand this to an intern at DOC and they can figure out whether they really did or not? Full story here.

  • Related to Tongariro, there’s still a push to get the Chateau back up and running. At the moment it’s costing DOC $2 million/year to maintain. Details here.

😹 Hiking Funny

The most popular comment on the video below is solid:

“The difference between the two: one is drinking microplastics, the other is drinking lead.” - @gnollriss

Well played.

🗒️ More Track News Etc.

• Enlightened Equipment’s Fallout Continues. I mentioned the backlash against Enlightened Equipment (EE) last week in this thread. EE did end up posting a reply here, but as you can probably expect, it didn’t go down too well.

  Interestingly, Garage Grown Gear, a US company serving the ultralight community has removed EE products from their website to see how EE responds going forward. Wellington-based Coffee Outdoors and Nelson’s Pack Gear Go are still selling EE on their website.

• Hikers follow a blood trail. Two hikers in Utah followed their instincts when they spotted then followed a blood trail on the Bridal Veil Falls Track. At the bottom of the 45-degree slope they found hiker, Jacque Tietjen, injured and unresponsive.

  Over a week later, she’s still incubated and sedated at hospital, with chances of a full recovery unknown. Big shout out to the two hikers who followed the blood trail. It’s estimated she’d fallen 60-90 minutes prior to them finding her. More details here and the GoFundMe page with the latest updates on Jacque’s condition here.

• Short Documentary From Sea To Summit. Sea to Summit, the Australian btand, popular in many outdoor stores in NZ released a nifty little documentary to launch their new 2026 range. This one is for the gear nerds:

Podcasts To Add To Your Never Ending Queue

• EP 767: Duct Tape Is Dead: Modern Foot Care for Long Miles | Trail Runner Nation- Spotify link here

  • While this is primarily about trail running, it translates to hiking. There’s lots of good information, tips & tricks…including discussion on whether waterproof shoes are worth it. Avoiding maceration to the feet is the name of the game.

    • “When has ignoring a blister ever made it better.”

• Copland Track & Welcome Flat Hut | The Tramping Life - Spotify link here

  • A nifty little listen to Jonty describing the hike to Welcome Flat and what you can expect. It’s less than 10 minutes long which is a good length for this kind of thing.

• 172: Hiking the Tongariro Alpine Crossing and Tongariro Northern Circuit with Ben Boland | Aotearoa Adventures - Spotify link here

  • A typical kiwi blokes journey into hiking and the outdoors. A great episode to send to that friend you’re always trying to get out onto the trails.

• Ep 199: Zulu Down Jacket - Product Deep Dive | Live Ultralight Podcast - Spotify link here

  • One for the gear nerds as the Outdoor Vitals Founder helps break down the design of their new down jacket, the Zulu. The magic of the design is the down from Muscovy ducks…a goose-looking duck (which we have in NZ). I like these deep dive pods.

🧔‍♂️ What I've Been Up To...

Having learned about the Canyon Creek Track (Canterbury) about this time last year it was only last week my partner and I went to check it out.

I heard that this trail gives Earnslaw Burn vibes, and it certainly does (see below).

You’re following Canyon Creek most of the way, and as you approach the lower basin I was thinking it’s going to be really tough to get access to the upper basin. It wasn’t as bad as we expected (yay for expectations), with the trail marked beyond the the track that you see on the topo maps.

Then up into the upper basin, and yeap, Earnslaw Burn vibes! There’s a rock bivvy about 1km further on from where we turned around…but with overnight rain in the forecast (plus it was super windy as per the photo at the top of the newsletter), we turned around and headed back to base.

I’ll finish up the blog post in the next few days and make sure I link it in the following newsletter. Maybe you’ll add it to your to do list before summer ends.

The next day saw us heading back towards home, with a stop off to head up the Lindis Peak Track. Unfortunately, we had no views at the top, but now I won’t have to go through the Lindis Pass and think ‘I’ll get up Lindis Peak one day’.

The sheep going over the private land on the Lindis Peak Track went nuts tho!

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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