This week I am having four-level spinal fusion on my lumbar spine (irrevocably damaged by tough hard heavy work from when I was only a child). However, the surgeons have found one disc which is sound so I can have this done, be free of pain and just be a little stiffer getting out of …
Reposted from April 2017: Regular readers will know I have just returned once more from hiking the Dusky Track, Fiordland New Zealand – probably NZ’s toughest and most beautiful. I have now been on the Dusky nine times. For most of its length it is more a route than a track. Take away the track …
Loch Marie to Kintail is another long section much like coming up from Supper Cove. It takes me 7-8 hours, but I am not a racer. Much of the trip is walking along pleasant river flats. Some of the clearings are so big you have to look out for the (large) triangles on the other …
The trip to Supper Cove is a side trip taking two days – but really worth it! The walk up/down from Loch Marie to Supper Cove takes me 7-8 hours. I know you may be younger and in more of a hurry – who know why? Most of the distance is very pleasant, flat walking …
It will take you slightly longer to walk from Lake Roe to Loch Marie than it did from Halfway Hut, though this will come as a surprise when you seem to have walked 3/4 of the way there over pleasant snow-grass tops sprinkled with myriad jewel lakes and you are gazing down on the Loch …
Back from our 10 days mainly in Fiordland NZ marred somewhat by Della dislocating her shoulder in a fall from a rock. This led to the best helicopter ride ever, not enjoyed as much as it might have been however. We encountered this rock face about a quarter hour up the track from Supper Cove …
‘I was feeling a little down (due to some internet bullying), then a young friend rang to wish us ‘Seasons Greetings’ from Washington, which really brightened up my day! He is Steve Hutcheson a young American (29) I met on the Dusky Track, Fiordland NZ in 2012. At the time I had such a bad back …
Moose frolic in garden sprinkler: A tip for Fiordland moose hunters: I think this short clip well illustrates the need moose have to cool down in warmer weather. In a Fiordland summer, it is really too warm for the average moose (given the absence of cool lakes in which they could browse underwater plants). They …
If I ever catch a moose in Fiordland I may do this with it: http://maggiesfarm.anotherdotcom.com/archives/27719-Moose-Team.html
A gear list mayhap more appropriate for well-trod trails, safer places than where I prefer to venture – I dream yet of Herrick Creek and this wonderful photo – but less than 2.5 kg all up shows where savings may yet be made: http://gossamergear.com/wp/sub-5-pound-baseweight-backpacking More about Fiordland Moose Hunting here: http://www.theultralighthiker.com/eddie-herrick-moose-hunting-at-dusky-sound/ & here http://www.theultralighthiker.com/moose-hunting/ & …
Contrary to popular culture, these monsters are NOT a myth, but are alive and well and living in Fiordland. My own observations are that they are quite widely dispersed. This is more than confirmed by Ken Tustin’s Herculean efforts over 40 years to spot just one of them. During many trips along the Seaforth River …
Expect a break from me: tomorrow I am off for ten days’ hiking in Fiordland. In the unlikely event that I capture a photo of a live moose, I will come back $100,000 richer as there is a prize offered. I have seen one, and have seen much sign over the years: tracks, browse, fewmets…so …
