https://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/20/ShowForum.aspxTrip reports, whether they be club trips or private trips, put them all here.enCommunityServer 2.1 SP1 (Build: 61025.1)https://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/thread/4721.aspxThu, 01 Oct 2009 18:55:56 GMT16d72366-88ed-474a-b0cc-65d60f7c13e3:4721Richard0https://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/thread/4721.aspxhttps://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=20&PostID=4721that would have provided a reasonable warm-up for the Tararua hut bagging she has been undertaking recentlyhttps://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/thread/4720.aspxThu, 01 Oct 2009 18:24:45 GMT16d72366-88ed-474a-b0cc-65d60f7c13e3:4720Kate Williman0https://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/thread/4720.aspxhttps://old.vuwtc.org.nz:443/cs/forums/commentrss.aspx?SectionID=20&PostID=4720<div>(Shamelessly cribbed from NZAC Wellington's newsletter...)&nbsp;</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>A South Island traverse</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Emma Richardson had no genetic predisposition for the outdoors.. nor was she forced by</div><div>parents to endure suchlike "family holidays". Rather she independently joined the</div><div>Christchurch Tramping Club (CTC) while at Hagely High at age 16 - because her mum</div><div>wouldn't let her join the kayaking club. She soon outgrew early Banks Peninsular and</div><div>foothill trips for harder adventures. In no time at all she became known to other</div><div>backcountry legends. I know of one lads' trip where the group had taken great pride</div><div>getting to a remote Westland Biv only to encounter a lone teenage girl already there...</div><div>and they had flown in! They soon discovered her ability to scrounge food off anyone... a</div><div>very useful skill for her most recent endeavour!</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>I do remember one early trip with Emma. I was leading a South-North traverse across Mt</div><div>Owen in terrible weather. Here we encountered a party at lake Bulmer and they lent me</div><div>a GPS to help navigate the snow covered Owen massif in almost zero visibility. It was a</div><div>challenging trip... our cross-over party did not risk the North-South crossing (a good move</div><div>in the these conditions for those who don't know Mt Owen).. the morale of my group was</div><div>pretty low and some began to doubt whether the leader knew where he was going...</div><div>however, Emma's characteristic determination showed through on this her first snow trip...</div><div>(It's amazing what you can endure after being at school with the Mains'!)</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Well, at the vastly older age of 21, Emma has recently completed a solo traverse of the</div><div>South Island. Here are some statistics from Emma's tramp:</div><div>Distance: 1780 km</div><div>Uphill: 93,125 m</div><div>Downhill: 93,591 m</div><div>Marked huts+bivies (including named rock bivs): ~170</div><div>Days: 180 (I think)</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>I was surprised at these numbers... and double checked the computation... especially the</div><div>uphill... but if anything, the stats are probably an underestimate! This is the hard way to</div><div>get the maximum benefit from your annual hut pass!</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Any traverse of the Southern Alps is a remarkable and individual achievement. But a solo,</div><div>continuous traverse at 21, with very little external contact and support (her Mum + Dad</div><div>met her at Mt Cook and Springs Junction, and I met her at Arthurs) makes this one rather</div><div>unique. In the months preceding December 2008, Emma packed maps and food</div><div>parcels... (what else is the final year of your degree for?) and then posted these off to</div><div>high country stations and DoC offices – no helicopter food drops on this trip!</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Many of the sections along Emma's route were over 20 days in length... up to 195km long</div><div>and involved up to 9000m of climbing... that's a heavy pack haul! Furthermore, many of</div><div>the hardest parts were off-track.. and she had to cross some very big rivers alone. Her</div><div>boots failed her in the very first 2 weeks of the journey... but undeterred, she found a pair</div><div>of disgarded men's boots with no tread whatsoever in a Fiordland hut and continued the</div><div>rest of the journey in these.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Comparing epic tramps is meaningless... so much depends on the fickle weather and the</div><div>conditions encountered... and Emma had her fair share of foul weather... gales, NW</div><div>storms and unseasonal early heavy snows. Her tent was almost destroyed by gales on the</div><div>tops of the Princess mountains, buried in snow beneath the Waiau Pass, partly eaten by</div><div>rats in Wanaka.... and she encountered 80cm of rain in 24hrs while trying to get to the</div><div>Mungo Hut. Without a mountain radio there was no forewarning of these events</div><div>(especially the rats) other than the usual weather precursors immediately before. Sensible</div><div>river crossing decisions, good basic gear and good decision making are a given for this</div><div>kind of adventure. However, the motivation to persevere is something else. Her route was</div><div>compromised by conditions and there is unfinished business in Fiordland... but deviations</div><div>and side trips to the East (like a 5000m, 95km detour into the Takitimu ranges) made up for</div><div>most of these compromises in my opinion.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>During her trip several friends encountered her in the hills... most observing that traversing</div><div>the South Island appeared to be an effective weight loss program. Certainly in Arthur's</div><div>Pass she was in scavenge mode (camped out in the church). She reminded me of stray</div><div>dogs I had encountered in Patagonia earlier this year - a happy stray dog. Although</div><div>Emma survived the recession and housing crisis... she did not completely escape the</div><div>leaky building syndrome... However, rather than pursuing a path of litigation she found</div><div>that a packliner between the fly and outer was particularly effective.</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>It was early in the expedition, after a forced retreat from the Princess mountains, that</div><div>Emma encountered her true Nemesis - a concerned, well-meaning policeman at</div><div>Tuatapere. He insisted on providing the emergency locator beacon and did his best to</div><div>dissuade her from tramping alone off-track in Fiordland. No doubt he was used to overconfident</div><div>tourists. Six months later he contacted Emma's mum to follow-up and complete</div><div>some report for the year. He wanted to know when she had gotten out of the bush etc...</div><div>According to Emma's mum there was a startled silence when told she hadn't...</div><div>apparently it took the poor constable quite a few moments and clarifications to grasp</div><div>the concept that the slight girl he encountered six months ago was still on the same trip</div><div>and was now nearing Nelson!</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>There was no room for battery powered luxuries like cameras and GPS's on her trip... but</div><div>periodically she posted back a series of journals... and the stack of blotted pages with</div><div>runny ink that I spied looked like they could tell a story in themselves.</div><div>In the absence of these stories, the numbers speak for themselves - especially if you know</div><div>the joys of South Westland, off-track tramping in Fiordland, transalpine crossings and very</div><div>heavy packs!</div><div>&nbsp;</div><div>Jonathon Carr</div><div>Christchurch Tramping Club</div><strike></strike>