Thread: Running Out of Time

Is it a hut quest or killing goal, because I find since I'm ageing killing has lost its mana ,it's more fresh air and great visuals

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Originally Posted by NRT

Is it a hut quest or killing goal, because I find since I'm ageing killing has lost its mana ,it's more fresh air and great visuals

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Greetings NRT,
Honestly I think it is a bit of both. I have never been much of a hunter but do enjoy sneaking through the bush hunting for deer. Seeing one gives me a big buzz and hopefully with a bit more fitness the consequences of shooting one won't seem so daunting. I am definitely not one to take the back steaks and leave the rest. I also enjoy walking into and staying in the huts. I have done a few fly in trips with my son and rather like the idea of a fly walk fly trip to visit some of the huts and areas that have eluded me to date once the fitness improves a bit. The Harkness valley sounds nice in late November. About 2003 a friend and I flew into Venison Top and walked out via Ballard and Makino Huts. It was a great trip. On that trip we did a bit of hunting around VT and were lolling around after lunch when an old chap appeared. He had been dropped in to Back Ridge Hut as Rocks Ahead was fogged in and had walked down to the latter and up to VT. After a cup of tea and a chat he was of to Mangaturutu Hut heading for Clements road in a few days. He was 75. We were gob smacked. Seems pretty relevant to this thread.
Regards Grandpamac.

Greetings Everybody,
We are supposed to be getting crap weather in HB tomorrow so headed up Kuri Hill this morning. Reasonably cool with some light misty drizzle at times. Ideal. Huffing and puffing up the track I was barked at by a Sika Hinde about 30 metres away. I found some prints on the track but didn't see her. No rifle anyway. Made my day.
Regards Grandpamac.

Rogue Ridge and Upper Tutaekiri from Kuri Hill Track Kaweka SFP.

Timely post @grandpamac ....im 64 in may, have lost two dear friends in the last year to natural causes....got me to improve my fitness and im planning (Covid lockdowns not withstanding) to do 3 Great Walk this May.....

good onya for keepin on.....

I had a stark reminder of this last week.
I used to laugh that the times put beside track markers were worked out by pushing granny in a wheel chair.
Well I was reminded of my encroaching decrepitude last week when I took on the pudding hill track in molesworth. 2 hours it said, and two hours it took me plus about 2 l of water. Then 2 hours back down.
I won't say how long the Mt auregard walk took after that, but the signs estimate was a bit off and not in a good way.
So now I've slowed to DOC signpost speed you just have to keep going at your own pace and bugger the signs.

Originally Posted by Marty Henry

I had a stark reminder of this last week.
I used to laugh that the times put beside track markers were worked out by pushing granny in a wheel chair.
Well I was reminded of my encroaching decrepitude last week when I took on the pudding hill track in molesworth. 2 hours it said, and two hours it took me plus about 2 l of water. Then 2 hours back down.
I won't say how long the Mt auregard walk took after that, but the signs estimate was a bit off and not in a good way.
So now I've slowed to DOC signpost speed you just have to keep going at your own pace and bugger the signs.

Greetings Marty Henry,
I would have pretty well made the Kiwi Saddle Hut in my younger and fitter days in the time I took today to get halfway up the first hill. Plenty of room for improvement.
Grandpamac.

Still a good early effort in your new efforts @grandpamac, Slowly ,Slowly Catch A Monkey One thing l have learnt through guiding people of all ages & fitness levels is most are unaware how important keeping properly dehydrated with some added electrolytes is & drinking before you feel thirsty ,this also helps with muscle/body recovery.People forget when you are huffing & puffing you are expelling moisture at a great rate & dehydrating your body through your mouth, on top of the effort taken raising a sweat , l also recommend a Banana to snack on or good dehydrated trail mix etc to keep reserves up .Also as your block laps get a bit easier adding a little bit of extra carried weight over time will help 10X in the long run building up reserves .Good on ya havin a crack .

Greetings Bunji,
Thanks for your sound advice. I have always been pretty good on hydration but have not used electrolytes. My son does ultramarathons so I will have a chat to him. On my block laps I've noted some work needed on our boundary fences so some fencing kit in a pack is likely to be added. Some battens will be needed as well and will need to be packed up there. My very first overnight trip into the bush was to the Makino Hut and Biv coming up 58 years ago next month. My father, uncle and I walked in by torchlight on Friday night and stayed at the Bivy. The following morning we walked into the hut which my uncle had helped build and I had a shot, at a rock, with his P14 .303 and spotted two deer on the way out. Great experience for a not quite 14 year old that I am not ready to give up yet.
Regards Grandpamac.

Greetings All,
My dearly beloved came home from the Library on Monday with copies of all three of Dave Baldwin's books and I am currently reading "Healthy Bastards". It struck me that the elephant in the room (a very good analogy) that I had ignored in my earlier posts was weight. Tony Orman in his article in NZ Outdoor lamented the fact that to many hunters quit the sport in their late thirties and early forties rather than continuing into their later years. Based on personal experience one of the reasons for this loss to the sport is weight gain as we age. I thought that I would share some personal observations that may be useful.
To build on doctor Dave Baldwins description I am a naturally fat bastard. My rapid weight gain as a baby so startled the Plunket Nurse that she suggested a drink of water before a feed to slow it down a bit. Currently I weigh 116 kg which is a bit over 20 kg less than my heaviest but still over 20 kg heavier than I need to be to scrape in to the max BMI of 27 for my height and age. To those of you that this might apply and have not run screaming to the fridge for a cold one congratulations. The secret of weight loss, which I have had to re learn many times over the last six decades, is to increase the output through exercise and decrease the input form what we eat and drink. This second part especially applies to the bad stuff (read sweet stuff, fatty stuff and booze).
I have made some goals on weight to go with the ones on training and will report back in due course.
Regards Grandpamac.

Your son will be a ideal source of knowledge on it then (just noticed bloody auto correct changed everything to dehydrate in my post ).What l found really noticeable was the help being properly hydrated gave to recovery ,if your son has any bits of knowledge on it you think may be of interest make sure you share them it will help all of us no matter what age/fitness level etc .Keep up the good efforts,you put many younger to shame & are having a crack .

Greetings All,
I thought a short update and some more notes on planning might be of interest. I had another (my third) walk up Kuri Hill on Friday and noted some modest improvements. Faster up to the low trig and got about half way to the top. My block circuit this morning was easier as well. Still an awful long way to go though.
I have also done some more planning. Together with the goals mentioned earlier some longer term some longer term objectives have been set including repeating my first trip into the bush mentioned above 60 years later. Planners often refer to SMART goals that is goals that are Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time Bound. To the younger set the just do it approach may work but for those of more advanced years a more strategic approach to fitness will likely be needed. For me writing down my goals and objectives and keeping a written record of progress or lack thereof is useful. Some may find this anal but those that have read some of my posts will have formed an opinion on that already.
Anyway if you are walking along the track to the Makino Hut on 29 March 2023 and see some old fudd huffing and puffing along say hello. It might be me.
Regards Grandpamac.

Pool walking is and has always helped me get fitter for the hills as it seems to use the same core muscles. I try to do 40-lengths (25m pool so 1km) 3 to 4 times a week and try to get out for an afternoon goat hunt each week. I'm 58 and find the hills are getting a bit flatter because of the pool! Mind you; still have another 10-15kgs that need shifting. I try to do 10-lengths walking/jogging up and back, 10 up and walk/jog back backwards, 10 backwards both ways, and 10 sideways up and back.

Running backwards helps your balance and seems to work the same muscles as walking uphill. Well those are the muscles you feel it in! The benefit of the pool walking when you're older is that the water doesn't put pressure on your body. Plus you can make it harder or easier by changing your speed or putting your hands in the water and make your hands into a paddle shape and drag your arms through the water too. Sounds silly; but by doing that with your hands you are giving your arms 30-minutes or so of light weight training as you hold them in position under the water when walking.

The other thing I was doing before I broke my ankle was walking my 100m paddock/track 10x a day. I have 2 20-litre drench containers full of water at one end and stop and lift them for about 15-sec each lap. It takes about 10-15 mins and you walk 1km and lift 400kgs. It doesn't seem like exercise because you're talking to the animals and looking at the fruit trees etc. I've found the pool has been the best while rehabbing my ankle; but I enjoy the walking track to and it's $4 cheaper

I've found that the continuous regular medium exertion regime works well for me. But everyone has different ways to achieve their goal

Oh; and pool walking is just about meditative; you sorta switch off and just go up and back counting your lengths.

Originally Posted by bumblefoot

Pool walking is and has always helped me get fitter for the hills as it seems to use the same core muscles. I try to do 40-lengths (25m pool so 1km) 3 to 4 times a week and try to get out for an afternoon goat hunt each week. I'm 58 and find the hills are getting a bit flatter because of the pool! Mind you; still have another 10-15kgs that need shifting. I try to do 10-lengths walking/jogging up and back, 10 up and walk/jog back backwards, 10 backwards both ways, and 10 sideways up and back.

Running backwards helps your balance and seems to work the same muscles as walking uphill. Well those are the muscles you feel it in! The benefit of the pool walking when you're older is that the water doesn't put pressure on your body. Plus you can make it harder or easier by changing your speed or putting your hands in the water and make your hands into a paddle shape and drag your arms through the water too. Sounds silly; but by doing that with your hands you are giving your arms 30-minutes or so of light weight training as you hold them in position under the water when walking.

The other thing I was doing before I broke my ankle was walking my 100m paddock/track 10x a day. I have 2 20-litre drench containers full of water at one end and stop and lift them for about 15-sec each lap. It takes about 10-15 mins and you walk 1km and lift 400kgs. It doesn't seem like exercise because you're talking to the animals and looking at the fruit trees etc. I've found the pool has been the best while rehabbing my ankle; but I enjoy the walking track to and it's $4 cheaper

I've found that the continuous regular medium exertion regime works well for me. But everyone has different ways to achieve their goal

Thanks for that Bumblefoot,
I seem to be doing some of the same stuff but less of it for now. One pool walk for 30 minutes or a bit more. This includes the reverse thrust paddling. One Kuri hill walk and three or four farm walks. About 1.2 km and 60 metre climb each. The pool here is only $1.00 for old fudds. All should increase over time. Will try your sideways and backwards walking. Also daily static and dynamic stretching plus some strength work.
Thanks for your suggestions. Grandpamac.

Greetings All,
Been hammering away at this fitness thing for about 2 months now and have some progress to report. Speed up my favourite hill has improved and I can now go further without feeling totally stuffed. There has also been some modest improvement in the body mass. So for next week the Gentleman's hours week day wander will be replaced by a Gentlemen's hours mid week wander with rifle (note the subtle change). I know the area around the old Kaweka Hut site reasonably well so that seems a good place to start. Will probably alternate the two depending on weather. Just one decision needs to be made, which rifle? I am tending toward the little Bergara break open .308 that I can stow in my pack if needed.

Spotted this on my wander today. Must be April.
Regards Grandpamac.