Walking 101: Walking poles or a single stick

And then in the early to mid forties she became pole curious. The bravado of youth was fading with the intermittent niggles in her left knee. She started posing questions and watching the mantis-like formation of walkers, passing her out on the track.

With Swag & Billy

H J Tompkins HJ Tompkins is to New South Wales as Robert Henderson Croll is to Victoria in terms of pioneering bushwalking and writing. Published in 1906, ” With Swag & Billy” was Australia’s very first bushwalking (hiking) manual and guidebook. Packed with hints on equipment, provisions and hiking tips borne from long experience trampingContinue reading “With Swag & Billy”

The Complete Walker

This essay by club member, Sam Larsen in 1961, is a lesson in aspiration. It’s a blueprint to the olde ways of bushwalking before our society was dumbed down by labour saving devices. He is gifting us the tried and tested techniques to thrive in the outdoors, gifting us some preparation dot points.

Hiking stick timber choices. An Australian (Victorian) perspective.

It’s easy to think that a hiking stick can be picked up from the forest floor and be an affable companion for you as you journey. It’s just a stick. Yet finding that straight branch with the right heft that gives that overwhelming feeling of connection is rare. Celebrate it if you find it. KeepContinue reading “Hiking stick timber choices. An Australian (Victorian) perspective.”

Feet across Australia – A daring 2300 km walk across Australia

When 2 brothers and 3 girls spent 4 months crossing the continent on foot by an inland route in 1973, they became the first recorded party to do so since Burke and Wills. They were also probably the first in which all party member walked every step of the way and still remain as the only party to cross the final salt-flats and mangroves (two more camps) and stand on the beach of the Gulf of Carpentaria. A ‘highlight’ of the walk was their struggle along the flooded Birdsville Track.

A Journey On Country.

“Knowledge and skills trump equipment, so learn as much as you can” – Gordon Dedman, Bushcraft Survival Australia. Dangerous ideas are contained within. Enter at own risk. This essay addresses the modern dilemma of PLB’s, sat phones, personal responsibility, preparation and mortality. If you have ever thought about the olde ways on expedition, you should invest some time with this opinion piece.