Back from hanging out in Kahurangi
Back from hanging out in Kahurangi
Wangapeka Track, super-delicious dehydrated trail tucker and a hack for boot repairs.
Kia ora, team! Another thing from me. Here’s what’s in this thing:
Hiking the historic Wangapeka Track to the West Coast
The super-delicious dehydrated food I ate for six days in the wild
A hack for sticking those toes back onto your boots!
Sorry it may have been a while since I wrote. I didn't mean to send "Hitting the Wangapeka Track. Back in eight days!", then go silent, possibly prompting you to consider contacting LandSAR. Really, I didn't. Selfishly, I did write a note behind the paywall to say I'd completed Wangapeka fine and another to say I'd completed my alternative return journey too. These are now up for all to read, but were a bit out of date by the time I switched them over, so I didn't hassle your inbox.
Wangapeka was fantastic. A true scramble through the wilderness, but with lots of pay-off along the way. Kahurangi National Park really is the jewel in the top of the South's crown. You can read in detail how the journey went here:
Kahurangi reverse traverse
On my return to Tasman, I tried to ‘avoid’ the Wangapeka and hike a different route back. It took me six days. I followed a locals-made trail out to the ageing-but-loved Kākāpō Hut, bush-bashed my way alongside an in-flood Kākāpō River to reach the saddle of the same name and then crossed several peaks and ridges of over 1,400 metres. It was epic! Here’s a pic:
My new favourite adventure food
To get enough protein and calories alone in the wilderness for six days, I made use of one of my new favourite meal combos: TVP and couscous.
Anyone heading into the outdoors who isn’t yet familiar with the benefits of TVP and couscous needs to be made aware! TVP stands for textured vegetable protein, which is a fancy way of saying ‘soy pieces’. Put simply: it’s cattle feed. Or even simpler: it’s those meat-like pieces found in Pot Noodles.
The beauts of TVP:
can be bought in handy-sized bags from most supermarkets,\
is relatively inexpensive
comes dehydrated, ready-to-pack
animal-friendly
packed with protein and iron
To cook it, you simply add the flavours of your choice and pour on some boiling water. I like a vegan ‘chicken flavoured’ stock cube, with a lot of chilli. I also add a palmful of dehydrated peas.
The TVP expands very quickly and soon resembles cooked mince. Then you can dump your couscous on top and top up the water level to quickly soak that. Mix once done and in just 5-10 minutes, a filling, tasty and nutritious meal is yours to destroy.
That concludes this edition of ‘Trail cooking, with Dunc’!
Have you used TVP before? I’m keen to hear your recipe creations in the comments or on the socials!
Boot reboot
Walking the Wangapeka, I found myself missing my old hiking boots. For speed reasons, I’d set off in a pair of trail shoes, believing they would get me to my goal faster. The gnarly trail, however, had other ideas. Slippery rocks, crooked tree roots and other obstacles lay hidden beneath the low-growing flora. I lost count of the amount of times I tripped, slipped or nearly fell as I became transfixed on the view and wasn’t watching the floor!
Upon return, I set about researching what my next hiking boot will be. I want to try on a pair of Scarpa Mavericks, but I reckon I’ll be waiting until my mid-Feb trip to Auckland for that.
In the meantime, I set about my old Quechua MH100 hiking boots with my tube of Shoo Goo. Believe me when I tell you: these are old boots! According to my Strava, at time of writing, they have notched up more than 1,450km. And that doesn’t include the three weeks of cherry picking last December.
I tried them on and found them still super-comfy. The special in-soles I wear to keep the plantar fasciitis away are intact too! The soles are a little worn, but still have some kilometres left to give. So, with this in mind, I decided to repair the only other thing wrong with them: the toes.
Now, one thing I struggle with when gluing things is clamping them until the glue has cured. How was I going to glue the toes back on and keep them in place while the glue set?
Answer: stick a few pins through the toe sole and then lash an old shoe lace round the heel. Tie it tightly and leave while the glue cures.
And that concludes this edition of ‘glue hacks, with Dunc’. You’re welcome!
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