Things I have learnt.

[Liamy77]

just a tiny 4cm on the map can be a bugger in reality......

[north-north-west]

Yeah, it's the detail the maps don't show that make the walks 'interesting'.

[Genesis]

The Irony of experience must be experienced!

[north-north-west]

Don't just check the forecast before you leave - check the river heights as well.

[north-north-west]

If the sign says the area is closed, DON'T go in, even if the gate is open and a dozen people are camped down there. Not even for a few minutes.

Otherwise you may find yourself confronted by an irate ranger backed up by two carloads of armed cops.

[corvus]

If the sign says the area is closed, DON'T go in, even if the gate is open and a dozen people are camped down there. Not even for a few minutes.

Otherwise you may find yourself confronted by an irate ranger backed up by two carloads of armed cops.

Did you not say BOO and tell them to get on their bikes n-n-w caus you are the Tax payer
corvus

[north-north-west]

If I'd tried that I'd also have been a very heavy fine payer.

Fortunately, I wasn't the one who unlocked the gate, so I got off with a warning. But I still think all those cops and guns were a bit of overkill for what was just a little public trespassing.

[corvus]

Wow n-n-w you must have ventured into/onto some secret site if it required two car loads of " gun totting " police to back up the ranger ,but then again come to think of it every constable ,big,small, old ,young male or female in our quiet State seem to have "a big iron on their hip" regardless, so perhaps you were not in as much strife as you thought depending of course where exactly you decided to camp
corvus

[north-north-west]

I wasn't camping. I drove down there because I wanted to check the place out and - after knocking off Darling and The Governor - was too knackered to walk back up to where I'd parked the car.

Would be interesting to know what happened to whoever did open the gate, if the fuzz & ranger managed to find out.
*&%$#! gates are legally opened on Thursday, anyway/ Five days early and they make a major event out of it. Must have been a very slow day in Mansfield.

[Macca81]

On the weekend just gone, i learnt that having a walking partner who only spends 3 minutes a day not talking makes for a very long day walking... and after 3 days makes me want to poke sharpened sticks into my ears...

[wildwalks]

Don't pee into the wind

[John Sheridan]

Don't pee on a bear either, that is NEVER a good idea :p

[Macca81]

If the wind is strong, don't pee with the wind either...

Sent from my HTC Desire using Tapatalk

[South_Aussie_Hiker]

What if the pee-er is also the creator of the wind?

Some of the sounds I heard from the overland track toilets while in the cubicle alongside ... OMG

[under10kg]

Never say thaty is the last climbing today even if you have done the walk 10 times

[marangaroo86]

Never say thaty is the last climbing today even if you have done the walk 10 times

Yes I agree under10kg.
How many times have I heard this
Last hill How psychologically draining

THANKS
Marangaroo

[icemancometh]

Don't allow more than one GPS to be operating at any one time, it just ends up in arguments...

Make sure the guy holding the GPS knows how to use it.

Just because technology is being used doesn't mean you can turn your brain off.

(Remember trying to find the right pass to cross...(going through the wrong one would just take longer, nothing dangerou)s...and my buddy had a GPS and I was old school compass/map/common sense...we argued for a bit but him being more experienced at the time I deferred to him even though it just didn't seem quite right...I was hot and dehydrated and so grumpy and what do you know he took us the long way)

[icemancometh]

Never chat up a sexy woman walking solo with 30 kgs at the start of a 8 day walk.
Your frameless pack is not designed to carry extra weight.

Sometimes lust has a price attached!!

does that extend to

Don't take your non walking girlfriend out walking?

Ended up carrying two packs in stinking hot weather...partly why I am now trying to get my walking pack weight down (can't expect her to bivy and tarp!)

[icemancometh]

You can't avoid making mistakes when selecting and buying gear.

Don't buy cheap inferior gear the first time just to save a few $$$ because it'll be even more expensive to have to upgrade later to better gear you should've bought in the first place

[Ent]

does that extend to

Don't take your non walking girlfriend out walking?

Ended up carrying two packs in stinking hot weather...partly why I am now trying to get my walking pack weight down (can't expect her to bivy and tarp!)

Do not expect a four star type of girl to be "delighted" with a no star camping experience.

[kbm63]

don't offer to help the blokes put out the fire if you are a girl!
"it's not far now.." is only relative (relatively unreliable)
don't leave the trowel and loo paper in a plastic bag under the tent fly where the possums can run off with it!
always double check the contour lines on the map before you start up the hill
good friends made bushwalking can be friends for life

[Ent]

good friends made bushwalking can be friends for life

Can not agree more

[icemancometh]

You must tell people new to the bush NOT to go near fresh water (only natural source all trip and my novice friend decided to go then)

[kbm63]

Snakes can swim
Ticks can find the most inconvenient hiding places
Lamington spiny crays make a hissing noise when disturbed on the track
Wallabies can be aggressive
nothing stops leeches
It's fun getting overseas visitors to look for the "lost baby" when you hear a catbird!

[anotherwalker]

Practise, practise, practise with your hiking gear at home first. (It makes setting up your tent, cooker etc in terrible weather in the dark that much easier).

Always take 2 packets of matches and keep them separate. (accidentally got water on one set lucky I had a second set).

Test that everything works at home before heading out. (Making sure batteries are still good for your headlamp, that your windstand will be satisfactory and that your pot grabber will work on all the different pots you plan to take).

Never Ever wear cotton singlets when hiking in the middle of winter in cold climates.(They soak up all your sweat/moisture and can lead to hypothermia).

Reapply sunscreen at lunch time in Summer. (Chances are by that time its probably already well worn off).

Always take plenty of water just in case. (Rain tanks can be empty, rivers or creeks can be dryer than expected).

Double check you have everything you need when packing not out on the trail. (I forgot to take a can opener with me once when I was 20km from the nearest shop. Doh).

When trail walking always look for footprints. Its a good sign that you are probably on the "Right" track

[north-north-west]

Do not expect a four star type of girl to be "delighted" with a no star camping experience.

Surely to BE a four-star girlfriend she'd have to be into no-star camping?

[wobbly]

And girl friends are much less keen on bushwalking once they are your girlfriend.

[icemancometh]

Do not expect a four star type of girl to be "delighted" with a no star camping experience.

Surely to BE a four-star girlfriend she'd have to be into no-star camping?

"You can't expect comfort at a place like this, and you don't get the feel of the play from up there. And think of the fun you'll have talking about the cold afterwards."
-Tanizaki's 'Some Prefer Nettles'

[walkinTas]

Do not expect a four star type of girl to be "delighted" with a no star camping experience.

Surely to BE a four-star girlfriend she'd have to be into no-star camping?

I don't know where you camp, but where I camp it is multi-star (unless the weather is inclement).

[Nuts]

Wallabies can be aggressive

Look out for preoccupied wombats, they are often on a mission. One came from nowhere, I could only watch in horror as the cuddly thing charged (at a full trott) into my leg.