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Hey Galen,
I would buy a hunting knife from here and put it in your luggage (not hand luggage). From what Ive heard, Port Moresby aint a place to go shopping in !!!
Im into drinking whey protein mixed with Glucoden for energy before and after my training sessions and ive found it to be really good. It also hepls with recovery of sore muscles as well, so after those hard trekking days going up those steep bloody hills !! This may come in handy. If your gonna go with protein powder, make sure you get the stuff that doesnt have any additives to it. I get mine through my trainer and he sources it somewhere in the eastern states – i think Melbourne. We here in the west are a little skimp when it comes to things like this !!
As far as any other drink is concerned – im gonna rely on the purest of purest jungle water from the streams – thats gonna give me enough of a lift i think – compared to the crap water we drink here !!
Im gonna buy myself a 2ltr capacity hydrator – its a plastic water bladder in leui of drinking bottle. Much easier to carry and water on tap when you need it.
Besides Galen i would have gone and come back before you go, so i will be a full bottle (pardon the pun) on the dos and donts, will give you some really good tips on my return. Im going from the 8th October til the 20th
gotta go now, getting late and i gotta get to bed as im doing some sand hill sprints with my weights vest on tomorrow – yes i know im sick in the head, but i love it – cant be to overprepared i say !!
Austin
Umm…Weights vest? Dude you're hard-core…Or maybe I'm just bloody lazy!
Thank's for the drink tips. I would really appreciate your do's and don't when you return.Galen.
Hi there
My husband and I walked the track in Sept 06 and thought I would write with a few words of advice after our experience. We lived in Qld at the time and now live in WA, so if you want to give us a call anytime reply to this site and I will give you our details.
A camelbak (or similar) is absolutely essential. The last thing you want to be doing is stopping to undo the lid of your water bottle because generally this will mean taking your pack off your back, and that is not something you want to do. We also carried a 1 litre bottle on the side of our pack. It is good to have a systme of filtration with your purification drops and easy to fill up at creeks, then transfer to the camelbak. In terms of water purification you can now get Micropur in liquid format rather than disolving tablets. For those in WA I have seen these at Ranger camping stores – although I don't think they are at all of them so ring first to check.
For rehydration we took an electrolyte replacement – I think it was called "replace" or something similar. It is essentially like Gatorade however it also had magnesium. Check with your local helath food store. Best to have this is powder form (just add water) as it is lighter. Before leaving we put these into separate zip-lock bags – a day each. We would tend to have one each night, but might be useful to have one at lunchtime too in order to keep the energy up.
When we went the Field Guide to Kokoda was not available – we are currently reading it and I certainly would recommend taking some photocopies of the parts you are interested in. While the porters are absolutely fantastic and will tell you all they need to know, the reality is that they are not historians and have limited knowledge of the war and most relics (although as I said, they point out bits and pieces). I would recommend taking some photocopies. My husband has printed and laminated (so they wouldnt get wet) the maps for each day (think he got these from Gail's website or a book, can't remember). Another thing we took was a little spiral notepad to write timings and general thoughts. At night you are so tired you don't want to write pages and pages, but a few notes are useful.
Training in Perth is quite different to Brisbane where we had quite a few hills and mountains. I highly recommend doing as much hill work as possible, with weight in your pack (ie. more weight than you intend to carry on the track so that your training is more beneficial – build up to it though – don't start silly!!!).
Hmmm, can't think of some other tips for now, but I will follow the thread if you have any questions.
I loved my trip so much I plan to go back in 9 years to walk with our friend who will be 70! I will only be 40 then so I think I'll be able to keep up with him 😉 We intend to walk the opposite direction – last time we walked Owers to Kokoda.
Happy training!
Mel
Hi Mel,
thanks for your post, so let me get this right, if your going in 9 years time and you will only be 40, that makes you 31 now and you did the trek last year, at the age of 30 – youve got 10 years headstart on me already !!! Thats gotta be an unfair advantage !!!
With regards training, i think ive got that down packed – some really steep sandy hills down my way and have been pounding the pavement (or sand) so to speak – im ready now to introduce my backpack into my training only problem is – i dont have one yet !! Im getting prices and ideas presently, I think I will get a 70Ltr – think that should be big enough ? Bearing in mind, i will be carrying it and not a porter so dont need the extra space – your thoughts on this would be beneficial to me.
cheers
A
Hi Austin. This is the pack I`m going for.
http://www.paddypallin.com.au/page.asp?Par…p;ProductID=453
It`s not cheap but Macpac have such a great reputation and the harness will be comfortable.
Good to see Cuzzy back in the fold.
hey Jafa,
have you tried this pack or are you just looking at it ? Price wise its about the same price as the others ive looked at – bit dubious about buying on line, site unseen though. Im probably going to go to mountain design in town and get one from there similar to this, at least i can actually try it on for size before i take the plunge.
Purchased my tent on ebay – black wolf stealth mesh mozzie dome with fly, bit nervous about recieving it as i dont know whether it will suit – looks good on picture, and the description fits the bill but may not be the same in reality – my very first purchase on ebay !!! Thats why im nervous about buying my pack on line.
good to see embers, fletch and also yet another jones !!! and yes , cant wait for cuz to come back and play. Watched the game today, they are looking really good and we still have you know who to come back – awesome.
catchya
A
Hi Austin. I havn`t seen the pack – However Macpac have such a good rep in the industry it`s going to be well made. It`s a pretty basic affair and I guess it will have a good harness. You should see if you can get into Paddy Pallins if your in town for the Lions game. Not sure about how a Hydration system will go with the unit.
I would be interested on your opinion of the tent when it arrives. It`s one I was looking at. The weight attracts me (That and it`s not yellow
)Great game today. Surprised me a little. Cox and Kerr where untouchable – Glass had a blinder.
Hey Jafa,
Went shopping today !!!!! Broke the bank account but hey – you only live once
Bought my pack – Mountain Design TELLUS 70Ltr
Bought my matt – THERMAREST Regular – really light weight and bloody expensive – I will try and be as comfortable as possible without being to rediculous as i figure a good nights sleep will only benefit the next days trekking.Now i gotta get using this gear – will do sections of the cape to cape walk, sandhills and beach walking to get used to my gear in the coming months.
perth this sat – eagles v lions – go eagles go
A
Hi Austin
Yeah, I am 31 years old – although age is relative 😉 My fitness before I started to train for Kokoda (and since) was really poor as I was running my own business, working ridiculous hours and doing no exercise. Kokoda was an incentive to get fit and after 9 months of training 3 weekends out of 4 it paid off. For Kokoda I carried a 60 litre pack, while my husband's pack was 80 litres (but didn't fill it). We then did the Overland Track carrying absolutely everything including cooking gear and hubby carried a 90 litre pack – definately overkill for Kokoda. So I reckon a 70 litre pack would be just about right.
I thoroughly recommend trying on your backpack even if you later buy it online. I am "vertically challenged" and struggled to find a pack that did not cut across my arms (practise walking with exagerated movements). Make sure it doesn't dig into your back, particularly at the top of your bum (which is wear it "might" rub if you are making small movements.
In terms of tent, we were lucky enough to have it supplied with our outfitter. However, not sure if you are aware of a new store in Perth called Anaconda. We had it in Brissie and it has just opened at Joondalup. They currently have a sale on with 1/2 man tents that are lightweight. We were thinking of buying one for overnight walks in Perth, so think it will be more than suitable at Kokoda. Check them out at http://www.anaconda.com.au/ I would rate them as between Kathmandu/Mountain Designs and BCF – not for the hardcore but not cheap and nasty.
You should also certainly have "breathable" and "quick dry" shirts and shorts if possible. For the guys in the audience, bike pants are essential under shorts. Hubby was the only one who didn't have chaffing because he wore bike pants. Most guys had it so badly they had to tape their groin – not a pretty site I am sure and hard to get off when back in civilisation!
Go the Lions!!!! Pissed that I can't get tickets – what is all that about!!!!
Btw, meant to ask why you guys are thinking of taking a knife?
It is not something you need – I didn't even use a pocket knife!
One thing that is particularly useful (especially if you get one in the Kathmandu sale) is a walking pole. The guides will cut one for you however your hands rub on tree trunk and you will definitely need a glove if you go this way. A "real" pole helps as you can put your hand on the top of the pole (not something you can do with a stick). The soil when wet is like the red clay we get here in WA, slippery when wet. You want something to stop you from sliding. Only 1 pole needed though as you need a hand free to break your fall!
Hi mel,
thanks for the advise on the walking stick – i think i will get a stick from the bush and skip on the high tek ones – besides ive got TOUGH HANDS. Through my work my hands over the years would withstand the constant rubbing – dont forget – we cant compare a "mans" set of hands to a "womans" now can we !!!!!
See ya at Subi on Sat
A
Hi Mel,
Yes, I agree with Austin, I will also use a walking pole obtained from the bush although I believe that the trek co. provide one? On the knife, I figured it was not something that would be used a lot although in my experience, (lot's of hunting) it has always been something I have taken. Maybe a full-blown hunting knife is not necessary but something to cut with may be. (Who knows I may be able to chase down a wild boar?)
I don't know. I guess covering all bases is something I have always done. Your input would be welcome. (Also wondering about foot-care. I have heard many things and was wondering how you guys handled it?)Galen
Hey Galen – are you trekking with Kokodatrekking? Iv`e been trying to get someone here to respond to me for the past week in regards to a booking I made. No one seems interested.
hey jafa, if you want the name of another reputable company (the one im going with) who do the trek – let me know and i will forward the details on to you – they have been very very helpfull thus far !!
austin
QUOTE(austin @ 6 Jul 2007, 03:18 PM) [snapback]4710[/snapback]hey jafa, if you want the name of another reputable company (the one im going with) who do the trek – let me know and i will forward the details on to you – they have been very very helpfull thus far !!austin
Iv`e paid the deposit – so I`ll give it a little while longer.
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