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Hi Andrew, if you're carrying all your food for 10 days and not sharing tent, etc then maybe you should be looking more at the 85L. But I had a porter and a day pack so am probably not the best to advise on this.
I'm sure there are packing nazis out there who could squeeze everything into a 25L day pack….
Andrew, I took a 3 man dome tent and shared it with my father. It was a cheap Kmart jobby and was perfect.
We had 6 nights on the trek and only camped "outside" once. All other times we were either in fully enclosed huts or lean-to type huts with no walls. On these nights we erected the inner part of the tent only to keep mossies out, but it was mesh so let welcome air in.
It's not much fun sitting in your tent by yourself while there's a fire going and the boys are singing. So I'd go for cheap, one with a fly screen type (mesh) inner, and small.
Re. your pack it really depends on how much you want to take as to whether you get a 75 or 85 ltr one. If you're able to arrange to share some stuff with companions you can cut down on a fair bit.
Don't lose any more sleep over your boot decision Kate. You were right, erring on the side of too big is by far the better option.
Your feet do get mashed about coming down hills especially as it's very steep. You may want to consider a thin pair of socks underneath a thicker pair, that's what I did, as my boots were also slightly too big too. Try it out when you're training and see if it works for you.
Hi Kate, agree with Andrew. Seems like you can save some money and get a pretty cheap one – they are in every hiking / sports store. Just make sure you have the right litres. Your porter will be right (he won't even attach the hip strap…..)
Sounds like you can get use out of a day pack, so you may want to get a decent one. These can double up as useful carry on bags on flights if you get one the right size.
Don't worry about the bags for check in as you will be provided with a plastic cover if you want one and that will do you.
Hi Jonas, exciting times ahead for you. Mate you can get right into the whole exercise regime – full blown programs and the like. That's not really my go, I was 34 when I did the trek and when I did it I found what worked for me was:
– I got into a little bit of jogging (40min type jogs in a lunch break a couple of times a week). It's pretty hilly where I work so it included stairs and hills.
– I mixed that up with longer walks in my walking boots to wear them in and get some hours under my belt. It depends on where you are, but try to get some km's in when it's hot as will be hot where you're going.There are some bigger units and older guys that seem to get through the trek OK, but it is hard yakka (and there have been a few casualties over the years). The better prepared you are the better. Cardio is key IMO and if you get to a moderate jogger type fitness the trek will be a lot more enjoyable for you.
I don't smoke but it sounds like a good excuse to give them up to me!
I had a 3 man dome, myself and my dad shared. It was just a cheapo thing (Kmart jobby) and ideal as it was new and hadn't had a chance to deteriorate.
About half of the time we got lucky and access to 'huts'. We'd erect the inner part only to keep out mossies – perfect.
Hi Dani,
Exciting times ahead for you! I suggest you wade through the various threads in this website and you'll find heaps of info that will help you out.
For what it's worth:
– You sound pretty fit and young (unless you're one of those that never leave uni….) so you should be right fitness wise. I'd suggest as much hill work with your boots on as possible. Your shoes sound appropriate – I had some similar sounding hiking boots with ankle support which did me fine. I uped the ante with jogging as well which helped with stamina.– You're investing in the right things with your pack and shoes. Bear in mind a lot of stuff gets trashed as you're wet, muddy and stinky most of the time so I personally went pretty cheap on just about everything else. For example I walked in the same shirt every day. Everything was soaked in 30mins from sweat every single day, so multiple dry trekking shirts are a waste of time.
– You may wish to consider using a porter, it's great for the locals, but depends on why you want to trek as to whether you do that or not.
– I went in May, carried a sleeping bag, but don't think I ever pulled it up. You won't need a 5 degree rated bag, but if you've already got it and it's not too bulky, it'll do.
– You're going to find lists on this and other sites about what you need to take (headlamp, toilet paper, medications, blister remedies, gatorade type supplements, etc etc etc.) I'd suggest getting the non perishables as soon as practicable and trialling packing. Space is at a premium. [That's another advantage to a porter, you can carry a lighter pack yourself and fit in a bit more]. Also, if you are travelling with someone else you can share a lot of stuff.
I must say I enjoyed all the prep, good fun. People have lots of different opinions, just consult the lists and work out what's best for you. You need to be serious about the preparation, but don't take it too seriously if that makes any sense…..there are different ways to skin a cat. I'm rambling, sorry.
Any questions and there's people on here happy to relive their experience a little bit by providing some advice. You're going to LOVE it.
Just my 2 cents josh.
I agree with everything johnny said. It sounds like you've settled on your shoes and pack, so no comment there. That's really the area to spend money on…
With your other stuff I'd be going cheap. A light spray jacket is fine (as you won't use it anyway due to being soaked through from sweat – handy at night if you need to go out of the tent and keep dry). My own preference was quick dry shorts with a skins short type undie to keep chafe at bay and a t-shirt. If you take long pants bear in mind they will be wet all of the time so light material is the way to go.
On your poles, unless you're used to walking with a particular type I had a branch which served me admirably. My father brought along a pole which he was happy with, but note due to the uncommon steepness and variances of the slopes the fixed position of the hand on the pole presented some challenges.
I also had a cheapo head lamp thingy and that was fine.
– The track gets to about the height of Kosi (just over 2,000mtrs) so its about a km higher than the overland, but it's not altitude sickness high or anthing.
– I've done the overland and kokoda is far tougher. Kokoda is longer and steeper (there is very little respite) but far more oppressive with the heat and humidity. You can get warm walking, much harder to cool down. The overland's no cakewalk but it's chalk and cheese imo.
– I saw 3 live and 1 dead snake. The boys got very excited about 2 of the snakes (black ones) and they do seem to have a very real fear of snakes. Rightly so, given the difficulty with anti venom. I was so buggered I didn't really give much of a stuff when I saw the snakes, but I have seen dozens in my time.But I don't know that snakes are an issue as such. Gail may be able to help here, but I don't recall seeing any reports of trekkers dieing from snake bites.
QUOTE(Scacey @ 22 Jan 2011, 08:53 PM) [snapback]12841[/snapback]No worries rocky. I will let u know how they go. And about looking ridiculous? Pretty sure kokoda is not a fashion parade!
Fair enough Scacey, looking back I must of been in a mood when I wrote that! I don't think they're a good option for the terrain but good luck with it. As Pete and Gail have said, your chief worries are ankle support and dealing with the mud (can be very sticky / sucky – had a porter with us constantly digging around for his KT26rs). That said he got through.They look absolutely ridiculous and completely inappropriate. Got to be a gee up. I can't think of anything worse to wear (except maybe high heels…).
If you're born and raised in the PNG hills you can get away with bare feet or a pair of KT26's leakier than a people smugglers' boat.
If you're like me (with weak white man ankles used to graded footpaths or otherwise stored under desks) then you're going to want a bit of ankle support. Sprain your ankle and you're stuffed. It's a very rocky / steep / tree rooty track with ample opportunity to roll your ankle.
Also depends on what season you're going. The wetter it is – the muddier it is, and the muddier it is the more likely you're going to get one of your low cut shoes sucked off your foot.
In a nutshell, unless you're looking to run the track, for most people a pair of proper hiking boots is the way to go.
I agree completely Shane, good post.
I'd add that the track is rampant jungle for the most part and far more at the mercy of the elements than a bunch of boots. You hack a sapling down and another springs up almost overnight. Rain teems down washing away boot prints.
Of course, there would be a critical mass of visitors the facilities could cater for, but as long as infastructure keeps pace, there's more of a risk to the track if people don't go and the track's significance is lost.
It has to be economically viable for PNG to maintain the track. The visitors, by spending money, provide that viability and protection to the track against miners and other industry in a far more effective way than pollies shouting about it's significance from Australia.
It's all well and good to look at the impact of visitors going to the track – but it has to be equally weighed against the impact of visitors not going to the track.
Knees are a tough one fluppy, as I'm sure your hubby can attest. It really all depends on what his problems are.
I know you said finances are a problem, but I'd really suggest he gets a full diagnostic done prior to any sort of exercise regime and work in consultation with the physio to at least set him up properly – he may not need to keep going back. Hubby needs to be careful as the wrong regime can make worse any pre-existing knee injury / defect he may have.
That said (and if you don't want to take my advice
) there are exercises that can strengthen muscles around the knees and stretches to prevent injury. My knees aren't the best and I've found this website has some good info. But you hubby seems to be in a worse state than me…Tell him to at least minimise any sort of impact (no running / jumping) in the meantime.
http://www.bigkneepain.com/knee-exercises.html
