Fastpacking the Kepler Trail in New Zealand

Evolution to fast packing on my New Zealand trip in 2007
This was one of my favourite routes in New Zealand. It was the route where I consolidated the approach I had first tried a few days earlier on a two day trip around the Caples and Greenstone trails.

Prior to this I had done a number of trails and what I was coming to realise was that carrying a big rucksack was taking away from being able to enjoy the experience.  A number of the trails are four day long and often they are distances that a hill fit individual could do in two days rather than four. This had a number of benefits, the main one being less food and fuel was needed for evening meals etc. Often I was confronted by people saying I was rushing round. Maybe I was although felt more like flowing around, and I definitely did not miss the experience of looking down as I trudged up steep hills with a heavy bag, which is so often the experience when carrying large rucksacks
The Keplar Track is rightly one of the New Zealand Great Walks, which does have the downside that it gets booked up. On the plus side the limited numbers did mean that at the time I did it you were guaranteed to get a bed with a mattress when you had booked and hence one less thing to carry.

The area includes tussock-covered ridgelines, with spectacular alpine vistas contrast with peaceful lakeside and valley beech forest and is well worth doing even if you choose to do it over four days with more comforts.
So I packed up my bag 20 litre rucksack, well it was a fairly generous sized rucksack.  The kit I took on these trips varied a little depending on what was available at the huts, weather conditions, etc.  The basics were: rucksack with liner, sleeping mat, sleeping bag, small torch, toothbrush paste and soap, few spare clothes, warm layer, hat, gloves, waterproofs, I then had my little MSR pocket rocket stove and small titanium pan, handle and spoon, with gas and a lighter. I picked up a sports style water bottle that had a water filter built in and then normal hill kit for navigating, first aid etc. I was running these routes so most of the day was spent in running shorts and top with bandanna on to protect me from the strong sunshine. I found that carrying a book was too heavy so I used to take a copy of a think magazine like the Economist or Time Magazine. There are some downsides, if I got wet feet I just had to put up with it in the evening. I did not compromise on everything as I took normal food with me, partly as I don’t really find dehydrated foot that appealing and partly as I was on a budget and in New Zealand for two months I wanted to keep the costs down.It is odd to think that with the uptake of ‘fast packing’ now this approach is really popular. Back then it was just the obvious way to approach my trips out into the wilds and a small evolution from the approach I took to travelling, applying what I had learnt on the two day Mountain Marathon Orienteering events in the UK and what Alpine Climbers probably take for granted.
So with my bag packed I headed to pick up my trail permits and parking at the edge of Lake Anauand; it was time to set off.  I headed through woodland past what was for most the first overnight camp at Luxmore Hut, and the countryside had opened up to give amazing views. I pressed on sometimes running, sometimes jogging and often reduced to a fast walk by the steepness. I started heading past a few of the walkers out on the trail; unlike me they were burdened by the heavy rucksacks, they had the slow resigned trudge of people who are having a long day walking carrying heavy rucksacks and spending most of the time looking down at their feet. In contrast I was enjoying the freedom of moving quickly and lightly with my head up and taking it all in. To this day I still remember the feeling of running along the amazing ridge line, the stunning views and the feeling of flowing along the trail.

On arriving at the Iris Burn Hut I found a spot to sleep and got on with the task of making my dinner. I was surprised to see the same people who were carrying large rucksacks were busy boiling water for their re-hydrated packs of meals.It did leave me wondering if they had dehydrated food, what could they possibly have in their rucksacks taking up all that space; I was grateful at this point for my pasta, small Tupperware pot of chopped tomatoes, small Tupperware pot of chopped veg I had done the night before and tuna. They say an army marches on their stomachs and remembered the guidance from my school teacher who took us away on camping trips (including the Easter Hebridean Island trips that I have written about as well); he had helped us learn that being out on adventures does not mean food can’t be good.
After a good night’s sleep the second day was more of the same, packing is nice and quick when you don’t have too much with you and the biggest challenge was making sure my pan did not stick into my back and that nothing rattled too much. The second day was going to be longer in distance although not as much height gain, in fact it was mainly downhill losing all the height I had gained the day before. The day went fairly uneventfully with a brief stop at Moturau Hut for my packed lunch.  As soon as I stopped I realised that even though I had thought the Scottish midge can get bad it was nothing compared to the sandflies that day and my break was cut short as I eat quickly and headed on.
The approach I had developed on this few weeks was influenced by a number of things including my light weight business trips, mountain marathons, trips to the alps and this is still to the day my preferred way to travel.
I went on to use this approach on a number of my other excursions while I was in New Zealand as well as a trip out to do the Helambu trail in Nepal, where the tea house owners were constantly asking where our porters were with the rest of our kit.
The downside to this approach is there is often not much room for error and I would only suggest it for people who know the limits of the approach and are confident they will not get into difficulties.