Issue 183, Autumn 2022

Wild

Australia's Wilderness Adventure Magazine

Wild1 min read
Wild AU
EDITOR: James McCormack GREEN PAGES EDITOR: Maya Darby PROOFING AND FACT CHECKING: Martine Hansen, Ryan Hansen DESIGN: James McCormack FOUNDER: Chris Baxter OAM CONTRIBUTORS: Alex Parsons, Belinda Tomlins, Alastair McDowell, Dan Slater, Catherine Law
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The Cover Shot
“There is often a point during a bushwalk when one reconsiders their route choice. This was that moment on the Stirling Range. After a slow morning breaking camp, we climbed out of the Third Arrow cave and then over the Second and First Arrows, befor
Wild4 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
Secrets
We all have secrets. According to the Scientific American, this is a bad thing. “It hurts to keep secrets,” it said in a 2019 article called ‘Why the Secrets You Keep Are Hurting You’. It also claimed we have, on average, thirteen secrets, although h
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Sentinels Over Pedder
Last month Paul and I, following in the footsteps of thousands, struck out for Lake Pedder. We couldn’t, however, find the track where it leaves the Gordon River Road west of Maydena. That’s because it begins on a boggy plain and was probably always
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Running Into Another World
Over the last few years I’ve done a lot of trail running, by my standards anyway. First it was a fast way to get fit for an overseas trek, and then I began wondering: Could I do an ultramarathon? Soon I’d bought a running pack, some fluoro shoes and
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Myles Dunphy’s Maps
As I’ve previously mentioned, cartophiles are mourning the death of Geoscience Australia’s printed topographical map range. What better balm for the pain than to lose oneself in a collection of paper maps that represent not only a valuable resource b
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Sleeping Over
“Day trip or overnighter?” In my mind, this is a common question when I’m planning a short adventure. Regretfully, in some ways, the outcome is more commonly the former. Yes, life gets busy, and for sure an overnighter takes more organisation and you
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Green Pages
A small Tasmanian community network, Supporting Our Loongana Valley Environment (SOLVE), is fighting to prevent destruction caused by a proposed electricity transmission line. It’s a sad truth that if you live in a beautiful part of Tasmania you’re e
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Wild is no ordinary magazine. Since its establishment in 1981, Wild has been the inspiring voice of the Australian outdoors. It is a magazine of self-reliance and challenge and sometimes doing it tough. While it is not necessarily hard-core, what it
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The Paradox Of Consumption
You know that feeling of reaching a beautiful spot on a trail? Throwing off that heavy backpack and sensing the blood rush back to your feet as you rest on a moss-padded log. While trying to listen to the bird song, you start noticing—with every subt
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Ten Tips On keeping Sane In The Rain
With much of the country having been hammered recently by deluges of biblical proportions, it seems fitting that this instalment of our new beginner-friendly section "Getting Started" gives tips on how to deal with rain. Wild Earth Ambassador Nathan
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Q+A with Outdoors People for Climate’s Kristen Perry
As outdoor enthusiasts, Wild readers know how critical it is that we—as individuals, communities, and countries—work together to fight the devastating impacts of climate change. Outdoors People for Climate is a grassroots community organisation tryin
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Brad Mccartney
Sydney is eerily quiet when I meet Brad McCartney behind the counter at the Macpac store where he works. No hustle. No bustle. No people at all. And definitely no customers in need of outdoor adventure equipment. The locked-down city of skyscrapers i
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Restore Pedder Now
by Bob Brown Patron of the Bob Brown Foundation & Former Leader of the Australian Greens POWERFUL MEN LIED, CHEATED AND BULLIED their way to flooding the Lake Pedder National Park in 1972, but citizens raised a heart-rending campaign to save it and,
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Get Wakt
Titanium spork—check. Carbon fibre walking poles—check. Digital mapping—check. When prepping for a week-long wilderness hike, I’ll always root out my lightest, most sophisticated gear, with each item serving as many functions as possible, and I will
Wild11 min read
Alone in LITCHFIELD
A week before my daughter’s tenth birthday, I did two things I’d never done before. I had just recovered after being sick for a week, during which I’d felt grumpy and caged aboard the increasingly cramped sailboat I’d been calling home in Darwin. I w
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The longest Night
(Unless images credited otherwise) “What a beautiful place to die,” I thought. I lay on red rocks, surrounded by an ancient stone gorge with a fierce river cutting through it. I knew there were blue freshwater pools just a few hundred metres from whe
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Huts Of The Kosciuszko High Country
I’LL NEVER FORGET THE FIRST TIME I stumbled upon a high country hut. There it was, tucked away in a small valley, protected from the cold wind and rain that had been tormenting me for hours that morning. I approached it with hesitation, as if I were
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A quick lowdown to 5 WALKS IN TASMANIA’S CENTRAL HIGHLANDS
THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS OF TASMANIA include Cradle Mountain - Lake St Clair and Walls of Jerusalem National Parks. The major features of both parks have been created by geologically recent glaciation, which has scoured bowls in the rock to create lakes
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Tales from Australia’s Backyard
There was a crack and a bang followed by the sound of a tree crashing to the ground. Either side of the stock route taking us through the parched, scrubby cattle stations between Nebo and St Lawrence was on fire. One of the property owners’ burn-offs
Wild12 min read
Enchainment
A Human-Powered Expedition to Link All of New Zealand’s Highest Peaks “All of next week looks like rain,” Hamish’s girlfriend Beāte announced unapologetically, as the three of us strode down Ball Road towards Mount Cook Village. Surely not, I thought
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Support Our supporters
We get it; we know ads aren’t the primary reason you read Wild. But without our supporters, Wild simply wouldn’t exist*. If you love what we’re on about here at Wild, if you’re passionate about both adventure and protecting our natural heritage, if h
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Gear
Product class: Multi-day hiking pack Volume: 65L Weight (as tested): 2190g (S/M) RRP: $479.95 More info: osprey.com TEST The 2022 update of Osprey’s Goldilocks, not-too-big, not-too-small pack which adjusts to suit nearly everyone. WHEN MY GRAND PLAN
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Stirling Range Ridge Walk
WHILE MANY WALKS IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA offer challenge to experienced bushwalkers, for most of these the difficulties lie primarily in their remoteness. The Ridge Walk in the Stirling Range is one of the few exceptions. Isolation isn’t an issue here;
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Mammut
For a company so associated with the mountains, one that’s based in a country so associated with the mountains—Switzerland—it’s perhaps surprising that Mammut’s birth 160 years ago had absolutely nothing to do with the mountains. In 1862, ropemaker K
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Wild Shot
For a chance to win some quality outdoor kit, send your WILD SHOT and a 50-100 word caption to contributor@wild.com.au ■
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Letters
[Letter of the Issue] Hi James, Excellent editorial in Wild #182 about Parks Victoria’s grasping need to make money from national parks and their thin-skinned approach to criticism on social media. As a volunteer worker in parks and other publicly ow

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