Issue 190, Summer 2023

Wild

Australia's Wilderness Adventure Magazine

Wild1 min read
The Cover Shot
It was already getting late in the day, and it had become apparent we were unlikely to make it to our intended campsite before nightfall. But that seemed a poor excuse to rush things; it’s not like we get to the Victorian High Country every day, and
Wild1 min read
Wild
EDITOR: James McCormack EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Ryan Hansen GREEN PAGES EDITOR: Maya Darby PRODUCTION ASSISTANT: Caitlin Schokker PROOFING & FACT CHECKING: Martine Hansen, Ryan Hansen DESIGN: James McCormack FOUNDER: Chris Baxter OAM COLUMNISTS: Megan Holbe
Wild4 min read
Off-track
Each issue, I get to sit at my computer and write my editor’s letter. Sometimes, often in fact, I seat myself down with a sense of trepidation, knowing that I have no idea of what I should say or talk about, and wondering for how long exactly I might
Wild1 min read
Gallery
After fifty crossings of the Overland Track, I was finally presented with a spectacular display of the Aurora Australis overlooking the Spires on Mt Oakleigh. The gauges on the aurora forecast were maxing when I arrived on the summit at sunset, but i
Wild2 min read
Get A Free Thermos® Guardian Drink Bottle
(RRP $59.95) 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-c
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Age: It’s Not Really All In The Mind
meganholbeck.substack.com meganholbeck.com @meganholbeck I like my watch. It’s one of those fancy Garmin ones that does all sorts of things unrelated to time: It tracks my speed and route; lets me know if I’m stressed (just in case I can’t tell …); i
Wild3 min read
A Weight Off Your Shoulders
A recent social media comment about a poster we had printed in 1983 to raise money for our then upcoming attempt to climb a new route on Everest’s north face prompted me—for the first time in years—to look at the poster again, this time with fresh ey
Wild3 min read
An Even Lighter Pack
Last issue, I wrote about my gear prep for an 800km traverse of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range, and how I used the website lighterpack.com to whittle my base weight down to an acceptable 11.53kg. I’ve since completed the hike, and thought
Wild4 min read
Great Koala National Park
A selection of environmental news briefs from around the country. The NSW government promised a park to save koalas from extinction, but won’t stop logging it in the meantime. Every year in NSW, around 14,000ha of native forest—home to an astounding
Wild6 min read
Under Pressure
Leeuwin-Naturaliste National Park in Western Australia’s South West is a place of spectacular natural beauty. Visitors can stroll through the Boranup Forest, with its towering karri trees endemic to the area. They can explore the park’s 300 limestone
Wild6 min read
Great Neglected Walks
Australia has many great bushwalks. However, in recent years, it appears some walks are greater than others. Governments of both persuasions appear to have their favourite ‘Great Walks’. These walks, targeting high-yield tourists, seem to attract lar
Wild7 min read
Talking Trouble: ecologically, Politically, Psychologically
The appalling truth of nature writing since the 1960s, when the impact of contemporary climate change began to become widely recognised, is that it has all been about survival—the survival of nature. Even when celebrating works written before the Six
Wild6 min readPopular Culture & Media Studies
An Age-old Problem
Bushwalking clubs have long been an integral part of the outdoor adventure landscape in Australia. For generations, they’ve provided a place for bushwalkers to learn and share knowledge, discover new locations, and form lasting connections. However,
Wild3 min read
The Right People
On a recent trip to Tasmania’s Cape Huay to climb the Totem Pole, I had many preconceptions as to what we were about to encounter and how we were going to climb it and in what style. But upon arriving and getting stuck into the process of actual clim
Wild9 min read
Crag Stewardship
The relationship between climbers and climbing is complex. For some, there’s the physicality and adrenaline and, yes, ego. For others, it’s about community, wild places, or challenging yourself to see what’s possible and to see who you are. But none
Wild11 min read
Beau Miles
It’s hard to know where to start a profile on Beau Miles. He’s lived about thirty different lives (a conservative, factually accurate figure), has approximately 3,000 divergent interests, and wholly defies pigeonholing. To give insight into how hard
Wild13 min read
Into The Void
It’s a terrifying thing, to watch someone’s lips turn blue as they gasp for air. Rapid, staccato breathing, audible over the violently flapping tent—a harbinger of the worsening storm bearing down on us. We had just tumbled into the hastily erected t
Wild9 min read
The Best Laid Plans
"Whaddya reckon?” It was the end of Day Four of a planned six-day canyoning expedition in the south branch of Bungleboori Creek (AKA ‘the Boori’) in NSW’s Blue Mountains NP. Just then, having completed only two canyons of our intended five—after lugg
Wild10 min read
Freedom Of The Hills
In the void below me sat the West Face of Mt Aspiring/Tititea: fifty degrees at its steepest, and today in less-than-perfect conditions. Adam and Ollie had already dropped, departing with the harsh scrape of sharp edges on icy snow. On my snowboard,
Wild11 min read
Heavy mettle In The Western Arthurs
THE EXPERIMENT: According to one scientific study, little research has occurred exploring links between fathering and youth stress. So I thought, what the hell, for the glory of science and all that, why don’t I take my 19-year-old on a five-day exer
Wild1 min read
Getting Deep
IT’S SOME OF THE DEEPEST SNOW I’VE EVER WITNESSED. Once again, I have been drawn back to Japan, and as I climb out of the resort boundaries of Nozawa Onsen in Nagano Prefecture, the deep press of my skins builds lactic acid in my legs. But I am distr
Wild11 min read
Surviving O.r.
Any true gear nut will know instantly what is meant by the words ‘The Mecca of Outdoor Equipment’. Of course, I would never use such a tired cliché (!) but anyone who did would be referring to Outdoor Retailer, or “the leading outdoor sports business
Wild11 min read
PACKRAFTING A Journey As Good As It Gets
DREAMING OF A MULTI-DAY JOURNEY with days spent soaking up the sun, cooling off in clear water and watching the sunset from idyllic campsites? Look no further, packrafting may just be the sport for you! It can be a rewarding way to experience wildern
Wild4 min read
5 Walks In kosciuszko Np
KOSCIUSZKO NP IS THE HIGHEST PARK IN THE COUNTRY, and it contains all of Australia’s 2,000m plus summits. Despite its many peaks, the crest of the park is a series of mostly open rolling hills and meadows containing rocky outcrops with patches of sno
Wild14 min read
The Bluff - King Billies-mt Clear Loop
NEAR THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER of Victoria’s sprawling but beautiful Alpine National Park lies some of Australia’s wildest and most beautiful country. Cragged peaks thrust towards the sky; alpine grasslands spread across high plateaus; and forests of g
Wild2 min read
Vectiv Enduris 3 Trail Running Shoe
SHOE REVIEWS ARE HARD: So much is subjective, from how they fit, to cushioning, to the sole. What you like depends on your feet, the type of trails you run, and where you fit on the trade-off of cushioning versus being able to feel the ground. The ot
Wild2 min read
Dry Bag Revamp
SOMETIMES, IT’S THE SEEMINGLY simple products that revolutionise outdoor gear. I believe such is the case with the humble dry bag. It simply seems hard to remember there was a time that they didn’t exist, a time when—in order to keep gear dry—adventu
Wild2 min read
Mescalito trk Planet Gtx Boot
THERE’S A BIT TO UNPACK about Scarpa’s new offering in the bushwalking-boot department, the Mescalito TRK Planet GTX, not the least of which is the name (what a mouthful!). But don’t let this bamboozle you; there’s a lot to love about them. And what
Wild4 min read
Vertical Solar Canyon GPS Watch
IT’S FUNNY HOW THINGS CHANGE. For most of my life, getting outdoors meant I eschewed technology entirely. Wasn’t adventure meant to be an escape from gadgetry? From electronics? From the world out there? Slowly, however, my attitude has evolved, alth
Wild4 min read
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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Support Our supporters
PAST Outdoors offers a carefully selected range of hiking, camping and expedition equipment tailored to meet the needs of your next adventure. They also manufacture a range of ultralight shelters that can be heated with a titanium wood stove. When yo
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Wild Shot
Rick wins an awesome Osprey MUTANT 22 climbing pack. It features integrated rope carry, a wide-mouth zippered opening, customisable options for carrying crampons/other items on the front of the pack, a secure and easy-to-use ice tool carry system, an

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