What gear / items have you seen others with or without?

[corvus]

Just had the first of our Winter emergencies on the OL ,Solo 55yo Vic walker required assistance when his ("Top of the Range at the Time " Rossie Falcons???) 20 years ago were really good and "I did lots of walks in them" .
The truth of the matter is his boots shat themselves between Pelion and KIA Ora and he ended up walking on the inner sole ,subsequently fell Arsenal over base knocked his head and ended up sleeping on the track o/night.
Rescued by walkers next day who carted him and pack back to Pelion he was then taken to start of Arm River track (by another lot of walkers) to meet Para Medics to be treated .
Cost us a shizen load of Tax Payers Dollars which leads me to think that all prospective OL walkers MUST be gear checked b4 they set out especially during the Winter months it may cause a small delay and p1ss off well prepared walkers however what preventative cost a LIFE.

[Penguin]

Them there fightin' words Corvus. Footwear is just so critical.

I agree but the bottom line is who determines what is minimum gear. Currently organising a mid winter work around Long Tarn for some mates. I am sure that some members of national parks could argue I do not carry enough cold weather gear. I only carry one lot of thermals, extra trousers and down jacket. I wear trousers, shirt and polartech walking. Have gortex coat and overtrousers for wet/blizzard conditions. Usual gloves, mits, beanie and balaclava if things turn rough. Parks recommends another whole set of cloths. We went walking with a Queenslander in February who was not ready for massive snow on the Top of Frenchmans. He put on a brave face but we had enough cloths for him if it went too sour.

Should walkers put up a bond to go towards them being extracted if they need rescue? Would this stop people from calling for help when they needed it to protect the bond?

[DaveNoble]

I can remember meeting a guy at Craycroft Crossing one trip - and he told me about a winter Federation Peak trip he had been on. He had invited a mate that did not have much bushwalking experience and he advised him to buy a good sleeping bag. However the mate received advice from a yachtie - and the bag he bought was not really up to the job (I think it was a cheap kapoc filled bag). Anyway, one cold night on the trip - the first guy was awoken at night by the smell of smoke in the tent. He discovered his mate had a empty sardine tin in his sleeping bag and was burning small bits of paper in it in order to warm himself up a bit.

Dave

[llareggub]

I carried a cast iron frypan to Frenchmans Cap when I was young and silly! You should have seen the look on the faces of the other walkers at Vera when as they were portioning out their cereal rations saw us cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast in a huge cast iron frying pan!

[stevebaby]

I saw Peter Treseder walking up the track from the Blue Gum Forest once. He was wearing a full length wetsuit ,mask and flippers.
I'm not making this up.
It was summer too.

[luke.870]

I’ve seen people in the most ridiculous clothing (I’ve actually seen people walking IN jeans!), I’ve seen people without essentials such as extra clothing or food, or even a first aid kit! I keep thinking a minimal amount of research should be done before you start bushwalking. I mean, it can be really risky if you have no idea what you’re doing! I myself forgot my insect repellent like an idiot, the one time where I really needed it.

[Azza]

I've just spent a few months in South America and I'm completely convinced now that 3/4 of the trekking / walking population in the world has absolutely no clue whatever.

Its not so much what they don't have, its how they use it.
The number of people I saw with their fancy brand new shinny sqeaky clean trekking gear trying to look the part but sadly putting your sleeping bag on the outside of your pack with no protection in Patagonia is a great way to get hyperthermia when the weather turns nasty.
I couldn't believe how often people were trying to dry wet sleeping by hanging them in trees around the camp sites.
Seriously - down there is blows 100km/h, rains and snows anytime of the year. Your sleeping bag is pretty much a life saving device.

You kinda felt like saying something... but everyone thinks they are an expert.. yup, I'm gonna carabiner everything on the side of my pack and let it swing around, fall off and get lost. Also gotta have my foam bed roll on the outside so it can soak up plenty of water when it rains.

I had some good laughs, I even saw people carrying tents like it was a suitcase.

[DaveGwy]

I was walking back to O'Reilly's after some off-track fun, and found 2 girls who had just been rescued by the SES. It was pouring with rain, I already had ~30 leech bites, you couldn't stand still otherwise you'd get (literally) hundreds of leeches crawling up your legs within 30 seconds, it was cold and these two girls had thin disposal ponchos, jeans, fur jackets (fashion style, not artic style), and (GET THIS) one of those beach shelter tents which they were carrying between them. I actually had to stop myself laughing as we overtook them, and they flicked hundreds of leeches off the inside of their jeans. Good times.

Oh, and my worst forgetful moment - matches for my trangia

[north-north-west]

Coming down from a weekend on the BawBaw once in September - when there was still a couple of foot of snow on the higher bits - I met a group of ten people heading off on the AAWT. Only one had boots and gaiters, the rest were in runners. Most were wearing jeans. One had a large, heavy canvas tent strapped to his pack - the sort you use car camping. Another was carrying (in his hands) a fifteen litre cast iron pot.

It had apparently taken them three days to get there from Walhalla. They were due in Canberra in just over five weeks.
For some reason they thought I was joking when I mentioned the snow up on the plateau.

I ran into one of them (the girl with the boots, gaiters and suitable clothing) last summer. She said everyone else piked it at Stronachs - three days later. She wanted to keep going but someone had to organise the group's evacuation, so she had to cancel her own trip.

[SteveJ]

We met a guy on Nadgee beach earlier this year, he had been separated from his 4 mates in very rough weather whilst sea kayaking from Mallacoota to Eden. He came running up the beach when he spotted us to ask if we had a phone or if we knew where he was, where the nearest road was etc (we where 40 kms from the nearest road/phone coverage etc). He was in a very panicked state, thinking his 4 mates had been blown out to sea in the crazy conditions. It had been about 6-7 hours since he had seen them when he left Gabo Island. We asked a few questions and found he was the least experienced of the group, he had set out first and could not turn back owing to the large swell and wind, we decided his group was most likely OK and he was the 'lost' member. We suggested he sit tight for an hour and if his group did not 'catch up' we'd pull the pin on the PLB. He was cold and wet so we suggested he light a fire on the beach to warm up and as a beacon, he had no lighter/matches (we gave him a lighter). Just on dark two of his mates turned up walking from the south, they had snapped a kayak in half launching in the rough surf so set off after their ill experienced mate on foot, the other two members of the party had paddled to a beach further south. These guys had no maps, no EPIRB, no sat phone, nothing; paddling the most remote and rough coast in NSW they essentially thought they could just "follow the coast" and find their mate and the way out. The guy with the broken sea kayak was going to walk the rest of the trip (to Eden) he had some basic food (corn and potatoes) and a sleeping bag in a dry sack, was wearing a pair of Crocs. We gave him a map and wrote him some track notes so he could find water. The 4 remaining kayaks re grouped the next morning and the lone walker went on, I believe they made it to Eden....

Steve

[Matty_E]

Always find it amusing how many unprepared people you see walking the OT.
Walked the track south to north last winter, luckily not too much snow but temps dropping well into the minus degrees overnight (as you would expect in winter!). Ran into a guy at Windemere hut, who was walking through with his mate. He was carrying 6 liters of real milk because "i can't stand to drink that powdered stuff", and we all found it quite funny when he wouldn't get out of his sleeping bag the next morning because he was "too cold".. at 8 degrees (which was the warmest morning we had had!)

We continued on from Windemere out to Dove Lake that day, but not before running into an Asian couple standing on Marion's Lookout at around 4pm, with the aim of making it to Waterfall Valley before dark (around 5:30pm..) these guys were just casually taking photos of one another, in gear that screamed "i've just been into an outdoor store and handed my visa card to someone to give me everything i need" look about it. One of those cheap blue foam mats was strapped to the outside of the pack, still in its plastic wrap. and cheap lightweight raincoats.

I'm actually surprised more people don't die on the overland track. I guess they're often saved by the sheer number of walkers.

This is unfortunately way too true!

[north-north-west]

Then there was the last time I was in Sozzieland. Up early, from Wilpena campground, up St Mary's, sidetrip into Edeowie Gorge, and back via the Pound. Am walking back into the campground (barefoot, shorts, sleeveless shirt) and meet two fiftyish ladies in long woollen pants, long sleeved shirts, boots, gaiters, etc etc etc - for an evening stroll to the honmestead. Overkill?