"To those devoid of imagination a blank place on the map is a useless waste; to others, the most valuable

part....Aldo Leopold

A Healthy Backcountry Partnership

FMC's 2015 AGM went down well. Speakers Robin McNeill, Mick Abbott, Lou
Sanson, Andrew Buglass and John Taylor were reinforced by leaders of volunteer
hut and track maintenance projects from across the country, such as John
Montgomerie fromHeretaunga Tramping Club and Ian Morris of Nelson Tramping
Club, to name just two.
There was ample evidence of a healthy and progressing backcountry partnership
between the outdoors community and DOC, which is very heartening after a period
of time where this has been a struggle in places. Our sincere thanks to all who
attended, and to all clubs that sent delegates.

Youth Scholarships
The FMC Youth Scholarship scheme has been a successful programme since
2011. We don't have regional or national representation to offer our young people,
only the glory of the mountains, but it is nice to be able to recognise their
keenness and initiative in this way. The closing date for the next round of
scholarships is the 11th of September.
The University Clubs have been enjoying the scholarships, which is great, but
more applications from individuals supporters, schools, and clubs are hoped for.
While applicants must be under 30 years of age, their party members can be of
any age. This recognises the importance of mentoring as explained in the recent
Uncle Jacko's Cookery Column.

Action: Donate to the FMC Mountains and Forest Trust. Ensure that
future generations have the opportunity to enjoy Beauty, Challenge
and Companionship in the New Zealand Outdoors.

The importance of getting your hands dirty

Mick Abbott and John Taylor both spoke at the 2015 FMC AGM. Their
collective wisdom encourages skill development and challenges the
paradigm of flattening, hardening and standardising our tracks and
huts.
Who has experienced the displacement of car travel after a long tramp, when
50kmph on the open road feels like light speed? Or that feeling minutes earlier,
strolling into a familiar road-end with weary legs and days of memories? Trampers
intuitively understand that journeys influence otherwise unremarkable moments.
Mick Abbott captures this understanding and pushes us along the path to applying
it to our outdoor existence.
Abbot writes about 'landscape' and how our understanding of the concept affects
the richness of our outdoor experiences. Abbott's 'landscape' is not a photo or a
beautiful view, it is a 'haptic' experience that you touch and move through
physically, repeatedly, that shapes you and is is shaped by you. In this landscape
you metaphorically get your hands dirty. Whether this be by learning to move
through it, by caring for it, by learning over time its complexities or by advocating
on its behalf.
Abbott critiques hardened, flattened paths, which rather than meandering through

nature keeps nature on either side. He illustrates this by comparing two series of
photos of his son walking on a benched path and on a worn tramping track. On the
path the cadence and posture are regular and repetitive, on the track,
"The walkers limbs are kinaesthetically negotiating the forest, responding
to the land, as the entire body and all its senses engages in acts of movement. In
the process of travelling, both the track and the moving person weave more closely
with trees, rocks and the folds of the land. The forest, rather than being located left
and right of the track, envelopes"

Abbott suggests that when providing huts and tracks we should seek to "prompt
behaviours that might heighten both the users sense of involvement, and the
landscapes capacity to shape actions and perceptions". He senses opportunities
in the use of local materials, with improvements both to the sensitivity of the activity
to its environment and to the skills and internal reward of the creators, whether
professional or volunteer.

John Taylor embodies this ideal. With his team, he has been responsible for a
selection of historic hut rebuilds in the Golden Bay area. They have crafted huts
from the fabric of the landscape and in doing so built up their skills and intimacy
with the the environment. When huts like Riordans, Chaffeys and Waingaro Forks
fall to their environment in a century's time they will dissolve slowly into the forest
without the steel and chemical residue of current standardised construction
practices.

Mick Abbott's ideas can be read, John Taylor's places can be visited, the challenge
to us all is how to apply their thinking.
Should DOC change its service standards to recognise the importance of
relationships with landscapes? Processes as simple as lighting and sitting in front
of an open fire, setting a mouse trap, splitting shingles or clearing track may
encourage more intimate relationships. Could more be done to discourage the
flattening of surfaces to the point where nature is removed from the equation and
people become spectators rather than participants. Is industrial style path building,
with its high capital and operational costs the right solution?
Should we all rethink our relationships with our landscapes? Is there more we can
do to get our hands dirty? Should we learn to journey offtrack? Should we
volunteer to develop competence in hut and track maintenance? Should we try and

mentor others in these skills? The opportunity and challenge to develop a more
intimate relationship with our landscapes is there for everyone, and the more
people that accept it the better.

Makaroro Landswap
FMC recently submitted
against a creative
proposal by DOC to
swap part of the
Ruahine Forest Park.

FMC Trust
The FMC Trust
helps great causes, like
'Going up is Easy'. The
next funding round
closes 31st March.

FMC Travel Club

Our trip to Nepal in May
was postponed, but is
now running next year.
Help Nepal by
visiting Read more

Canyoning Festival
Canyoning NZ is
running a festival for
experienced canyoners
in Wanaka this
January, read more.

Newsletter Sign-up
This newsletter is sent
monthly, if you would
like to sign up to
receive it directly, click
here.

Facebook
Follow the issues,
check out interesting
photos and express
your point of view on
our facebook page.

Share

Tweet

Forward

Copyright 2015 Federated Mountain Clubs NZ (Inc), All rights reserved.

Editor: Jamie Stewart: administrator@fmc.org.nz

unsubscribe from this list

update subscription preferences