Get Prepared Before You Hit the Hills This Summer

Summer is here, with the promise of warmer temperatures and longer days giving ample opportunity to hit the hills for a hunt. It also means the legendary Roar is just around the corner. No matter what your motivation for summer hunts, if you’ve been out of the game over the winter and spring months, give some thought to your first trip out and do some planning so you’ll have an awesome time with your mates, bag some game and avoid needless injuries.

Check in With Yourself

First up, have an honest conversation with yourself about your current physical fitness. If you’re out of condition, start small, set realistic goals, and build strength and endurance gradually. Once you’ve got a baseline fitness, think about introducing full gear and your pack in the hills to really test yourself before the real thing.

Hunting injuries speak volumes about the need to get hunt fit. On average, 40% of the severe hunting injuries* over the past 10 years are to the knee or shoulder, which result in an average of 76 days of missed employment. Most of these injuries are caused by slips, trips and falls, and nearly all are preventable. Having a greater level of fitness will set you up to avoid getting taken down by injury.

Exercise To-Dos

Set a manageable exercise to-do list to help keep you on track. If you struggle with motivation, enlist a mate to join you on your exercise journey. Having someone to egg you on when you start to flag will help keep you on task.

• Set realistic goals
• Build your strength
• Gradually increase difficulty
• Hit the hills (even better with full gear and a pack on your back)
• Train on uneven tracks
• Learn your limits

Planning – Always!

With your fitness in hand, start to think about your hunting routes. Don’t plan alone – get your hunt party involved so that you’re on the same page when you set off for the trip. If you’ve got a solid plan, it’s easy to share it with an emergency contact before you go.

With  Plan My Walk, NZ Mountain Safety Council’s trip planning tool, use the custom track feature to create a hunting route anywhere in New Zealand, whether that’s combining existing tracks with off-track routes or going fully off-track. Create an account so you can save draft trips to access them later, plan across multiple devices and share your plans with others. You can also sign up to receive notifications about weather updates and any alerts.

Think About Rivers

Summer doesn’t guarantee endless sunny, warm days. Storms can hit at any time of year, so keep your eye across the forecast on Plan My Walk for any incoming heavy rain that will impact the rivers in the area.

With rivers in mind, pack an extra dehydrated meal or two and an emergency shelter. If the river isn’t safe to cross on your way out, you’ll be sorted until the river drops.

Take an Emergency Comms Device

Delays – and emergencies – happen, so it pays to carry an emergency communication device. The ideal device will allow you to talk to or message your trusted contact to let them know your plans have changed. This will prevent any unnecessary stress – or search and rescue operations! Learn about communication devices.

Be Aware of Avalanches

When it comes to avalanches, you need to be extra vigilant in late spring and early summer. A warming snowpack due to milder temperatures and rain (rather than snow) can cause large avalanches that run further down the mountain, sometimes even bigger than those in winter. That means if you're walking through valleys, gullies or stream beds, you could be exposed to potentially destructive avalanches.

An easy way to decrease your exposure is to follow these simple guidelines:

• Start early and be well clear of steep, snowy terrain before the heat of the day.
• Delay your trip after a storm for 24-48 hours before heading out, to allow the snow to settle and any natural avalanches to occur.
• Avoid stopping in gullies, small side streams, under cliff bands or in clearings below steep slopes. The same goes for where you set up camp and pitch your tent.

Be Firearm Safe

If you haven’t used your firearm since last summer, do essential firearms checks before you leave home, including confirming your zero. It’s worth making the time so that you’re sorted and firearm safe before you head off.

When on the hunt, always check your firing zones, know where everybody is at all times, and identify your target. If you have more than one shooter at a time, be sure everyone else is unloaded. For more on firearms safety.

Follow the Basics

Remember to always follow the NZ Land Safety Code when on any hunting trip:

1. Choose the right trip for you – learn about the route and make sure you have the skills for it.
2. Understand the weather – it can change fast. Check the forecast and change your plans if needed.
3. Pack warm clothes and extra food – prepare for bad weather and an unexpected night out.
4. Share your plans and take ways to get help – telling a trusted person your trip details and taking a distress beacon can save your life.
5. Take care of yourself and each other – eat, drink and rest, stick with your group, and make decisions together.

*A severe injury includes an ACC claim cost of at least $2,000, at least 10 days off work, or any fracture, head injury or fatality.

PHOTO CREDIT | Cam McKay