Flore and Ludo part II

dbBrad and Ludo show our firm Glutious maximuses!

Flore and Ludo hydrating along the Te Araroa trail

Flore and Ludo high on a ridge in the Tararuas

dbBrad. Flore and Ludo squinting in the sun and so happy to see it.

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012

The Te Araroa trail, class 4 scrambles in the Tararuas. Steep and slippery.

At around 1500 meters in the Tararuas, even in Feburary (summer) it gets chilly so Flore and Ludo bust out the gloves they hadn't used since 90 mile beach.

dbBrad in the mist and midst (of Flore and Ludo)!!

Ludo the rock star jamming out on the Te Araroa trail.

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012 at the timy two bunch Dracophyllum hut.

dbBrad, Ludo and Flore at Nichols Hut, Te Araroa trail, Tararuas range.

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012

With a great fire and no hot dogs or marshmallows, Flore and Ludo dry wet stinky clothes over the fire!

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012

Flore, Ludo and dbBrad on the summit of Mt. Crawford.

Together again, dbBrad, Flore, Ludo, Madeline and Phlip in Nichols hut, Te Araroa trail, 2012

The one view we got of the valley below from Nichols hut, Tararuas Range along the Te Araroa trail.

Three older guys in great shape, one of whom is Makenzie Architecture

Madeline and Phlip on the Te Araroa trail, Tararua Range, near Nichols hut

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa Trail, 2012

dbBrad on a rock.

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012

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Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012 on a very steep section. We decended over 1500 meters from Nichols hut and it took as long as it did going up.

Flore and Ludo climbing onto a suspension bridge along the Te Araroa trail

Flore demonstrates just how darn steep and high the slopes are.

Steep slippery slopes along the Te Araroa trail in the Tararuas Range

Vinie and Francesca gave us all a ride from the trail end into town.

dbBrad and Ludo, the goof ball.

dbBrad in a tree, again. photo by Ludo

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail, 2012

Flore and Ludo doing some light weight hiking in flip flops. I might have compromised with Tevas or something!?!?

Flore and Ludo on the Te Araroa trail as seen by dbBrad

Most inspirational hikers, Te Araroa trail 2012, Flore and Ludo. With almost no outdoor experience and in moderate shape after working for two years in Scotland, Flore and Ludo are a solid pair of hikers on the Te Araroa trail.

Flore and Ludo at the begining of the Te Araroa trail 2012

I'm thrilled to have the opportunity to say I've spent many days traveling with this wonderful couple. In fact if it weren't for Flore and Ludo, I would have had to skip the Whanganui river section because of my injuries from the previous Te Araroa freestyle track 'up and over Ruapehu'

Flore and Ludo in a tough spot on the Whanganui river--and still all smiles!

On the Whanganui river and through the Teroroa mountains we've been wet, cold, rained on, tired and even exhausted and never has the fun stopped.

Flore and Ludo, the cutest couple on the Te Araroa trail 2012

As I look at these pictures I see just one thing in common.

dbBrad, Ludo and Flore in the Bog in hut, Pureora forest

Flore and Ludo are always smiling, no matter what the circumstances or how tired they are.

Speights needs a new ad and we've got it. Fresh and cold on the Whanganui river, dbBrad and Ludo (photo by Flore)

Always easy to be around, not only do these two deserve the most valuable hikers award for the Te Araroa 2012, but they may just be the cutest couple on the planet!

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012, the trail that you paddle!

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore kicks back while Ludo and I paddle!!!

dbBrad and dbLudo in dbRain

Ludo and Flore packing for the canoe.

A lot of stuff to fit into two small backpacks. It just so happens that in this shot everything is soaking wet because their canoe capsised just moments before.

Flore and Ludo in red with polkadots and big smiles!

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore, Ludo and dbBrad take a quick break along the Te Araroa trail.

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Ludo the rock star with his biggest fan Flore!

Always game for fun, Ludo blows the BBQ Horn while Flore sets up the tent!

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

A long day on the 'Tar a Road'

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore and Ludo cross a fence in STILE!

Flore in red in front of forest in green!

Flore decends a steep slope behind Ludo somewhere south of Palmerston N.

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012, a clear cut above the rest!

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Bad Flore and Ludo, into your cage! A ride is a ride, Makahika farm truck!

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Flore in a room the three of us shared in Levin. Hard to believe all that stuff fits in three small back packs!

Flore and Ludo in front of a very big tree, Te Araroa trail, Tararuas

Flore and Ludo, Te Araroa 2012

Photos by dbBrad. Due the incredible photogenic qualities of Flore and Ludo, I've divided the pictures into two postings.

Ruapehu was so beautiful, it deserves another posting, Te Araroa Freestyle by dbBrad



Rocks and snow above Whakapapa ski resort during ascent, NW side

One of the many falls sumits acending Mt Ruapehu

Ruapehu and crater lake with mist from the lake and fog from below.  Feb 2012

dbBrad wondering how he's going to get into the Ruapehu hut since it's frozen solid, Te Araroa Freestyle route!

Ruapehu lake and primary summit, Feb 2012

dbBrad in the clouds on top of Mr. Ruapehu just off the Te Araroa trail!

dbBrad an hour later, same spot, Rupehu summit, Te Araroa Freestyle route

Ruapehu hut frozen from the storm, Feb 2012

Ruapehu summit as seen from the hut with clouds hiding the rest of New Zealand!

Clouds hiding the rest of New Zealand leaving the summit of Ruapehu and dbBrad the only ones for hundreds of kilometers in the sun.

Ruapehu hut below the summit but way above the clouds.

Ruapehu hut at sunset, Te Araroa freestyle by dbBrad

Ruapehu from the south, Ohakune.  The saddle just to the left of picture center was my route for the 'Te Araroa freestyle up and over Ruapehu' track, 2012

MSR does it again

Smart design is something too many products don't have. One of the reasons MSR has been one of my favorite companies for so long is because they understand design and quality and those are the primary criteria behind their design, not sales.

dbEgg holder by MSR, smart design

Though this cup/pan/plate set isn't one of my favorite MSR products (aimed a bid too much at picnickers) it's still a fine set of camping ware. The individual pieces work great individually but fit together for storage as well. Not complicated, but good simple design.

What's extra nice and in the back of my mind I know someone at MSR knows this already, is that the cups are almost perfect for holding two eggs each. Way to go MSR, even if you didn't know it!

key words: product design, msr, dbbrad, industrial design, job, representative, product tester, brad hankins, new zealand, te araroa trail, salary, new product ideas, hire me, job, dbMSR