Packing List for Milford Track
I carried a 75litre backpack with the following items.
Cooking Pots
lightweight eating utensils
Plastic water bottle (used as a hot water bottle and a mug)
Sleeping bag
Shirts: Poly T-Shirts 2 long sleeve
Fleece: Lightweight Longsleeved Fleece Pull-over
Thermal Shirt: Longsleeved Thermal Top
Mini First-Aid Kit (moleskin & ibuprofin)
Matches and a Lighter (for lighting the stoves in the huts)
Whistle, Space Blanket
Ear Plugs (people snore!)
Toothbrush/toothpaste
Pack of cards for in the hut
Pen/paper
Longjohns: I never got cold enough to wear them
Underwear: 4 pairs
Rain Gear: I took my Musto foul weather gear and was totally dry.
Gaiters: Knee-high, cheap set (next time I wouldn’t take a set)
Lightweight fleece hat
Rain hat
Mini-Flashlight/batteries
Bug repellent (take lots the sandflies are nasty)
Zip-Lock Baggies for everything you don’t want to get wet and for carrying out garbage
Bio-Degradable Dish Soap (though the huts all had plenty)
Scrub Pad for Cook Kit (1/3 of a sponge with a scrub top – again the huts all had plenty)
Toliet Paper (the huts had them as did all the toilets along the track)
Hiking shoes (it is necessary to have Vibram soles (stiff) I prefered these over my full hiking boots.)
Sandals (for huts and stream crossings)
Hiking Socks (4 pairs as they get wet and don’t dry)
Salopettes (I took my quick dry mid layer sailing salopettes and they were great for hiking in)
Loose fitting quick drying shorts
Gloves: Windstopper Fleece (didn’t use them even in the snow over the pass)
One large emergency meal (just in case you have an extra day on the track like we did)
Next time I would take fresh ingredients for the 1st nights meal as the walk into the first hut is only an 1.5 hour stroll.
If you don’t have a rain cover which I didn’t make sure everything is doublebagged in black plastic bags in fact even with a rain cover this is a good idea.