I was a few weeks into a loop hike of the Kahurangi National Park. The route was of my own design, connecting formed trails with off-trail travel to create a loop circumnavigation of the entire national park. But little did I know that this trail would lead me to become a rescued hiker.

I started my day expecting a fairly straightforward journey across the 1000-acre plateau and then through some bush to reach Old Ghost Road. The weather was cold with on-and-off light rain, and I had been told it was to worsen tonight, though still safe enough to travel.

The plateau was easy travel as expected, but the bush ended up being incredibly thick and substantially slower than expected. A few hours later than planned, I made it through the bush and could see the Old Ghost Road as the cloud cleared, no further than 1 km away from me in a straight line.

Unfortunately, as I emerged from the bush, I discovered that the terrain did not match up with what my topographic map had shown. The map indicated a scree slope to cross and a relatively easy ridge line to follow. However, in reality, the terrain was a giant boulder field of rotting, crumbling rock and an impassable bush-clad razorback ridge.

I found my way through the boulder maze, taking several hours before realizing that my easy ridge line was impassable. The weather was worsening, and I was getting quite cold and wet. There was no safe way forward or back.

The logical choice was to activate my ResQLink 400 PLB. There was no point in risking severe injury or death with a beacon in my pocket. Knowing there was still light on my side and a helicopter could still reach me in these conditions, I set off the beacon and hunkered down. An hour later, the sound of the helicopter could be heard coming up the valley.

It ended up being a tricky rescue, but I was winched up into the helicopter and flown out to safety.

I’ve always carried a beacon on my regular adventures for nearly 10 years, expecting I might break a leg and need it for that. Getting bluffed out in unexpected dangerous terrain was never how I expected to use it. My beacon undoubtedly saved me from potentially serious injury or death while being out in the wilderness doing what I love.