The process of packing for a trip can become a philosophical examination of needs vs wants, as you calculate gear weights and ponder whether camp booties, more chocolate or a pack of cards will ultimately spark the most joy in your life.

Or you just chuck everything into a pack, throw it on your back and get going. Most trips, and most of us, lie somewhere in the middle.

In their eternal quest to keep pack weight down, mountain guide Sooji Clarkson offers five multi-use items worth their minimal weight.

Missed yesterday’s feature? Europe's Via Alpina is like climbing Mt Everest 12 times from sea level, Sophie Woods did it in just 28 days setting a new FKT.

Which mountain’s peak is higher above sea level: Taranaki Maunga or Rob Roy Peak?

Scroll to the bottom of this email for the answer…

The buttery leek and nutmeggy gnocchi scents wafting from this dish are best-consumed at fireside.

Gnocchi ingredients

For the rest

At home

To make the gnocchi, prick the kūmara all over with a fork and roast whole in the oven at 180° until soft (about 40min). Let cool and then peel and discard the skin. Mash the flesh in a bowl with the nutmeg, salt and half the flour. Try not to overwork the dough but add more flour if it looks too sticky (the less flour you add the fluffier the gnocchi will be).

Put a large pot of salted water on to boil. On a clean and lightly floured bench, roll the dough into a log and then divide into four pieces. Using your hands roll each piece into a long and skinny sausage with a diameter somewhere between a $1 and $2 coin.

Cut the gnocchi sausage into bite-sized pieces and drop these into the boiling water in batches, taking care to not overcrowd the pot. They’ll cook in just a few minutes and will be ready when they’ve been floating on the surface for 30sec.

Retrieve with a slotted spoon and drain. When all gnocchi is cooked, let cool and divvy up into flat/pack-friendly Tupperware to be frozen.

At hut

Melt a sliver of butter in a frying pan and add the sage leaves. Cook until they start to change colour and go crispy, then remove from the pan.

Slice the leek into 1cm rounds, chop the garlic and trim the ends off the Brussels sprouts and cut into wedge sixths. Melt 30g of butter in the pan then add the leeks. Stir only occasionally to get some crisping on the leeks. When they are a few shades of brown, add the garlic, cook for 2min then add the Brussels sprouts. Add the thyme leaves and cook for 3-6min (depending on how firm you like the sprouts), stirring occasionally.

Remove the contents from the pan, toss in some more butter and add the gnocchi. Pan fry until golden on most sides. When they start to stick, add a splash of wine.

Tip leek mixture back into pan, combine and heat through. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a sprinkling of chilli flakes, some walnuts (or anything nutty or seedy from your scroggin) and the crispy sage leaves on top.

On Monday we asked Wilderness Daily readers if you’ve visited Brewster Hut.

The results are in: 60% said not yet, 35% have before the days of Instagram and 5% have visited since the trip became a ‘must-do.’

Here is a selection of comments from our readers:

“Stayed in the two bunk dog kennel, in 1980.”

“I had wanted to but now I don’t!”

“There was no hut there when I visited in the 1960s. We tented among the tussocks. The views were just as spectacular.”

Have a question you want to ask your fellow Wilderness Daily readers? Send us an email at [email protected]

Answer - Rob Roy Peak

Rob Roy Peak is 2644m above sea level.

Taranaki Maunga’s peak is 2518m above sea level.

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