My Journey to Freedom and Ultralight Backpacking (21 page)

  B
reads and cookies make great crumbs.
Be prepared to eat cookies, pastries, and corn tortillas with a spoon. The first days after a resupply, when they are whole, you can spread them with peanut butter. Once they turn into crumbs, they can be sprinkled on cold breakfast cereals, or stirred together with peanut butter and eaten out of your pot. Pretzels will leave a lot of salt in the bottom of a bag. Be careful of adding that to your breakfast cereal and milk.

 
Powders, such as coffee, lemonade mix, sugar and dry milk escape the best of zip-loc bags. For that reason, I double bag them into a
"powders bag", a gallon sized zip-loc bag containing small zip-loc bags of various powders. Remember to label each bag. Sugar and salt look similar. A hiker once tasted some white powder to find out if it was laundry soap, or dry milk. It was laundry soap.

  Life is too short, so buy
the best zip-loc bags you can find
. A zip-loc bag that won’t hold a seal, or tears at the top when you use it, is not worth much. Buy the good ones, and they will last you for several hundred miles. Poor quality bags will cause you hours of discontent, and even cursing, when food escapes into stuff sacks or when cold fingers cannot negotiate a successful seal.

 
Always test your gear and food recipes before leaving on a long journey.
Hiker boxes are filled with the same trail mixtures. Made at home in vast quantities, and packaged into various drop boxes, the long distance hiker soon tires of eating the same healthy concoction, week after week. The same meals of corn pasta, tomato leather and 8-bean-soup-mix get left behind, town after town.

  Before adding all those healthy legumes to corn meal and rice mixes, try cooking them at home under trail conditions. Regular brown rice takes an eternity to cook. It doesn’t rehydrate well, either. Some hikers plan to rehydrate beans and brown rice while they walk. That means carrying an extra pound of water in a wide mouth quart-size container, and letting the food soak somewhere in your pack. Hopefully, it will not spill or ferment. If you choose to rehydrate while hiking, use treated water. Otherwise, all that time spent rehydrating will also be time spent feeding harmful bacteria. Some hikers grow alfalfa, radish and bean sprouts daily, which require a rotation system. All unusual recipes should be tried at home, under realistic trail conditions.

  C
ooking separately works for many hiking partners.
It may seem unusual for committed partners to cook separately but Rainmaker and I have always done it this way because we have separate methods and evening routines. When resupplying, we each buy and carry the foods we like, estimating our weights and food cravings separately. Sometimes his experience causes him to choose things I would never have thought of, like whole-wheat tortillas. Thinking to outdo him, I bought corn tortillas. Mistake. The corn tortillas dried out quickly, broke into pieces and tasted very bland. But, at least I was the only one to suffer the consequences. There never was an argument over food choices, or who ate what, or when. I like coffee first thing in evening camp. Rainmaker would wait and have his with dessert. I never presoak food, but instead bring my water to a boil, then dump in my food. Rainmaker puts his food and water into his pot. He allows it to rehydrate there, then heats it. We each carry soda-can stoves with hexamine tablets or liquid fuel. This solo method of cooking allows one member of the team to continue hiking if the other needs or chooses to leave the trail.
  
Every hiker needs one good spoon. Y
ou can eat anything with a spoon. Anything that needs cutting can be broken apart, but every hiker should have one decent spoon. After a bad experience of stepping on and breaking my only plastic spoon, I began carrying a metal unbreakable spoon, which weighed 18 grams. After finding out that a Lexan teaspoon, the handle trimmed by one inch, weighed 8 grams I switched. They are very durable, but not unbreakable. I do not carry a pocketknife, using a round, 5-gram retractable razor knife instead.

  A successful ultralight cookset nests together, and then fits in a small ditty bag. My 8-ounce system nested within the pot itself, and was used on the Pacific Crest Trail in 2001, and the Appalachian Trail in 2002, although not exclusively. As told in the previous journals, I was always testing new ideas to lighten my load. Making gear from the lightest available materials is a hobby of mine. For the last 594 miles of the AT, I switched to a 3-ounce cook set which nested within a plastic bowl and lid, and required a new technique for ultralight cooking. I had considered going to cold food to save the weight of my pot/stove/cup system when I realized this new idea was so light it would actually save the weight of carrying heavier cold food.

  David made the soda can stove for me. This was the only stove I used while hiking the entire AT, approximately 2,168 miles. It was fired 1 - 3 times per day every day when on the trail from March 12 to August 14, 2002. The stove and the rest of the set are still in usable condition. This stove, made from two aluminum cans, and weighing only 12 grams, is used with both cook sets.
  The pot support for the 8-ounce system is made from half of a 13 ounce coffee can and weighs 28 grams. The pot support for the 3-ounce system was made from a standard 15-ounce can that originally contained black beans and weighs 10 grams. Both have 1/8- inch holes drilled along the bottom perimeter, 8 on the small, and 14 on the large. This allows sufficient air to feed the flame. There are two identical sections of metal cut out at the top of the pot support, to increase oxygen flow.

  A windscreen is made of a length of aluminum foil, folded over 3 times for strength, to surround the pot support. Its purpose is to direct heat upwards to the pot, and save fuel. It can be folded up, and placed within the set when not in use. On long hikes, extra aluminum foil can be sent in your bounce or drop boxes to make new windscreens when the first one wears out.

  The capacity of the aluminum pot for the 8-ounce system is 30 fluid ounces, has a lid and weighs 106 grams.  The pot for the 3-ounce system is actually an empty Handy-Fuel Canned Heat container, which has a lid made of aluminum foil. This mini-pot is 3 1/4 inches in diameter, 2 1/4 inches tall, has a capacity of 10 fluid ounces and weighs 14 grams.

  I cooked and ate directly out of the larger pot, using a plastic cup for my coffee. This cup was made from a one-liter soda bottle, which had been cut off about one inch taller than the desired height. Then, duct tape was wound around the lip of this container. Boiling water was poured into this cup, allowing it to shrink. Tests have shown that the plastic will shrink only once, and the tape was necessary to maintain the shape of the cup. Once cool, the water was dumped, and the cup was cut short enough to nest within the cooking pot with its lid in place. The cup's final weight was 12 grams.

  The bowl and lid for the new 3-ounce cook set were made from a container that originally contained powdered drink mix. The containers can be found at grocery stores and cut down to the desired size. Together they weigh 46 grams. Although the capacity of the pot is only 10 ounces, by continually heating water I could enjoy a variety of items each night. When the first pot of water was hot, I poured it into the plastic lid, and made coffee or soup. This sturdy lid had a capacity of 8 ounces and made a great cup.

  While the stove was still burning, I added more water to the little pot, set it back on the pot support and brought it to a boil. My meal of instant potatoes, rice, Ramen, or oatmeal would be prepared in the bowl. The dry food was placed in the plastic bowl and the boiling water poured directly over it. I stirred a few times with the spoon, then covered it with the aluminum pot lid, and allowed it to set for 2 minutes. The pot never needed washing, because nothing was ever cooked in it.

  If you wish to use this ultralight cooking method, try h
ot instant cereals. If you eat a cold breakfast, two packages of hot cereal taste great at night. Bring a baggie of raisins, chopped dried fruits, instant milk, and nuts to enhance this meal. If you wish to cook instant cream of wheat, cornmeal, or Farina, pour boiling hot water into your cup, then sprinkle in the grain while stirring constantly. That way, it won't get lumpy. Cover it and let set about a minute. If you cook oatmeal, put it in the cup first, then add the hot water. Stir just enough to mix, then stop stirring or it will taste pasty. Let sit a minute or two.

  Instant soup with peanut butter cheesy crackers is an excellent appetizer for the boil and rehydrate method. Instant 4-Cheese mashed potatoes are fantastic, as well as the chives and sour cream flavor. You can add some bacon bits, or even broken up pieces of beef stick. Beef jerky, is too chewy for this dinner, whereas the beef stick is vacuum packed meat, resembling summer sausage.

  Lipton dinners are somewhat expensive, not very filling, and take too long to cook. They do not work with this rehydating method. Regular pasta or regular rice will not work, either. It requires instant foods.

  A variety of liquid fuels can be used for the soda can stove, including denatured alcohol, rubbing alcohol and fuel-line antifreeze. Estimate about one ounce of liquid fuel per meal. Soda can stoves will not burn any gasoline-based products. It will not burn Coleman fuel. Hexamine or Esbit, both solid fuel tablets, can be used by inverting the stove and placing the tablet on the bottom, which for this purpose, becomes the top. Alcohol soaked cotton balls, previously used for personal hygiene, and small twigs can also be burned next to the fuel tablet to supplement the fuel.
  There are other models of the lightweight stoves, including a cat food can stove, photon stove, tea candle burner and esbit stove. None of them have the versatility of the soda can stove. Stoves that are sold commercially and burn Coleman fuel and gasoline remain a mystery to me. They flame up, weigh nearly a pound, have moving parts, become clogged, and require technical maintenance.

  Since you may be cooking in camp while sitting in your sleeping bag to stay warm, be sure to practice with your stove. Maintain safe cooking habits, especially when lighting your stove so you don’t burn yourself, your sleeping bag or your gear. Shelter protocol varies. Some people feel one should never cook in a shelter. The other extreme is a hiker who will cook right next to your gear. Because the value of your gear exceeds his expectations, move your gear to a safe place, and don’t trust anyone to cook closely to your sleeping bag. I have seen stoves blow up, and have seen others set the shelter on fire. Apologies don’t keep you warm at night.

Water Capacity/Treatment

  
Water capacity
is important in desert situations, places where little data is available, areas where you are uncertain of upcoming water sources, and those times when camp is made early in the day. Although it is not always necessary to carry maximum capacity, the ability to pick up additional water can really be useful at times.

   Some important considerations when planning water capacity are the weights and sturdiness of each container. Below are some types of bottles commonly carried with their corresponding weights:

Nalgene-1 quart bottle…. 5.2 ounces
Plastic soda bottle-24 ounces…1.2 ounces
Plastic soda bottle-1 quart…. 1.2 ounces
Plastic soda bottle-1.5 liters…1.5 ounces
Plastic soda bottle-2 liters…. 1.8 ounces
Platypus plastic bag-2 liters…. 1.25 ounces
Silnylon Water sack-5 quarts…. 1.5 ounces

  As the list shows, if you need 4 quarts for total capacity, there is quite a range of weights possible. If you elect to take only Nalgene bottles, the total weight would be 20.8 ounces. If you take four 1-quart soda bottles, the weight would be 4.8 ounces. If you take two 1.5 liter bottles, with one quart bottle you have 4.2 ounces. If you choose 2 quart bottles for hiking, with a water sack for evenings, you would have 3.9 ounces.

  Each water bottle needs a pocket or bottle carrier, and the bottles are bulky even when empty. A silnylon bottle carrier, attached to the pack for carrying a water bottle, will last up to 6 months on the trail and weighs half an ounce each. Water sacks and Platypus water containers will roll up and occupy very little pack space. The type and number of containers you take will depend on water availability. On the PCT I carried two 1-liter soda bottles, and two 1.5-liter bottles because of the desert conditions. On the AT I carried only two 24-ounce bottles, and a Platypus just for camp use.

  Plastic soda bottles are remarkably strong. Rainmaker still has his from the 3-year hike on the Pacific Crest Trail. Both 1.5 liter bottles survived the airlines, and over 7 months on the trail. I use soda bottles on my hikes, and carried a 2-liter Platypus for a while. The Nalgene bottles, while strong and attractive, just weigh too much. People trust them to the point that they fill them full of water, and sleep with them inside their sleeping bag to keep their water from freezing. It doesn't always work; one couple had the seal pop and their bags got wet. A better plan (learned the hard way) is to pour water in the pot at night, and then thaw it on the stove in the morning.

  The Platypus can be rolled up small and stored until evenings at camp. I have seen a lot of them develop leaks in the desert, so as a preventative measure, never trust all your water to one or two large containers. Be careful never to place a full one on top of your clothes or sleeping bag while hiking. Bears will tear a hole in them if they are left hanging outside the shelters in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park.