Backpacking without breaking your back, or bank account - pt 2

               

     I wanted to cover another sleeping item. You can supplement your summer bag with a fleece sleeping bag liner. These are lightweight, somewhat compact and can really add warmth to an existing sleeping bag. They usually run around $20 and well worth it. You can use them for a summer bag as well. I supplemented a 0*C bag I own for winter camping before buying my M.S.S. that my daughter now uses. A silk liner is another option. Silk will add another insulating factor, and can easily be washed keeping your bag cleaner longer. One item I never leave without is a Mylar emergency blanket. Whether it is an HD one or the small compact ones, I have used one when the weather dropped 15*F below forecasted and needed it to keep warm.

               

You must keep hydrated while walking. A bladder is convenient while walking but I find them difficult to use in camp. If you can reach a pocket on your pack for a bottle, to me that is a better choice. Do not put your water bottle somewhere that you have to stop and remove the pack to get at. You will not drink as much as you need to due to the inconvenience. Dehydration can lead to cramping, poor circulation, headaches and eventually death. You will need some way to treat your water. There are several schools of thought, they all work equally well and are a matter of choice. You can boil your water. I carry a stainless steel bottle for this purpose. I can boil right in my container. This is helpful in the winter months, when my water freezes I can pop my bottle in the fire and thaw it out. A couple of disadvantages with boiling: The water tastes flat due to boiling the air out. You also have to allow the water to cool before drinking. That can take a while during the summer months. Chemical purification works by treating the water with, well, chemicals, often Iodine or Chlorine. Be careful if you are allergic to shell fish do not use an Iodine water treatment. You simply add chemicals per the package directions to usually 32 oz. of water, wait the prescribed time and drink. Of course then you are drinking the chemicals you used to “clean” your water. It can take on the taste of those chemicals. The third way is to filter. There are as many filters out there as there are water bottles. I prefer two types, a pump and a straw. Pumps are convenient on longer treks and when doing a lot of cooking re-hydrating foods. A straw works best when going Ultra-light and day hiking. The Aquamira Tactical Pro I use screws onto any pop bottle thread so you can use a variety of bottles.

If you don't have far to go, cast iron is always a
 good choice for camp cookware.

                The camp kitchen is probably another area that people, me included, tend to over pack. There are a lot of choices out there for cooking in the field. Remember the more you dirty, the more you have to clean. I have kept my kitchen down to only a couple of things. When by myself I take a pot, either a GSI Oilcamp cup, the GSI Soloist or the GSI Halulite Kettle. They each have the pros and cons. The cup is small and light. The Soloist is big and comes with the bowl and the stove can fit in it. The Kettle will boil faster due to its wide stance. I will usually bring along an insulated coffee mug as well. I like my coffee hot and don’t like to have to keep reheating it. I will sometimes add a squishy cup for oatmeal or rice; otherwise I eat right out of any packaging the food came in. For utensils I have a titanium Spork and my Swiss Army Knife.

                You have to heat that water with something. There are 3 types of stoves: Liquid fuel, compressed gas fuel and solid fuel. I have one of each. For lightweight I use a compressed gas Pocket Rocket. It screws onto a canister and heats up quickly. I have 2 liquid fuel stoves: a Coleman single burner and an MSR Whisper lite International. I also have a couple of the small folding Esbit / Trioxane stoves and a wood burning Emberlit. Which do I prefer? The Pocket Rocket is my go to stove, small light weight and easy to use. During the colder months I will use the MSR Whisper Lite due to the compressed gases not working so well in lower temps like we get in Michigan. Next would be my solid fuel stoves. I like the Emberlit for small contained wood fire without having to build a full on fire. Being contained in the small area of the stove it works quite well too. It will boil water faster than over an open campfire because all of the heat is focused under the pot. Add a cotton bandana and your kitchen is complete.

                But what are you going to eat? I like a mix of foods on the trail and in the woods. I will usually take advantage the first day and eat fresh meat if I can. As long as it isn’t going to be extremely hot during the day hiking in. Bacon is always a good choice to carry in, who doesn’t love bacon over a campfire? Foods are mainly water, if you can eliminate that water, your food will be lighter. I can devote a whole article on dehydrating foods, or even a book, but there are many out there just about that. I recommend Trail Food: Drying and cooking for backpackers and paddlers by Alan S. Kesselheim, available in print and for Kindle. I carry a variety of foods with me. I like some of the Mountain House varieties and take those with me more when my daughter goes along. I like to also carry some of the rice and potato packets as well, except they are usually too big since they are 2 servings each. I will separate them into two portions and re-package for a trip. Along with them I will pack a small can of white chicken chunks, spam or other kind of meat in single serve envelopes. The envelopes are more expensive, but will save you a lot of room and weight. Fresh fruit is usually in my bag for short trips as well. Trail mix is good to have handy for quick snacks on the trail. Keeping that fuel in your body will keep you from getting tired too quickly. Continuously feeding your engine will keep you from getting lows and highs in energy and keep you on the trail longer and making your journey easier. Remember that you will be burning energy, carbs are important for fueling your body. You will learn as you go along how much food you will need to bring for how long you will be out. The first couple of times out bring extra snack foods. Your body will burn a lot more calories than you are probably used to.  Granola bars and energy bars are better choices than candy. Candy is mostly sugar and will be depleted quickly. Bring foods that can be quickly heated up or even not cooked at all for lunches on the trail. I know some people who just snack along the trail all day, without ever stopping for “lunch”. Remember to bring foods you like to eat. If you don’t eat it at home, you probably won’t eat it on the trail. Then you’re just carrying extra weight without any benefit.