Got Camping Stuff
Hi,
I found places to kayak and camp, but it’s getting late to do it since I just got my kayak.
Since I do hike and camp reqularly, I can recommend a stove that will fit right in your breast pocket that I have which will need a fuel cannister.
You can buy all kinds of pretty good dehydrated foods, some are very good. If you don’t want to drag water w/you, be aware of water sources you can filter from, if there are any or else you need water for the food and to drink.
This all helps if you already have the stuff like I do. You can put your sleeping bag in your dry bag along w/some of the other items.
Now you get into a whole other sport of sorts and the things that are necessary to do them for fun and safety issues. Have a tent or tarp depending on weather conditions, lighters, headlamp, toilet paper, depending how rustic the camping is. Inflatable sleeping mats are nice and if you own them, you can get the kit that turns them into chairs.
I’m near Seattle where REI will rent out some of this stuff if you want to do a random camping trip and don’t want to invest in expensive gear.
One a side note, bring extra food and water incase you get stuck. It’s one of those safety issue things, even if it’s extra power bars or whatever you like. I like having an antiphylactic kit w/me, even for kayaking since I almost died ontop of the canyon in Kaui, Hawaii from some allergic bite or plant up there. I barely made it to the hospital.
Bye,
Capri
When I was in the BWCA
in early August, open fires were prohibited. It was dry as a bone. Firewood was everywhere!!! My jetboil is not heavy, does not sound like the space shuttle and has my morning java and oatmeal hot in minutes. I did cut half the handle off my toothbrush though!
couple of days?
You said for a couple of days! I take ceral bars for AM. A Power bar and candy bar along with those peanut butter tubs you find at a hotel continetal breakfast and cool aid singles for lunch. For dinner it is nice to have some fruit with pita bread and more of the stuff from hotel continetal Breakfast. Longer than a couple of days I like food I can mix with hot water. A 1.25 gt. GSI boiler pot can hold an 8oz. canister and stove. (Or a 16 oz canister and carry the stove elsewhere.) Along with two spoons this was my total cook set for a week trip. For the longer trips the dehydraded food weight conterbalances the weight of the stove.
10 days…
.....on PB&J sandwiches and Pemican Bars. I don't recommend it but it's do-able.
Food
Many years ago me and another guy did 7 days in Survival Mode…Live off the land…( I do not reccomend this by the way)
We brought 1 pint of Oil and 2 candy bars (Baby ruths if i recall)
It was an Interesting experiment in truth but the lady at the Pizza hut on our return thought we were crazed barbarians when we eyed the salad bar on our return!!! ;o)
As a side note our Energy Levels were ZAPPED…It took 4 days to recover!!
Wild edibles are no substitute for REAL FOOD!!!
eat good, why starve!
Man…I don’t know why anybody would want to live on powerbars! Paddling burns massive calories and you have to make sure you can replace those. Your meals don’t have to be boring! If you can boil water, you can make great meals. Here’s some links…
Make a soda can stove that runs on denatured alcohol…compact and lightweight.
http://zenstoves.net/Stoves.htm
Meal ideas and recipes…
http://www.roguepaddler.com/forum/viewforum.php?f=6&sid=dfdf19f61b03d06c20dd055a21fee74c
http://www.freewebs.com/freezerbagcooking/index.htm
http://www.onepanwonders.com/index.htm
Dang, I thought the whole point of getting out there is to enjoy…not suffer!
Resources
Yeah, I know but at that particular point in my life I had absolutely no money but had some time and some bread, peanut butter and jelly. I sniveled a case of Pemican bars from a rep and that was what I had. I could either go with that of not go.
Like I said, it's do-able but I don't recommend it.
PB&J
I ate 7 or 8 nights in a row of Mac & Cheese once, because when I went into a small town to resupply all I found was Mac & Cheese, Grape Nuts, bread and peanut butter, and candy bars.
I resupplied, headed out, and by the last few nights was eating mac & cheese and Grape Nuts.
I completely agree with you, tripping can be done with very little food choice, but it’s not ideal. Actually, Grape Nuts and Mac & Cheese is pretty tasty.
Pemican Bars…
…are not.
Coffee
Morning coffee is pretty important. I hate the ritual of making it, though, at home or on the beach. I just want to drink it. I have Jetboil press and it works fine but it is a whole lot like a ritual to me. I have to carry the grounds and the press and deal with the clean up etc. I am such a whiner.
Have you tried Java Juice? It makes a decent cup of coffee, takes up very little space and is so easy it ridiculous. For someone like me it’s a very good trade-off.
http://www.javajuiceextract.com/
I picked some up at REI for a trip I took this summer. Probably available in lots of stores.
I friend told me it is great on ice cream. I don’t know.
Wild edibles are real food…
IF you know what to look for.
I don’t know your locale but down here I got a choice of over 120 wild fruits, 19 wild salad veggies, 23 other wild vegetables, 12 grains, 16 sources of carbs and starches, 6 sweeteners, over 50 species of edible fish and seafood, 1 tree and two vines to make the fish cooperate, 6 types of one-large-meal tasty mammals, 4 reptiles, 8 varieties of various animal repellants, over fifty different medicines, and about 37 ways to fix my 8 wild tea blends and 12 different wild coffee blends to wash it all down with. All edible (except for the repellants), all natural, all wild, all useful, ALL FREE!
As to what Mystic said about eating the proper proportions to stay healthy is true but you can still eat for taste as well by adding seasonings and a mix of foods and maintain a little discipline when it comes to the food pyramid and you’ll find you can live, if not thrive, on what’s out growing wild there.
food
For something simple, try a simple mix of dried fruit and lard. Eat with a spoon! High energy and needs no cooking in cool weather.
Food-Cooking vs Non Cooking
I am a long time backpacker, climber, xc skiier,and river runner. Am always amazed at this modern drive to go lighter, and lighter and eating a minimum diet of non cooked foods.
Yes! You can go 30 days on Power Bars, Granola, and Gatorade. Yes! You can go 30 days without a tent, sleeping bag, stove, kettles, fuel and assorted other gear. The questions are:
Why? At what time of year? In what kind of conditions? and what is your safety net?
A paddle in California in the summer wouldn’t present any problems. A paddle on the Coppermine River in the Northwest Territories and I think you might reconsider living on cold food and and skipping the tent and sleeping bag.
There is always a trade off on trips between utility, comfort, and safety.
The older I get, sixty-seven this year, the more I edge on the side of safety vs comfort or utility. Granola and Power Bars would not do it for a xc skiier who burns 5,800 calories a day skiing backcountry with a 65 pound pack. The new tourning kayaks have enough storage to pull off a 10 day trip without resorting to energy bars, and any 16’ or 17’ touring canoe has enough space to carry gear and food for a 25 day trip.
Enjoy your outdoor experience. Don’t make it a survival experience. Survival is not fun! It is hard work and mental stress! Happy Paddling!
Folgers coffee bags for me
I drink Folgers instant at home. When Iwant a cup of coffee I want it now and no mess. Been drinking instant coffee so not really a consignor.
The coffee bags come sealed in individual waterproof tear-open pouches
food
John Muir liked plain ole french bread for the body:the mountains did the rest. Suppose the rivers/lakes would work for us water-hikers.
food
I’m of the mindset that I want food to be part of the experience and not just survival. When I wrote A Fork in the Trail I kept that in the back of my mind… but food weight is also a concern for our family and that is why, for the most part, we dry our own meals. When going on a 10 day trip with a 6 year old it just makes it easier than lugging a cooler or trying to chocke down commercial power bars (I find they have a weird taste - but that is just me).
Anyway I’ve posted a few recipes over at www.wildernesscooking.com but with permission I’d like to start posting more of them here (I wish this forum had a reciupes section).
Power bars have Fiber
I have backpacked the more primitive areas of the Grand Canyon and have taken some power bars with me as a snack. The bad part is that along with protein, they also carry fiber. The dirt is hard in the summer, and takes forever to dig a hole, especially when you’re in a bit of a hurry to do your business…
Food
I’ve spent months eating both MRE and Cold weather MRE’s there fine. However, they take a toll on you digestive track. As for the packaging on MRE’s, first thing we did was field strip all unnecessary stuff off them to reduce the size, weight, and trash. After your first time through the menu you’ll realize what you’ll eat and what you won’t, not to mention all the stuff in the accessory packs isn’t needed, there again the size of the meal will get smaller. Since I no longer have to be tactical while enjoying the outdoors I use a mix between freeze dried, instant, energy bars, and fresh stuff. I also find that shopping at the local stores is more cost effective…
Best idea is…
Best idea is to go as simple and lite as possible and be as much of a minimalist as possible…but be sure to invite a newbie to join you. Usually a newbie’s first concern is that he/she will starve to death overnight, so they always over pack (smile). Don’t ask how I know this, please, it’s embarrassing.
All funnies aside, my last big trip (7 days down the Green River) I allotted myself a breakfast bar, one small ziplock of my GORP mix, a small portion of beef jerky and a small tuna kit for supper - X’s 7. I basically bagged everything per day so it was easy to not over eat my rations. It got old but I needed the extra room in the kayak for the 7 gallons of water I carried. AND, of course, the jet boil and its french coffee press was a must. I justified bringing the jetboil by including a bag of dry beans as a back-up source of food incase of emergency.
7 gal
you need a filter, how many calories per day do you need?