do not depend on a fire
All to frequently it turns out that when you plan your trip you are in an area with a Fire Ban.
If so no fires allowed. Watch for the yellow bird in the sky. Fire=Ticketee. Those would be the MNR guys.
Water Filter
Ditto on the www.myccr.com THey are very helpful, just like the folks here.
As for water filtering. In Algonquin and similar areas, the tannin in the water can plug a filter quickly. It may say it will filter 100 gallons but tannin shortens the life a lot. Make sure it is field maintainable or carry extra cartridges. I carry a katadyn Pocket Filter. Never a problem. It seems expensive (abut $200), but I calculated how much water a cartridge filter with replacement cartridges would filter for $200 and found at its very best it was about 400-500 gallons. The Pocket Filter will do about 13,000 gallons.
We also take Katadyn Micropur tablets or Aqua Mira drops for emergencies or when we get lazy. You definitely want to filter.
Packing for a Wilderness Trip
Thank you all for your terrific suggestions. I have learned a lot by your sharing the wisdom of your experiences.
On a 2-overnighter in Delores Slickrock
Canyon, I took the mandatory food strainer and fire pan, but only as show. For food I took only high quality granola, trail mix, and beef jerky.
I wasn’t about to waste precious time in that wilderness canyon by cooking and cleaning. If I had been doing a more “ordinary” river, I might have felt differently.
Thoughts on eats
Are there portages on this trip? And how many boats? I was on a trip with 3 others in two large tandems on which we brought a frozen cooler of meats. This is way deluxe. The group’s “mom” went to the market and shopped, pretty much normally. Wrapped and froze all meats, then packed in the cooler, filling any extra space with block ice. If you have access to a large freezer, put the packed cooler in the freezer for several days ahead of the trip. We wrapped the cooler in a reflective “space blanket” and only opened it once a day to remove next meal, which then went in a day cooler where it kept lunch and drinks cool before cooking that night. By about day eight, the cooler had lost enough mass and gained enough heat that it wasn’t frozen any more, but it was about empty then anyhow.
I’d never do this, but that’s the way “mom” did it and I have to say it is pretty nice to be eating a roast chicken or leg o lamb a week out into a back country trip. We ate like pigs, and I lost about 5 pounds. You spend a lot of calories when tripping. Obviously, if you are going to have portages, the frozen meat luxury will cost you on the carry, and you probably don’t want to use this approach.
On another trip with “mom”, we didn’t have a stove. Most of our food had to be cooked, and we spent a lot of time and effort making fire. There’s a certain amount of romance to cooking over fire, but it takes a lot of work and slows you down. After the trip, the four of us listed lessons learned. “Bring stove” made all four lists.
I don’t bring meat anymore. For one thing, in 2006 I became a vegetarian (cholesterol issue). An unanticipated benefit is that it is much easier to pack food when you don’t need to worry about meat. In my opinion, it also simplifies camp hygene and reduces problems with critters attacking your food supply. Aside from all the “green” and health benefits, consider going meatless for convenience.
Water: Boiling works, but has a cost in time and fuel. I filter, but bring back up (tablets), and if I’m with a party, there will often be a second filter along. Bring a jug into which you can filter water to have on hand. The jug needs to have a screw on cap. Any other arrangement inevitably pops open in transit or at some other inopportune moment. These days I favor reuse of Arizona tea jugs.
If you are serious about avoiding waterborn pathogens, bring a separate bag for the water output tube. My Katadyn came with one carry sack for all. After the first use, won’t the input tube contaminate the output tube? Personally, I think it must be a matter of degree, because I just toss it all back in the one bag and so far it has not made me ill, but it can’t be antiseptic. Apparently my body can fight off some number of germs.
Since you have fresh water available, you can reduce weight and bulk by taking foods you rehydrate in the field. Others have touched on dehydrators. I second that, and will just add you can dehydrate your normal mealtime fare (but pieces need to be small). Cook extra and after supper spread it out in the dehydrator (on foil if it is wet, lightly oil or Pam the foil to make it easier to scrape off). Besides dehydrated food; rice, bisquick, muffin mixes, instant potatoe, instant soups, pasta and the likes all increase in bulk and weight with water added in the field. Why carry water weight when you have water in abundant supply?
Anything that is going to boil, like rice or pasta, you can cook with untreated water. If you are heating water to rehydrate precooked food, you can use untreated water, but let it boil for a few minutes to be sure you cook any germs.
Repack your food into zip lock bags. Clip and throw the directions into the bag if you need 'em, and get rid of all the cardboard. Label the bags with a marker if there is look-alike stuff. Squeeze out all the air. The bags nestle with each other in the pack or food box and you will find you can fit a lot of food into a small amount of space. Zip locks are also superior to the original package because you can reseal them. Consider Bisquick. You open the box, and you are never going to use it all at one meal. Things get messy if you repack the opened box, messier if the box gets wet. As you empty bags, save them. If you have any leftovers, toss em into a zip lock and you have tomorrow’s lunch.
And, to live up to my handle, I will also mention booze. Be sure to bring enough!! On one trip our shuttle didn’t show up as scheduled and we camped at the takeout, waiting for two days. On the third day, we started to hike out. Still had food, but the booze was gone.
Beer and wine are nice, but liquor is what you want to reduce bulk. Need wine? Isn’t brandy just distilled wine? Add water, instant wine? Only a theory, I wouldn’t. Gather up used plastic water bottles and refill them with liquor. The bottles are light, resistant to breaking, and you can crush 'em to reduce the volume of trash you need to pack out.
Again, bring extra. You might run into somebody out there and want to share (might be me!). And when the Ranger stops by, just bring out one bottle or by God that Ranger might drink ALL your booze. That guy at Baker Lake could drink!
~~Chip
booze lwarning
Red squirrels chew holes in plastic bottles with booze in them! happened on my FIRST night out!Left campsite for 1 minute.
Turtle
Thanks!
Thanks for sharing your experience and insight! I have learned a number of good tips!
repackaging booze
Don’t repackage your booze that if you plan to cross the border with it. Check the Canadian Customs website to see how much you can bring - it’s not that much. Fortunately for me, New Hampshire is on my way to Canada. They sell plastic 3/4 liter bottles of rum, vodka etc. Cheap too! About 1/2 to 2/3 the cost at the local stores.
Thanks
Thanks for the plug!
why booze
when you get serious about canoeing and especially solo, you find you do not need it…and it will bite you in true wilderness. Its heavy
Which I find most people are not travelling in