An Evening with "Wired"
I got to spend some time with Erin "Wired" Saver as we were both in Chicago at the same time this week. it was a real honor to get to chat with her about backpacking adventures and other outdoor subjects.
Thanks Erin!
Light Weight Cook Kit- August 2015
What follows is my own personal experience and is not endorsed by any manufacture mentioned. I do not take any responsibility or liability for you to try any set up described below.
I don't usually post gear stuff.. I prefer just adventures. But it take some gear to do an adventure and this weekend Fronkey asked me about my current thinking and version of a light weight cook kit.
the last time I posted anything on a cook kit was September 2012.
Since that time I have changed somewhat on what I want I from a cook set and also some external circumstances have changed.
In 2012 I was simply going for the most ultralight set up possible. A simple alcohol stove. But that set up does end up with a fair number of parts and pieces depending on your set up and then there is the alcohol itself. Typically I just bought a bottle of HEET (in the yellow bottle only- NO RED) and carried that. When you factor in the weight of the fuel over a multi-day trip, along with the ability to get the fuel in certain locations it adds up. Add to that, the mess that alcohol stoves in the wrong hands can make, sometimes a permanent scarring of anything they sit on!
In addition to this it has become somewhat less responsible to carry alcohol in favor of a system that has an on/off switch for areas in severe drought or just to be responsible in all areas.
I started looking at canister systems. The most efficient in my experience is the Jetboil, (there are other good systems to be sure- MSR, etc) but it has lots of issues; you can't cook in it (more on that later). It is VERY expense. It is tall and narrow so food doesn't re-hydrate well anyway and it is hard to get a spoon all the way down in it and see what is going on. it takes up a lot of space in the pack for what you use and all but the titanium versions are heavy.
All of this could almost be overlooked when it comes to efficiency, On a 200 gram cartridge of gas I can get almost twenty, two cup boils. Even in cool temperatures, having a hot dinner and a hot beverage in the morning, I can go for almost 3 weeks on fuel that weighs only 7 ounces.
Since I love to modify things, I looked to work on the Jetboil. Since they are so expensive you have to really think about what you want to do before you do it. I found that John Abela @ Hikelighter
had cut his Jetboils .8 liter pots in half. Since I only needed 2 cups maximum this sounded perfect. I had a buddy that could cut down my Jetboil pots and maybe roll the lip to get me the same shape as the original so the lid/strainer would still work. This turned out to be a big issue. We went through three $120 pots before we decided that rolling the lid was just not possible. If I would have given it more thought I would have realized that I didn't need the pot rolled for a lid. The lid is really only useful as a strainer and since you can't cook inside a Jetboil pot it doesn't matter.
Why can't you cook inside a Jetboil pot?
Jetboil now states on their website (they didn't use too) that you can't cook in the Ti version of the pots. I don't think its a good idea to cook in any version, Titanium or Aluminum, of their pots as any food that sticks to the bottom of the pot will cause the heat ex-changer fins to super-heat and fall off the bottom of the pot. These don't pose an issue for the gas cartridge underneath but they will melt your igniter switch and any of the plastic on the actual stove part instantly!
So as I mentioned I only need 2 cups of water, so I eventually got a Jetboil cut down to just over 2 cups in size. This brings it down to a manageable size and weight, even for the aluminum version and as previously stated the efficiency is outstanding
So now I have the water heating system but not the eating system. You really don't need anything else if you eat from "bag cooking" methods. Open bag, pour in water, wait 10 minutes and eat.
For me I find these pre-packaged foods are usually too large a portion, even the single serving versions. I also find they create more trash than they should. So I just grab some stuff from the grocery store, like Mac&Cheese or Korrs sides and add things to them. This gives me bags of food I reseal during my trip, so I can't use the bag for boiling.
I need something to eat from. I found the Decor storage containers and I use a 500ml round container that is seal-able with a screw top. I can re-hydrate food during the day if I have too, but mostly I just have a tight seal as the food heats. I have made a cozy for it which keeps my food hot for almost an hour after I have made it. The round version is easy to eat from and easy to clean with a smooth bottom surface.
There is another reason I chose this particular bowl/lid combination. the strainer lid that originally came with the Jetboil fits perfectly on this bowl. This is actually useful as now I can strain off any excess water on pasta or rice that is cooking in the bowl.
I believe this to be the best of both worlds in terms of use in all conditions, safety, weight, ease of use, storage size. The total in a Cuben stuff sack and including a tiny piece of scrub pad and bandana for clean up and drying is 11.1 ounces. (this is the Al version. The Ti version would be 3 ounces less!- and that is light in anyone's book)
Any comments just let me know.
Thanks
I don't usually post gear stuff.. I prefer just adventures. But it take some gear to do an adventure and this weekend Fronkey asked me about my current thinking and version of a light weight cook kit.
the last time I posted anything on a cook kit was September 2012.
Since that time I have changed somewhat on what I want I from a cook set and also some external circumstances have changed.
In 2012 I was simply going for the most ultralight set up possible. A simple alcohol stove. But that set up does end up with a fair number of parts and pieces depending on your set up and then there is the alcohol itself. Typically I just bought a bottle of HEET (in the yellow bottle only- NO RED) and carried that. When you factor in the weight of the fuel over a multi-day trip, along with the ability to get the fuel in certain locations it adds up. Add to that, the mess that alcohol stoves in the wrong hands can make, sometimes a permanent scarring of anything they sit on!
Below- my photo of a picnic table in a shelter along the AT that has been damaged by careless alcohol stove use.
In addition to this it has become somewhat less responsible to carry alcohol in favor of a system that has an on/off switch for areas in severe drought or just to be responsible in all areas.
I started looking at canister systems. The most efficient in my experience is the Jetboil, (there are other good systems to be sure- MSR, etc) but it has lots of issues; you can't cook in it (more on that later). It is VERY expense. It is tall and narrow so food doesn't re-hydrate well anyway and it is hard to get a spoon all the way down in it and see what is going on. it takes up a lot of space in the pack for what you use and all but the titanium versions are heavy.
All of this could almost be overlooked when it comes to efficiency, On a 200 gram cartridge of gas I can get almost twenty, two cup boils. Even in cool temperatures, having a hot dinner and a hot beverage in the morning, I can go for almost 3 weeks on fuel that weighs only 7 ounces.
Since I love to modify things, I looked to work on the Jetboil. Since they are so expensive you have to really think about what you want to do before you do it. I found that John Abela @ Hikelighter
had cut his Jetboils .8 liter pots in half. Since I only needed 2 cups maximum this sounded perfect. I had a buddy that could cut down my Jetboil pots and maybe roll the lip to get me the same shape as the original so the lid/strainer would still work. This turned out to be a big issue. We went through three $120 pots before we decided that rolling the lid was just not possible. If I would have given it more thought I would have realized that I didn't need the pot rolled for a lid. The lid is really only useful as a strainer and since you can't cook inside a Jetboil pot it doesn't matter.
Why can't you cook inside a Jetboil pot?
Jetboil now states on their website (they didn't use too) that you can't cook in the Ti version of the pots. I don't think its a good idea to cook in any version, Titanium or Aluminum, of their pots as any food that sticks to the bottom of the pot will cause the heat ex-changer fins to super-heat and fall off the bottom of the pot. These don't pose an issue for the gas cartridge underneath but they will melt your igniter switch and any of the plastic on the actual stove part instantly!
So as I mentioned I only need 2 cups of water, so I eventually got a Jetboil cut down to just over 2 cups in size. This brings it down to a manageable size and weight, even for the aluminum version and as previously stated the efficiency is outstanding
Before (Left) after cut down (right)
The lip guard is there because occasionally I will use it for a hot drink (take the pot off the flame before mixing any drink)
new set up. Note that I do use the cartridge stand- not pictured (it does add 1 ounce, but I like the stability on uneven surfaces)
So now I have the water heating system but not the eating system. You really don't need anything else if you eat from "bag cooking" methods. Open bag, pour in water, wait 10 minutes and eat.
7.2 oz and you are done
You can see in the picture below if you want a lid, then any of the aftermarket quality lids fit on the Jetboil nicely. @ 7.8 oz.
For me I find these pre-packaged foods are usually too large a portion, even the single serving versions. I also find they create more trash than they should. So I just grab some stuff from the grocery store, like Mac&Cheese or Korrs sides and add things to them. This gives me bags of food I reseal during my trip, so I can't use the bag for boiling.
I need something to eat from. I found the Decor storage containers and I use a 500ml round container that is seal-able with a screw top. I can re-hydrate food during the day if I have too, but mostly I just have a tight seal as the food heats. I have made a cozy for it which keeps my food hot for almost an hour after I have made it. The round version is easy to eat from and easy to clean with a smooth bottom surface.
There is another reason I chose this particular bowl/lid combination. the strainer lid that originally came with the Jetboil fits perfectly on this bowl. This is actually useful as now I can strain off any excess water on pasta or rice that is cooking in the bowl.
Strainer Top
Cozy lid screwed on
I believe this to be the best of both worlds in terms of use in all conditions, safety, weight, ease of use, storage size. The total in a Cuben stuff sack and including a tiny piece of scrub pad and bandana for clean up and drying is 11.1 ounces. (this is the Al version. The Ti version would be 3 ounces less!- and that is light in anyone's book)
All packed up
In the stuff sack
Thanks
Lantern Festival- Missouri Botanical Garden St.Louis July 31, 2015
Vicky wanted to go see the lantern festival this weekend. I didn't mind but I was completely wrong about what I thought it was going to be. I had thought it was just going to be the standard Lanterns hanging in the trees all over the Garden, instead it was these giant elaborate lantern displays. Some moved, some had smoke (steam) and all of them told a story as you walked around the Garden.
We then walked the 4 blocks to the Garden through the Shaw neighborhood
Our friend John Merkle, who came with us to dinner and the garden
All these lanterns were made from recycled material. these Pagodas were 50' tall made completely from paper plates (below)
The "Blue Moon" finally made an appearance over the Garden
We ate our favorite Irish Pub (O'Connell's). Friday is always great Fish and Chip night
The entrance to the Garden was all lite up
Our friend John Merkle, who came with us to dinner and the garden
They had just turned the lights in the lanterns on at 8 pm when we arrived so we wondered around waiting for it to get really dark so the lanterns would really glow.
When the night started the lanterns really started to dominate the landscape.
Just enjoy the rest!
The "Blue Moon" finally made an appearance over the Garden
a couple in the moonlight.....
On the way out the phoenix was guarding the front entrance was breathing fire
RV Weekend-- 4th July Branson Missouri 2015
Last minute plans of what to do for 4th of July. I know after all else fails let's go to what is probably the busiest place in the entire state on a major holiday- Branson Missouri. Haha. Well we did get a reservation at Branson View Campground, so keeping our streak of every weekend in the RV so far this summer going, we headed off in that direction on Friday around noon.
The Branson View RV park was a small park on the very top of the hill up from the city of Branson. We picked this location because it was also close to Silver Dollar City.
We got all set up in our spot. We really couldn't be picky about where we got in because we were so last minute but the owners here were really nice and moved us to a site that was reserved but they knew they party would not be in this weekend.
We had actually thought about seeing a show or two, but the ones we wanted to see ( Celtic Tenors, Celtic Women, Chinese Acrobats, Six, Neil Diamond Tribute, etc,) all only showed during the week and not on the weekends- strange but there you go.
We hung around the campground till the fog lifted and it was a nice day, so we went to sight see to some of the places that we thought would have been too crowded yesterday.
There about 10 miles of trails in Table Rock State Park. Also a big RV park which we will try to stay in next time.
This was a great weekend to get away and the crowds were not a big problem. We would like to do some more wilderness camping with the RV. It is not that we don't like to have neighbors, and actually RV people are really nice but to get off the grid with our RV we really need a generator that can put out 30 amps to run the air conditioner in the summer!
Another streak has been that every weekend it rains. This weekend was no exception it rained cats and dogs on us just before Springfield, having to come to a full stop on the highway a couple of times.
We had actually thought about seeing a show or two, but the ones we wanted to see ( Celtic Tenors, Celtic Women, Chinese Acrobats, Six, Neil Diamond Tribute, etc,) all only showed during the week and not on the weekends- strange but there you go.
So, once we got settled we headed over to Silver Dollar City. We have a yearly pass thanks to Vicky's need for "redneck" entertainment, but it is actually a fun amusement park. I can't ride any of the roller coasters, but I do like the water rides and other attractions.
Once we got into the park we hit a couple of the rides and then went on the train. The train just takes you on a 13 mile loop of the park through the woods and around the other rides.
Part of the train ride is to be held up by the local "good ole boys" moonshiners in the woods. Only this time it was really a hold up as the breaks on the train did break and we had to wait for about 20 minutes while they sent out some engineers to fix them and let them cool off.
After our harrowing train ride, what was required was funnel cake and a good game of checkers.
Funnel cake solves all of life's problems
Our day at Silver Dollar City was also a success in finding some accessories for the RV to customize it with our personality. Below is the new black bear that now holds the toilet paper for us.
Back at the campsite it turned out to be a lovely sunset and evening. The Park was not nearly as crowed as we had thought and the temperature had remained pleasant.
We woke up on the 4th of July to sunshine and a nice day. We got our best patriotic decorations for the RV.
We were joined this morning by a really unusual bug that hung around our campsite most of the morning. He didn't seem afraid and was very mobile- he could even fly. The picture doesn't give a good scale but he was the size of about a half dollar!
Vicky wanted to head down to the Branson Landing. This is the old downtown shopping district on Lake Taneycomo.
The crowds even for July 4th at noon time were not really that large.
The river front had dancing fountains and played music. They had a concert down here with fireworks- last night
The transportation around Branson is unique. The trolley's run in town (above) and you can take a Duck ride (click on the link to see the Duck's in action)
In the evening we joined the majority of the campsite for a concert overlooking the bluff and then some campground karaoke
Actually we missed the actual concert part and just arrived for the Karaoke.
I would say that half the RV are full time in this campground, so I think a lot of residents know each other on a regular basis.
Shoot me now :-)
After the karaoke we sat along the edge of the bluff in one of the pavilions and watched the fireworks go off all over town. From the bluff we could see dozens of displays all at once. It was a beautiful cool evening.
Sunday morning we woke up to really dense fog on the bluff.
The spill way of the dam (above)
The giant hydro-electric dam separates Table Rock Lake above the Dam to Lake Taneycomo below the Dam
Lake Taneycomo from eye level (above)
The Visitors Center (below)
Table Rock side of the Dam.
(below)
This was a great weekend to get away and the crowds were not a big problem. We would like to do some more wilderness camping with the RV. It is not that we don't like to have neighbors, and actually RV people are really nice but to get off the grid with our RV we really need a generator that can put out 30 amps to run the air conditioner in the summer!
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