Posts filed under 'Camping'
December 11th, 2006
spryken
As a “drought buster” troop, that is almost every time we camp it rains, we have some experience with tents. We are hard on tents. The boys care for the tents after a camping trip, so some are not care for as well as the adult leaders would like. We try to overcome this with training.
The first thing we do with a new tent is to seal the seams. This is an easy step to overlook, but is essential for any one that does wet weather camping, well worth the effort. The next thing is to mark each tent is an out of the way place with a number. Each bag or stuff sack also gets marked. This is so we can keep track of which tent is missing what part. It also adds a level of responsibility to the scout. Each scout pair knows which tent number they have, so do the leaders. That means we can enforce accountability.
Each year, when the Webelos cross over, our troop goes through the new scout orientation. We have our older scouts teach the new scouts the way to pitch a tent among other essential scouting skills. They teach our troops method of handling tents. We tend to review this lesson during the first couple of campouts with the new scouts. Of course, we when have a really bad campout, that is no one came seem to treat the tents with respect, we schedule a refresher for the entire troop.
After any campout, each tent is sent home with one of the scouts that used it. They work out who will take it home. They are to set the tent up to dry it out. Usually, I would say air it out, but our troop’s experience is more along the lines of wring it out then dry it out. If it is still raining, they are encouraged to set it up in the garage. We try to get the tents dry as quickly as possible. Ideally, we would have enough space set aside for our troop, that we could hang the tents. We don’t, so we send them home. After the tents are dry and the scout has made sure that no extra gear has been left in the tent, he stores the tent, bringing it back to the next troop meeting.
This process has worked fairly well for us. We have had mildewed tents. We have had missing parts. That is why we have started marking the tents and encouraging more accountability. No one likes finding out that their tent is missing a stake or pole when you are trying to set it up, especially if it is raining. No one likes sleeping in a tent that is mildewed or smells like sweat socks. Encourage your scouts to take ownership, they are the ones who will suffer if the tents are not treated with respect. It is hard to overcome our society’s attitude of “If it breaks you’ll buy a new one, so why should I care”. Maybe we should consider adding a 13th point to the scout law…. A Scout is Frugal. What troop has the money to buy new tents every year????
Technorati Tags: boy scouts, scouting, bsa, scout, camping, tents, gear
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Gear
December 7th, 2006
spryken
A few months back, we were working on the Historic Trails award. I was the adult grub master. The other leaders have come to expect me to do Dutch Oven cooking on our campouts, at least the “flop and drop” campouts. I didn’t want to disappoint. I fixed the Chicken Chili Verdi for supper and my Mom’s Pound Cake for dessert. Mom always uses a tube pan to make pound cake. It provides more crust. So I adapted a dutch oven to make a tube pan. Really all I did was to cut the top off of a 12 ounce drink can, so that if fit under the lid of the dutch oven.
Here is the recipe…
- 1 cup butter or Crisco
- 2 1/2 cups sugar
- 4 eggs
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- 1 cup buttermilk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
Cream together the butter and sugar. Add the vanilla. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing well between additions. (This can be done the night before the campout, just bring to room temperature and mix lightly before adding the other ingredients.) Combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients alternately with the buttermilk to the creamed mixture.
Oil and flour the dutch over or tube pan. Spoon the batter into the pan and smooth. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour or until done. If cooking in a dutch oven on coals, I used about 8-10 coals on bottom and 12-16 on top. Rotate the dutch oven 90 degrees every 15 minutes and the lid in the opposite direction 90 degrees. This will help insure even baking. You may need to adjust the amount of coals on top if it browns too fast or not fast enough.
There is nothing like hot pound cake on a camping trip.
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Recipes
December 1st, 2006
spryken
OK, So I have covered the major forms of water treatment while on the trail.
- Do nothing
- Boil
- Chemicals
- Filters
- MiOX
- UV
Each method has its own advocates and each is valid so there is not
really a wrong choice. There are just choices that are better for you.
Here are some key points to consider when choosing your water treatment method.
- Weight - as you try to lower you overall weight, water and water treatment will have to be considered. Water weighs 1 pound for every pint. So that is about 2 pounds per liter. Some light weight advocates suggest only carrying 1 liter and treating every time you come to water. That is a little extreme for me, I like having some in reserve - plus I drink a lot of water!!
- Cost - Let’s face it, cost is usually the determining factor. I know I don’t have money to just throw away. Even though I love gadgets and toys, I just can’t afford to buy every latest gizmo.
- Ease of Use - Everyone loves convenience.
- Time to Treat - Everyone has their own limits as to how long they can wait for something.
- Dependability - If it won’t work, what good is it?
Keeping these points in mind, I will share my reasoning and conclusion. Remember, we are different people and what I decide may not be best nor best for you.
I really drink a lot of water, probably a gallon a day with no exertion. So on the trail, I can easily go through a liter an hour. That is a lot of weight, so I would like to carry less and treat more often. I love new gadgets and so am drawn to the MiOX and UV treatment options. Love those toys!! But my budget is very tight right now. I also am a Boy Scout and live by the motto - Be Prepared. So, with toys that require batteries I would have to carry spare batteries, more weight. So, what does this boil down to? Two different options to cover two types of treks.
Option 1 - A trek with plenty of watering opportunities available.
Ideally, I would use the UV treatment and only carry 2 liters at a time. IF I didn’t drink so much, I would limit myself to 1 liter. With the speed of treatment (90 seconds), if I ran out of water before the next watering opportunity, I could be drinking while others were still pumping or waiting for the chemicals to work.
I would also carry some Polar Pure. It is a cheap, lightweight Iodine based treatment. That way if anything happened to the UV light bulb I would still have water treatment available.
Option 2 - A trek without plenty of watering opportunities available.
For this type of trip, I would tend to stick to chemical treatment. I feel more comfortable using more tablets or doses in treating larger amounts of water. I would carry at least 4 liters of water and treat at every opportunity. I would probably use Polar Pure or MicroPur tablets. I know and trust them both.
I know people who use filters. I have a few issues with them. Not that they don’t work, they do. My issues are with me and other humans. For any water treatment to work, you have to be meticulous in the application. You have to wait the proscribe time. Details count!! To me, filters seem to have too many chances for a human to make mistakes. You have to clean them properly. You have to avoid contamination. They are a lot of work. (Yes, I have pumped liters of water. You have to have several people available, as arms get tired.) So I tend to avoid filters.
Remember, your conclusions will be different from mine. We may end up at the same place, but our reasoning will be different. You have to decide for yourself. I just hope that my research and opinions can help you reach your decision.
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Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Camping, Gear, Hiking
November 28th, 2006
spryken
Disclaimer…. I have never used either type of water treatment covered in this article. All my information I have gathered from the Internet and Retail Stores.
There are 2 fairly new methods of treating water. MiOX and UV-C treatment.
MiOX is Mixed Oxidants. MSR has a MiOX Purifier. It uses salt and electricity to form a mixed oxidant solution that will inactivate viruses, bacteria, Giardia cysts and Cryptosporidium. You have to carry salt and batteries (2 CR-123 - Lithium Camera Batteries). The purifier uses a brine solution and ionizes it with an electrical charge. This is similar to the treatment some municipal water treatment centers use. You pour the ionized brine solution into the water to be treated and wait: 15 minutes for viruses and bacteria, 30 minutes for Giardia, and 4 hours for Cryptosporidium.
Forum entries have expressed some trouble in getting the brine solution to the correct concentration. Cold water and dirty water require additional treatment - extra brine solution.
Cost: $100-130
UV-C treatment uses UltraViolet C radiation to treat the water. There are several products available: AquaStar, and SteriPen. According to the AquaStar site:
Ultra-violet C-band (UV-C) purifiers work differently from filtration
systems by generating ionizing radiation at 254nm that quickly and
effectively disrupts the cellular chemistry of all known pathogens,
halting DNA replication, and breaking down organic components of alien
living organisms into harmless material.
Both the AquaStar and the SteriPen use batteries. AquaStar uses 2 CR-123 Lithium Camera batteries, while the SteriPen uses 4 AA batteries. The AquaStar is contained in a Nalgene type bottle while the SteriPen is open and inserted into you water container. Both using a UV light can treat a liter of water in about 90 seconds. Dirty water should be prefiltered as dirty water will require additional time/treatment. This is definitely the quickest water treatment available.
Cost: $100-130
These last 4 articles have covered what I consider to be the facts involved in water treatment methods. In Part 5, I will make some conclusions and offer my opinions.
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Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Camping, Gear, Hiking
November 27th, 2006
spryken
This is the recipe the Boy Scouts use, super easy and very good. It is so easy, most boys and leaders that I explain it to have a hard time believing it.
2 cans fruit pie filling - any flavor
1 box cake mix - any flavor
butter or oil
Pour the pie filling into the bottom of the dutch oven. Spread the dry cake mix over the pie filling. Place some small bits of butter or drizzles of oil around the top to aid in browning. Place 8-10 coals under the dutch oven and 12-14 on top. Bake about 45 minutes, until bubbly and the top is browned. Rotate the dutch oven 90 degrees and the lid in the opposite direction 90 degrees every 15 minutes. This aids in even baking and browning.
Yes, you can use any fruit pie filling and any flavor cake mix. No, you do not follow the directions on the cake mix box, use it dry!!
Here are some flavor combination ideas:
- Peach pie filling, spice cake
- Apple pie filling, spice cake
- Blueberry pie filling, yellow cake
- Raspberry pie filling, chocolate cake
- Cherry pie filling, devil’s food cake — you add a few dollops of
Marshmallow Fluff to the pie filling (not mixing) to get a “Black
Forest” cobbler
You can always add some cinnamon or cloves to spice up the pie filling.
Have fun and experiment with the flavors.
Technorati Tags: Dutch Oven, Boy Scouts, bsa, scouting, cooking, recipe, camping
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Recipes
