Posts filed under 'Gear'
May 31st, 2007
spryken
You can use the oven roasting bags, also known as turkey bags, to cook on camping trips. I don’t mean to bake or roast anything, although you can do that too. No, you can use a turkey bag to cook your dehydrated trail meals.
When our troop goes on extended backpacking trips, such as Philmont or our upcoming AT Trip, we share the load of crew gear. We carry 2 stoves and 2 large pots. We do not have to carry 1 stove per person and a pot per person, so we save on total weight.
Here is how we use the turkey bags. We all eat the same dehydrated meal. Measure the required water and bring to a boil. Pour all of the dehydrated meals into a turkey bag. Place the bag in an empty pot and carefully pour in the boiling water. Stir thoroughly, this will take some work. Then close the bag as tightly as possible and let sit. It will need to sit a few minutes longer than the recommended cooking time. Open the bag and again stir thoroughly. Serve. Clean-up is easy, store the used turkey bag in your trash container.
You can do other bag cooking too. Using a zipper bag you can make omelettes. Place 2-3 eggs in a quart size bag. Squish the bag around to “beat” the eggs. Add any omelette fillings you like and cheese. Close the bag and place in a pot of just boiling water. One word of caution, use freezer grade bags. Any others will melt against the side of the pot.
Again, easy clean-up. The boys have fun with the omelettes too.
Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Camping, Cooking, Gear
May 31st, 2007
spryken
Looking at Backpacking related websites you might get the idea that Backpacking is a solo activity. Lone Hikers are not uncommon, but I think that groups of solo hikers may be more common.
What I mean by a “group of solo hikers” is a group of people who join up for a hike. They each bring their own food and gear. So in essence they each are a loosely affiliated group of solo hikers. Some Scout Troops approach backpacking that way, at least at first. There are important skills to learn in the solo hiking method. How to fend for yourself, what gear is required, how to pack that gear, etc.
Another way is Team Backpacking. You have a crew that meets and decides what gear to share. The team decides what meals to eat which involves some compromises. The team shares the duties involved in camp and food preparation.
When we took a crew to Philmont in 2005, we used the Team Backpacking method. We didn’t have to plan meals, meals were provided. But we did have to setup duty rosters, split crew gear for carrying, etc. The adult leaders provide guidance and advice, but we allowed the boys to make the decisions and do the work.
It was amazing to see the maturity and confidence level rise over the 10 days we were on the trail. There was squawking about whose turn it was to do cleanup or cooking. That is part of the growing process. So are making poor decisions.
Five boys and two leaders, including myself, are about to undertake a Team Building Backpacking trip. We have already met to make some initial decisions on what to eat. We will be in the back country of the Great Smokey Mountains National Park on the Appalachian Trail. So far the team gear list includes:
- Water Treatment tablets
- bear bags/rope
- 2 backpacking stoves/fuel
- 1 large pot for cooking
- turkey roasting bags for cooking
- lighter/matches
- first aid kit
- toilet paper and poop scoop
- map/compass
- camp suds
You may notice an odd item in that list, turkey bags. That deserves its own post so more on that in my next post.
We will meet at least one more time before the trip to review our plans. I will probably try to nudge them to consider creating a duty roster. With just 2 1/2 days on the trail and 5 boys, I will try to get them to change Hike Master and Navigator duties every 1/2 day so that everyone gets a taste of being “in charge”. The leaders’ hardest job is keeping our noses out!!
Let the team build itself.
Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Gear
May 3rd, 2007
spryken
I always try to do my due diligence before buying new gear. I read the magazines, talk with friends and search the Internet. I even belong to a couple of Backpacking forums. I try to leave no stone unturned.
I had found a great site and then promptly forgot it. I don’t even remember what I was researching (sigh). But I ran across it again. BackpackGearTest.org It has a wide variety of gear reviews done by owners of the equipment and by testers. The reviews by testers are detailed; including an Initial Report, a Field Report and a Long Term Report. The testers really give the gear a good going over and repeated tests. Multiple testers review the same equipment, giving a better overall view of the gear in question.
I have found it to be a good resource. Check it out!!
Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Gear
May 2nd, 2007
spryken
Previously, I had posted a series of 5 articles on Water Treatment. Since that time, I have discovered (thanks to Glenn at Scoutmaster Blog) the US Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine a site where they review commercially available water treatment options. They tested for bacteria, viruses, Giardia and Cryptosporidium using both mechanical (filtration) and chemical options.
Based on their findings, I need to review and update my recommendations.
First, let’s look at the Chemical options.
The only chemical treatment option that effectively treated all 4 pathogens was the Katadyn Micropur tablets. All of the other chemical options had trouble with Crypto and Giardia. One of the treatment options that I was thinking of getting was the Steripen UV treatment, it rated lowest for all 4 pathogens. The other “new” technology that I was looking at was the MSR MIOX purifier. It did well for bacteria, viruses and Giardia but not Crypto. Based on cost ,ease of use and effectiveness, the Katadyn Micropur tablets get my nod for the recommended chemical treatment option. We used them on our Philmont trek in 2005 and I noticed no chemical taste. Prefiltering is recommended to remove the “floaties”.
Now let’s look at the filters. The only filter tested that equaled the Katadyn Micropur tablets in effectiveness was the MSR Sweetwater Purifier. There were other MSR filters that did not do as well, be sure you look for the Purifier. The MSR Sweetwater Microfilter failed for viruses.
Katadyn had 2 filters that were effective against bacteria, viruses and Giardia and were also acceptable against Crypto: The Exstream Water Bottle and the Exstream XR Water Bottle.
HTI and GenCol had several filters that were acceptable for all 4, see the website for details
From my previous posts, the issue I have with filters is that you have to keep them cleaned and maintained properly in order to get optimal results. Once contaminated on a trek, you have no water treatment options other than boiling unless you carry additional weight and treatment options.
My recommendation:
For price and effectiveness - Katadyn Micropur tablets
Entry Filed under: Backpacking, Boy Scouts, Gear
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????
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Entry Filed under: Boy Scouts, Camping, Gear
