More Support Gear

I could spend a lot of time and money at the REI store in Tempe, Arizona store! I went to Tempe to pick up my freshly cleaned Nikon D610 (it always has that new camera smell and is to shiny when I pick it up from Tempe Camera), but stopped at REI on my way. My wife was with me and wanted to go there too.

My last post was a testimony to travelling light, including NOT cooking. However, I have been toying with getting a backpacking stove and decided to pick one up at REI. My considerations are the following:

1. We have a two burner camp stove. However, it runs on white gas or unleaded. To get it to run I have to carry a supply of fuel. When we camp in our pickup I take a gallon container of regular unleaded gasoline - stored in the bed of the pickup. In my Explorer I either have to have it inside the vehicle or strapped to the roof. I haven't been comfortable with either one since I don't want to smell it inside the vehicle and I don't want to carry it on the roof in Arizona where temperatures often are over 110 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. A backpacking stove uses the screw on fuel cells with no odor, more easily stored.
3. Using some kind of a small stove allows me to at least cook a hot dog, top ramen, or egg. This will likely save me some bux while providing me with a hot meal. I'll be taking my small cooler anyway so carrying hot dogs and eggs won't be a stretch. That makes me wonder - can I make acceptable coffee? Hmmm...

Primus Yellowstone Classic Trail Stove

So, when I saw this little Primus Yellowstone Classic Trail Stove for $20 I couldn't pass it up. It, along with a pack of hot dogs, will probably pay for itself in a couple of days. 

I added an MSR ISOPRO canister for about another $5 and boosted my stove expenditure to about $25. 

When I got home I boiled a pan of water and it was boiling in about 1 minute. This thing appears to be compact, inexpensive, and efficient at heating (well, at least in 100 degree weather)!

MSR Stowaway Pot - 1600ml

Of course a new stove has to have new cooking utensils, and REI hooked me up there too. They're having a sale on the MSR Stowaway Pot - 1600ml for about $19.00. It looks plenty big to cook some hot dogs, top ramen, and/or eggs. I couldn't pass it up so I didn't.

It held the water that I boiled in less than 2 minutes on top of the Primus stove!

I also added the lovely purple Snow Peak Titanium Spork - Colored in purple. How could I not! Especially when purple is one of my wife's favorite colors!

I think I'm set in the cooking department now. And, since I've received my copy of the gallon water jug, my trip to Yosemite should be very satisfactory.

1 Gallon BPA FREE Reusable
Plastic Drinking Water Big
Mouth "Dairy" Bottle Jug
Container with Holder

I received my 1 Gallon BPA FREE Reusable Plastic Drinking Water Big Mouth "Dairy" Bottle Jug Container with Holder from Amazon yesterday.

It is smaller than I expected but I measured it and it does hold one gallon - with very little room to spare. The liquid comes right up to the bottom of the mouth.

I've noticed that not all one gallon water bottles are the same size when I get them from the gas stations so even if the one I purchase is a bit over a gallon I can simply drink any extra that won't fit in this container.

I also wonder how it's going to work due to elevation changes. I hope it doesn't burst through the lid!

My other concern is that there aren't a lot of threads on the cap. I wish it was a bit more heavy duty by having more and deeper threads. I kind of would like a second one (I usually get water for my dogs out of the faucet and carry it in a separate container - they don't care if it's bottled drinking water and they often don't drink all that I give them meaning that I waste a lot of their water).  At this point, though, I'll wait a while and see how this lasts before buying a second one.

I didn't mention before, but the bottles I've been using are bottled water bottles from Walgreens - they have disposable, squarish 1 gallon water bottles with large, screw on caps. I just wanted something a bit more durable.

Darn Tough Micro Crew Cushion
Hiking Socks - Men's

UPDATE -  I also want to mention a couple of additional items about REI...

1. I got turned on to Darn Tough Socks and picked up a couple of pair through Amazon recently. REI has them in stock and today they were 25% off. My wife picked up a pair but I think she plans to get another pair. They are amazing socks with a life time warranty - the catch is they're not cheap. But I will definitely be getting more. They're cheaper at REI than I paid at Amazon, by the way, even without the sale.
2. My wife tried on a number of hiking boots but didn't make a decision yet about what to get. However, the staff at REI are great when it comes to selecting anything. She plans to go back when it's less busy to see if she can get more info about a hiking boot. One thing we were told was that unless you're definitely going to be getting in water, a non-water proof boot will be a lot cooler in the Arizona heat. We hadn't thought of that. Decisions, decisions.

Non-photographic Support Gear

I'm heading to Yosemite, Sequoia, and King's Canyon National Parks in a couple of weeks (Labor Day week). I'm going to walk where John Muir and Ansel Adams walked, take some photographs, and camp in the parks.

I go on over-nighters a lot (well, I was last year and the year before - this year I haven't done as much due to health problems). And, I'm always working on how to improve the camping portion of my trips. 

My campsite in Oak Creek Canyon

I found that I don't like spending time setting up a tent, especially when I'm just going to be somewhere for one night. I don't like hauling and tinkering with a lot of camping gear such as a cook stove and cooking gear, lantern, coolers with food, a cot, and on and on. The picture to the left is at one of my earlier camping ventures in Oak Creek Canyon, near Sedona, Arizona.

Since I don't really spend much time at the campsite, and am often out trying to shoot photos at dusk and sunrise, the campsite seemed like a burden.

At some point some time ago I tried sleeping in the back of my Ford Explorer and it was good. Much more efficient.

My Ford Explorer campsite

I added a self inflating air mattress from REI. I quit taking cooking equipment and food since almost everywhere I stayed I was within an hour or so of a McDonald's restaurant where I could get my coffee and the double breakfast burrito combo. I was able to go to a restaurant for a warm evening hamburger too. If I wasn't close to a restaurant I sometimes had a sandwich with me or just ate jerky or trail mix which has protein.

I keep a few gallons of water in my vehicle. I generally have some crackers, trail mix, and jerky. But, I can also go without eating for a while without grumbling. John Muir didn't dwell on what he was going to eat - his attention was on nature. I tend to focus on my surroundings too, rather than what I have available to eat.

These changes have been great. I can leave my air mattress and sleeping bag laid out in the back of my Explorer. When I shoot some pics and have my camera mounted on my tripod, I can lay the tripod and camera on top of my sleeping bag when I leave a spot and it provides a cushion for my gear as well as keeps it from rolling around.

For my upcoming trip I'm refining my gear a bit more. I've added a Marmot PreCip rain jacket from REI (this jacket seemed to keep coming up in various reviews as one of the best deals for the money), some Black Diamond Ergo Trekking Poles, some Columbia convertible hiking pants, and a number of polyester blend long sleeve shirts. I've been looking for a long time for re-usable water containers that I think I'd like.

BPA FREE Reusable Plastic
Drinking Water Big Mouth
"Dairy" Bottle Jug Container

I have wanted a gallon jug that is 1) clear so I can see the water level; 2) has a large enough mouth that I can fill it from a gallon jug that I purchase it in at a store; 3) most important for me, I wanted it to be squarish so that it won't roll around my vehicle. 

I finally found the BPA FREE Reusable Plastic Drinking Water Big Mouth "Dairy" Bottle Jug Container for about $14.00 on Amazon that I think is going to fit the bill. I can't wait to get it! Now I can get some gallons of drinking water from the gas station in their containers with lids that pop off once they're opened, and dump one of them in my new, re-usable container.

Besides that container, I like having a second container with water suitable for washing my hands or for other utility purposes. When I camp with my wife we have one of those blue 5 gallon containers but I don't want to carry such a big thing in my Explorer when I'm by myself - there just isn't room. 

Seattle Sports Aquasto 8 Liter Water Keg

While I was looking for the drinking jug on Amazon I came across the Seattle Sports Aquasto 8 Liter Water Keg for about $10.00, which I also ordered.

This unit is collapsible which means that when I'm between campsites I can have it empty and collapsed and not taking up much room. When I get to a campsite I can fill it (or if / when I'm somewhere that doesn't have water such as a BLM area, I can fill it shortly before venturing into the camp area). I don't have to haul around a lot of water weight for this purpose; I can fill the keg on demand as close to the place I need it as possible.