Re: Frugal hiking and backpacking

On 21 Nov 2003 08:14:04 -0800, [EMAIL PROTECTED] (Andy)
wrote:

>..I actually think frugality and the techniques of ultralight
>backpacking are very complementary topics... 

Good point! See, MCFL folks, our blather here IS on-topic :-p.

>..What do you use instead of a sleeping bag? Pile up pine needles on top
>of you?  

Sure, and if it starts getting cold, I just toss a match onto the
pile. (Only kidding, readers; don't try this at home.)

Actually, for those very long trips where speed is essential, I just
sleep in a bivy sack in all my clothes. Works just fine in places like
the Sierra Nevada in summer. Most of my trips like that are solo (good
thing, eh?) I also carry a small tarp, but usually just dig a trough
in the soft duff under a conifer (spruce is best), toss my foam pad
down and sleep blissfully under the stars. Can't beat it :o). 

Because of the above practice, I probably carry a bit more clothing
than you, but far less than a sleeping bag would weigh. One has to
bring clothes along anyway, so might as well use them at night, eh?

We own a few tents that we (my wife backpacks, too) use for shorter
trips, and in different seasons (SD Bivy tent, SD Flashlight, SD
Sphinx, Moss Starlet, Kelty all-netting Windfoil, TNF VE-25) so it's
just a mater of choosing the appropriate gear for each trip.

I should explain that we have a lot of optional gear because I took
full advantage of the pro-deal 50% discounts when I worked at REI
(which was the only reason I worked there, BTW -- to gear-up for
several upcoming ventures). (That's where all the boots came from.)

>By the way, that is what Ray Jardine is doing these days, he
>has moved beyond ultralight backpacking to virtually no gear trekking
>and living off the land.  Now that is frugal camping.

Yeah, Jardine's quite a character (a fellow Zonie, BTW). He is honored
in rock climbing circles for the invention of the first SLCDs --
*Friends*. I used those for many years until Camelots came out. He was
one helleva rock climber, too, but gave that up a while back. Me, too.

>Actually, food was the only thing I didn't skimp on.  I carried about
>2.5 lbs of food per day, on the theory that your body *does* need good
>nutrition.  I carried enough food for one extra day over my schedule.

Smart move. But no matter how much food I carry, I still lose 1-2
pounds per day on those trips. Ready-to-eat food is usually my stock
(no stove needed), but when I do need a stove (as in to melt snow) we
have a vintage Hank Roberts mini stove that weighs just a fraction of
the Svea (although we have a 40-year-old 123, too). For really cold
trips we have a MSR XGK. And for very high altitudes, Camping Gaz.
It's just a matter of using the right tool for the job to be done.

>I remember talking to a guy who was hiking the JMT with a 70 lb pack,
>doing 10 miles a day, who was only carrying 10 oz of food per day to
>save weight! He was complaining about feeling weak and worn out and
>demoralized because his rations were so skimpy. But thank goodness he
>had heavy hiking boots, spare boots, a full tent, a nice full length
>sleeping pad, a camp chair, and all kinds of other creature comforts
>to console him while he was starving his way down the trail.  He was
>the backpacking equivalent of a spendthrift, using up his resources on
>useless gadgets and getting himself in the worst kind of debt to do it
>(calorie debt).

Yep, you see some weird stuff on the JMT. I once met a lady on that
trail carrying an 80# pack (complete with canned food and GLASS
bottles full of water). She was making about 5 miles every other day.
I tried to explain the diminishing returns concept to her: more weight
means less speed, means more time required, means more food needed,
means more weight, means slower speed, etc, etc. But I did volunteer
to help lighten her load by eating a bunch of her food. I just love to
meet people like that on the trail :-).


Cav