Camplore

I am amused and quite intrigued to try starting a wilderness fire with a coke can and a chocolate bar…

We’ll be heading to the Lincoln National Forest in late May, when the winds start drying out the forest and all kinds of fire danger notices are issued. This looks like yet another good reason to keep those soda cans in the recycle bin where they belong, too!

By the way, what a waste of good chocolate. Make sure to use the cheap stuff.

We almost always work in a 5-10 mile hike on Saturday when we camp. The day packs we take need the essentials, whether the terrain and trail is known or not. So here’s a list of items you’ll want to make sure you have with you when you’re striking out for the day. I have not included clothing. The foremost advice I have about that is to make sure to dress in layers and appropriately for the weather.
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Here’s another recipe that begs to be made on a frontcountry camping trip. It’s a nice variation on the old hobo dinner/foil packs that call for a little carrot, onion, potato and hamburger patty wrapped up in a foil envelope and cooked on coals.
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Do these look intriguing to you? I have an itch to try them out, but haven’t managed to yet. We used to make hobo stoves, which consisted of a tuna can, emptied and cleaned, with a coil of cardboard, then paraffin wax poured in it. Then you’d take a #10 can, punch a few can-opener holes in it for ventilation, turn it over the flaming tuna can, and there was a nice hot surface to cook on. You just wanted to make sure you were going to need that heat for a while, because they could burn for a couple of hours.

But look how classy these look!
Aluminum Can Backpacking Stove
They operate on a couple of tablespoons of denatured alcohol. Too cool.

I have coveted the bakepacker oven since I saw it demonstrated a few years ago back at Scout Show. I think they made muffins in it, and I was fascinated that you could bake in a pot on top of a stove successfully. Not that anything browns, mind you, but it was definitely cooked. I have friends who love their bakepackers, but I am so cheap I haven’t managed to plop down the $17-$18 for one. So I heard a rumor of a homemade replacement and decided to try it out at home.
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A little planning and shopping at the regular grocery store can save a world of trouble when cleanup time rolls around for the lightweight backpacker, even without freeze dried backpacking meals. Just remember to pack it out, and you’re in business with even a potentially messy meal when you use oven bags to line your pots.
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Here’s something I’ve never tried - a hammock as a tent. I’ve seen them used and wondered if the occupant was just enjoying the novelty, but they really do make sense from a low impact perspective. Assuming, of course, you are attaching the hammock to a tree or object without damaging it. Tobey over at Tobey’s Guide claims he is comfortable in his Hennessey Hammock and can even sleep on his side.
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Translating termperature from that handy dial with the numbers on it at home to the campsite can get a little on the tricky side. It still is, if you’re using wood coals. But cooking with charcoal gives you a little more structure, at least.
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Thanks to reasonable recent success moving a home oven recipe to the Dutch Oven arena, I am inspired to try another favorite over charcoal. My old cookbook calls it “Chicken Baked in Sour Cream”. My niece thinks they should’ve added “and Mushroom Soup”, but I’ve learned to modify that ingredient to suit her taste sufficiently.
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Nothing says rest like a place to sit after a long hike. Minimalists may prefer a small pad on the ground, but when it’s raining and a little muddy, I like my seat out of the water. As much camping as we do at state parks, there’s usually a concrete picnic table and benches close by, but a folding chair of some sort is still needed for the campfire area. A folding captain’s chair works for us in camp, but the backpacker needs a lightweight, sturdy portable folding chair.
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