For the most part we followed the itinerary I outlined in the “Planning for a Backpacking Trip” post. Though, because we purposely didn’t take watches or cell phones we didn’t exactly stick to a schedule which meant we had to cut a couple of the bigger hikes out of the day(s). Part of it may have also been due to the literal downpour we received on Friday evening and Saturday morning. We’ll go back later one or two weekends to finish up the Cloudland Canyon trails.

With the successful trip, I’m going to be planning a “car camping” trip for sometime in Mid-December or Early/Mid-January so more of my friends can come along, and enjoy some better camp-cuisine. I’ll have a couple of posts related to that coming up soon enough.

View the full post for the pics from this weekend.

Mark’s Flickr Set

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Nathan’s Flickr Set

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After getting my first one together I modified the plans a bit and made a second one with the goal to have it hold a bit more fuel (for the longer cooking time). Version 2, as I’ll call it, was able to produce a 7-minute boil time, and a 20-minute run time before dropping down to a simmer. I used a windscreen and Heet as my fuel source.

Instructions after the jump!

What you’ll need:

• 2x Aluminum Cans (soda or beer)
• 1x Piece of 200-grit sandpaper or sanding sponge
• 1x Utility knife and extra blade(s)
• 1x Drill and a 1/16″ bit
• 1x Penny
• 1x Pinch of Fiberglass Insulation (from your attic) or Perlite (from your Home + Garden store)
• 1x Yellow Bottle of HEET from Automotive section of your local Walmart (I’ve heard bad things happen when you use the red bottle) or Denatured Alcohol from a paint supply store.

Assembly Instructions:

1. Sand the bottom 2-3 inches of the aluminum cans clean from any paints, dyes, sealants, etc.
2. Cut the bottom of the cans off, an inch for the first one, 3/4 of an inch for the second one.
3. Clean the cans and sand the rough edges so they’re less likely to cut you.
4. Put your pinch of insulation or perlite in the base (this is the “taller” cut-off can).
5. Drill a grouping of 5 holes in the center of the burner (the “shorter” cut-off can), this will be your filling holes. (Figure 1)
   

   Figure 1

6. Drill 12-16 evenly spaced holes around the outside edge of the burner. (Figure 1)
7. Make 4-6 evenly spaced cuts towards the burner holes (only go up to the curve in the can) so the sharp edges of the burner can be bent ever so slightly inwards to fit snugly into the base.
8. Put the two pieces together, they should snug up with a little bit of pressure but be careful as you’re working with sharp edges of aluminum.

Lighting Instructions

1. Open your bottle of HEET (or Denatured Alcohol) and pour such that your stove is 1/2 to 3/4 filled. Overfilling will only cause the stove to take longer to light, and could lead to spills which can be very dangerous.
2. Put the penny over the filling hole.
3. Fill the lighting cup (that’s what it becomes when you put the penny over the filling holes) with your fuel.
4. Light the fuel in the lighting cup.
5. Hopefully, there was enough fuel in the lighting cup burning long enough to heat the alcohol in the base such that the burner lit from the alcohol fumes. Repeat steps 3-4 as necessary.

Success!

Using my GSI Pinnacle cook kit, a quart of water, a coat hanger (that I fabricated into a pot rest), the windscreen, and the stove; I was able to make a bowl of rice in about 17 minutes. The coat hanger wasn’t as sturdy as I would have liked, but I could have taken a little more time and designed a better one that would support more weight.

One of the foreseeable problems I have with this stove is the same problem my MSR WhisperLite had: if it was cold, it took awhile for the stove to heat up to the point that the fuel would evaporate to produce a good cooking flame. Another is regards to the fact that it doesn’t have a long burn-time. Other than that, it’d be great for trail-side lunches that require heated water.

Now you can build an ultra-lightweight stove, boil water in 7 minutes, and still have enough heat to cook a boil in the bag rice. Not bad at all for less than $2 in materials!

620-O1 crew training in the Cohutta Wilderness

The easiest way I could centralize the planning and distribution of information for a light backpacking trip I’m planning for October 9-11, 2009 was to put it in my blog.  So I might as well expand on it and turn it into something that will generate traffic, right? Right. The trip I’m going to be expanding on was originally a thought back in January/February for me and my Fiancee, Molly Locklear. However, she got ill immediately before the trip resulting in her being hospitalized leading to her being one organ (her gallbladder) shy of a full body. I never got back around to planning it out again, but another friend Nathaniel Foster expressed some interest in going on a short trip. So, I’ll rehash my ideas and start the planning again.

Picking a Location. The first thing that crosses my mind when I’m planning a trip is how hard do I want the trail to be. I’m taking a couple new (to backpacking) people along, so I don’t want them to be so tired and frustrated that it’s not a good experience for them. I also wanted to pick a place that was fairly scenic because everyone going along has a variable amount of interest in photography. Not too far away from Chattanooga/Dalton area is a fairly easy set of trails within the Cloudland Canyon State Park. In looking at the map available here. It doesn’t look like there are any crazy elevation changes on any of the trails except for the Sitton Gulch Trail, but it doesn’t have any camping sites.

Itinerary Planning. Getting familiar with the area and the pace of your group (however large or small it may be) are necessary for any hiking or backpacking trips. I figure that for starting out on a mildly strenuous trail, averaging from one to one an a half miles an hour is about right for most groups with full backpacks. More experienced groups will go faster and need less breaks so their average may be significantly faster. Hiking is easier, and will have a pace closer to two miles an hour for starters. The harder the trail, the slower the pace. Familiarity is the key though.

The way I’m thinking about my trip right now, we’ll probably arrive around 7:30pm, go in on the Backcountry Trail (2 miles, max) Friday night, set up camp and sleep. Get up on Saturday Morning, eat a breakfast to prep us for the day and pack up. Depending on how the sites are reserved, we may not have the same site Saturday evening but that will provide for a slight change in environment and some good training. After packing up Saturday morning we’ll hike it back out to the vehicles (2 miles, max) and move necessary gear, food, and water into our day-packs for the more strenuous trails we’ll be attacking during the day. On Saturday before noon we’ll drive over to a parking lot at the trail-head of the Overlook trail and head down to see the Waterfalls (less than 2 miles) with our day-packs and head down to the 2nd waterfall for lunch, stopping at the 1st waterfall for a short water break. Once we get back to the Parking Lot we’ll move the vehicles if necessary for the Sitton Gulch Trail. We’ll verify we have the equipment we need in our day-packs, refill our water apparatuses, and head down the trail (6.5 miles). When we return in the evening we’ll pack everything back into our backpacks and drive over to the parking lot at the Backcountry Trail. After getting the packs back on our back, we’ll head into camp (2 miles, max), set camp, make dinner, and chat around a campfire (if allowed) until sleepy time. Sunday morning we’ll pack up and head back out to the cars. Depending on whether my group’s legs are ready for another trail we may give the West Rim Loop Trail(4.8 miles) a visit with our day-packs before leaving the park to head home.

UPDATE:

In an effort to get this post published I forgot to add the Leave No Trace ethics regarding their “Plan Ahead and Prepare” skill. It is always important to keep these in mind when planning an outdoor activity.

• Know the regulations and concerns for the area you’ll be hiking, backpacking, or camping in. Restrictions are based on any past abuse and the special conditions of an area.
• Camp and travel in small groups. They are quieter and do less damage.
• Avoid the popular areas during heavy use times.
• Learn how to properly store your food to protect it from bears and other animals.
• Repackage your food into re-usable containers like Ziploc bags. Avoid tin or aluminum cans and glass. Reduce the amount of trash you bring into the woods by eliminating all unnecessary packaging like cardboard boxes, etc.
• Make sure you have a way to properly dispose of your trash (use your Ziploc bags and bring an extra garbage bag).
• Get back to the basics. Rough it! Select your gear and plan your trip by thinking about how it will impact the environment and also how it may affect others as well.
• Choose hiking, backpacking, and camping gear and clothing that are natural earth tone colors like green, brown, tan, or black.

Stay Tuned for “Choosing Equipment for a Backpacking Trip”, “Meal Planning for a Backpacking Trip”, and “Packing for a Backpacking Trip”