swiftdream
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the Great Southwest Unbound
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Post by swiftdream on Oct 1, 2019 8:12:51 GMT -8
Having self-rescued from early on-set hypothermia with warm liquids twice in my life and helped nurse hiking companions with warm foods, teas and broths.....going utterly stove-less is just not an option. Knowing how to travel stoveless is an excellent skill though. Totally agree. My stove is my camp hearth, a safety and a comfort device. I don’t even leave it behind on day hikes. Nothing like a steaming pint of Ti Kuan Yan oolong, the iron goddess of mercy, on any morning and especially on cold days in the open. A good hot soup is certainly soul sustaining on a blustery day.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 1, 2019 15:37:12 GMT -8
I do like to mix in a no-cook dinner or two on longer trips, just to save fuel. But as noted, for me that doesn’t mean eating snack food, just eating a meal that’s meant to be cold—a dinner salad or a wrap of some sort.
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Post by bobcat on Oct 1, 2019 16:10:58 GMT -8
My lunches are typically no-cook, and once on a while I will go no-cook for dinner by eating a lunch and maybe snacks. This usually means cooking at lunchtime one day to even it out.
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walkswithblackflies
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Resident terrorist-supporting eco-freak bootlicker
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Oct 2, 2019 4:50:33 GMT -8
You can rehydrate dehydrated meals with cold water. It just takes about 8 hours. Pour your meal into a container, add water in the morning, and you'll have a reconstituted meal by evening.
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ErnieW
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Post by ErnieW on Oct 2, 2019 7:43:15 GMT -8
You can rehydrate dehydrated meals with cold water. It just takes about 8 hours. Pour your meal into a container, add water in the morning, and you'll have a reconstituted meal by evening. One thing I have wondered about this cold cooking; what are the bacteria implications of keeping moist food at warm temperatures for so long?
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Oct 2, 2019 7:47:17 GMT -8
One thing I have wondered about this cold cooking; what are the bacteria implications of keeping moist food at warm temperatures for so long? I hadn't thought about it, as I've never gotten sick... but it's a good and valid question.
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Post by tipiwalter on Oct 2, 2019 13:57:50 GMT -8
My stove is my camp hearth, a safety and a comfort device. I don’t even leave it behind on day hikes. Nothing like a steaming pint of Ti Kuan Yan oolong, the iron goddess of mercy, on any morning and especially on cold days in the open. A good hot soup is certainly soul sustaining on a blustery day. That's me in all ways. A backpacking stove is both a survival item and a comfort item---
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crawford
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Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work.--Edison
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Post by crawford on Oct 24, 2019 17:25:12 GMT -8
I've done a couple days without cooking. Cold coffee in the morning with a protein bar, dried fruit and dried meats for lunch, dinner was a Bridgeford premade sandwich packet. Trail mix was part of the day as well. I also did oatmeal in just cold water (about 15 minutes of soak) and tuna packets in taco shells. No fuel was needed.
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rebeccad
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Writing like a maniac
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Post by rebeccad on Oct 25, 2019 8:19:57 GMT -8
My stove is my camp hearth, a safety and a comfort device. I don’t even leave it behind on day hikes. Nothing like a steaming pint of Ti Kuan Yan oolong, the iron goddess of mercy, on any morning and especially on cold days in the open. A good hot soup is certainly soul sustaining on a blustery day. That's me in all ways. A backpacking stove is both a survival item and a comfort item--- This westerner is freaking out at the stove sitting right on the leaf litter. It does look wet, but I’m too attuned to fire danger... I always set up on bare ground or rock.
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rangewalker
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Agitate, organize and educate.
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Post by rangewalker on Oct 27, 2019 4:48:59 GMT -8
That's me in all ways. A backpacking stove is both a survival item and a comfort item--- tipiwalterThis westerner is freaking out at the stove sitting right on the leaf litter. It does look wet, but I’m too attuned to fire danger... I always set up on bare ground or rock. rebeccadSame here on freak out. My MSR Simmerlight has ignited litter below it twice in rock crevices when I didn't clean them out or use a barrier. My favorite barrier is a piece of decommissioned fire shelter (shake 'n bake) a Wilderness Ranger friend gave me. Works better than the MSR foil.
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Post by bobcat on Oct 27, 2019 5:07:52 GMT -8
+1 on freak-out. I have ignited forest debris with my stove too! Fortunately no harm done as I was able to dump a bucket of water on the tiny fire, but opened my eyes on the importance of scraping to bare ground or finding a rock to place my stove on.
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walkswithblackflies
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Post by walkswithblackflies on Oct 28, 2019 8:33:03 GMT -8
You westerners are funny. Sometimes it's so humid here in the east, I have a hard time getting cardboard to burn from a direct flame.
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rangewalker
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Post by rangewalker on Oct 28, 2019 14:40:00 GMT -8
You westerners are funny. Sometimes it's so humid here in the east, I have a hard time getting cardboard to burn from a direct flame. We can make dirt burn. [Southern UT and Western CO]
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Post by bobcat on Oct 28, 2019 16:03:07 GMT -8
Back on the original topic, I have taken a couple short trips where all I took for cooking was a few Esbit tabs and a Ti mug, in case I needed to treat hypothermia. The rest of the menu was no-cook.These were short trips but did let me prove the concept.
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almostthere
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putting on my hiking shoes....
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Post by almostthere on Nov 23, 2019 8:42:54 GMT -8
You westerners are funny. Sometimes it's so humid here in the east, I have a hard time getting cardboard to burn from a direct flame.
It's not funny in the west. Back where you are, sure, but here? Most of the massive fires that eat thousands of miles of wilderness started because someone couldn't manage their illegal campfire. On the coast every year, the fire ban includes cigarettes, stoves, anything that sparks, because all it takes is one spark and poof! Firefighters are working for weeks and we're importing hot shot crews from Colorado... That no cook method makes a lot of sense here. If not for all the granite in the Sierra, I'd probably be using it more.
I've done my best to clear all leaf/needle litter from a three foot radius of my stove, especially when using the remote canister stove. Yet the duff under the stove still lit on fire last September. I poured water on it because I have seen small fires go subterranean. we ran across one of those near a trailhead a couple years back - someone had piled trash in a small fire ring (illegal, no camping at that trailhead) and there was a 10 foot in diameter burn scar, and you could feel the heat rising from the duff. We dug down and the roots were hot. Three potty trowels, a couple folding buckets, and an hour of work took care of it. There was actually a small stream down the hill - no reason to just leave embers. It's incredibly dry, now. Fires start much easier than they used to.
No cook is hard for me. I don't do well on a steady diet of bars, and while there are things like couscous or instant potatoes or dehydrated refried beans that rehydrate well with cold water, and I've been moderately successful rehydrating meals by putting them in clear bags on granite in the sun and just waiting... I still like hot food and hot beverages. It's hard, to have no stove, and try to make a meal in the dark and cold.
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