It Took 5 Minutes to Reach My Boiling Point

Today my 900ml Titanium pot from REI came in a nice little box delivered to my front door by the mail man. I grabbed my Super Cat homemade stove (the post called “The Super Cat” explains how to make the homemade stove), matches and alcohol. It took 1 ounce of alcohol 5 minutes to boil 2 cups of water! And it burned for 15 minutes! I was thrilled because it has been a long process recording the amount of time it takes different amounts of water in various pots to boil. None came close to 5 minutes, more like 15 to18 minutes.

The trick with the Super cat is you need to let the stove warm up before you place the pot on top, otherwise, the flames will not shoot out the sides. You know your food is ready to cook when you place your pot on the stove and flames shoot out the portals immediately after. If this does not happen let the stove heat up a bit longer. I found that 3 minutes was enough time to do the trick. No longer The Mediocre Kitty, I can now officially address my stove as The Super Cat. 

10 tips to getting your pack under 15 lbs

I am reading Bill Bryson’s “A Walk in the Woods” for a second time through and at work it acts as a conversation piece (while the customers pick out their fruit I read). Inquisitive folks ask “What are you reading?” Bryson fans exclaim “Oh, awesome book!” one elderly woman reminisced “Whenever I want to feel good I bring out his book” One guy jokingly asked “so when are you going to hike the AT?” and was surprised to learn of my endeavor. A few people have suggested contacts. One woman said that she would include me in her prayers.

Today a “frequent fruiter” came in to the stand and handed me “The Ultralight Handbook: 30 Tips and Gear to Make Switching easy” from the editors of Backpacking Magazine. We had discussed my perspective trek the week before and when he came across the handbook he thought of me. I thanked him. “Not everybody hikes the AT” he said. It was the nicest compliment and I felt good that I was making my plans for June public.

So of course I dove right into the handbook and it offered “a 10-step plan for getting your base pack weight under 15 pounds.”

1. Question Everything- It suggests that I "start from scratch and select only the gear that’s absolutely critical for the conditions (i’ll) face. If in doubt leave it out.”

2. Weigh It All- I am supposed to only select the items that have multiple uses and get rid of any duplicates. Andy McCarron started off his hike without a sleeping pad but learned that your sleeping bag compresses under your weight and looses its isolative property, thus a sleeping pad is a must. It also can be used as a splint and bum pad. An extra pair of socks can double as mittens, an emergency space blanket can triple as a ground cloth, sleeping bag and shelter and a bandanna can serve as a tourniquet, rag and towel. 

3. Rethink Shelter- Since there are shelters about every 8 miles on the AT I may want to skip bringing a tent. I am looking into tent alternatives such as tarps and ponchos that can double as rain gear.

4. Change Your Bedding- For an ultralight hike I am supposed to choose a sleeping bag that is rated for not the coolest but the average temperature I will encounter. When it is cold I should dress in extra clothes and begin hiking at dawn (the coldest part of the day).

5. Layer Down- Below is a list of what my ultralight wardrobe should consist of:
1. Rain shell
2. Midweight long sleeve top
3. Synthetic T
4. Lightweight pants
5. Lightweight shorts
6. Down jacket
7. 2 pairs of socks
8. One pair of undies
9. Warm hat
10. Baseball cap
11. And maybe gloves and rain pants

6. Improve Your Diet- I am supposed to leave my stove at home and enjoy “peanut butter, tortillas, cheese, jerky, dried fruits, nuts, sesame sticks and peanut M&Ms” because according to the handbook “remote trails are within a day’s hike of a road and hunger would take weeks to kill (me).”

7. Ditch the Map- Since I am thru-hiking I will only need to carry the map for the section of trail in between trail towns and I should find the lightest version available.

8. Downsize Your Pack- the handbook suggests that I get a 6ounce to 2 lb 3,000 cubic inch pack which equates to about 49 liters. Mine is a 2 lb 15 ounce 47L Osprey! I’m on my “weigh” to hiking ultralight!

9. Take Less Medicine- My first aid kit should consist of:
1. Antibiotic ointment
2. Duct tape
3. Gauze pads
4. Bandages
5. Blister treatment

         everything else is frou-frou.

10. Empty Your Bottles- Every liter of water weighs 2lb 2 ounces so I should only carry what I need to get to the next water source.

A funny side note: my good friend says he wants to hike “everything I hike” on the AT which means all of it. I asked him what he was doing to prepare for the trail and he said “reading your blog.” 

The Super Cat

So I tried crafting a new alcohol stove today—The Super Cat— named because the guy who designed it constructed it out of a Fancy Feast can. It is a two-in-one stove and stand. The directions are as follows:

You’ll need a 3ounce Fancy Feast can, tape measure, marker, and ¼” handheld hole punch

1. Remove label from 3 ounce fancy feast cat and remove the glue (nail polish remover works really well).

2. Using a ¼” handheld hole punch, punch one hole so that the top of the hole is ¼” from the top of the can.

3. Punch a hole ½” from the center of the first hole and continue punching holes all around the can (15 holes total).

4. 1/8” below these holes, punch another row of holes, spaced in between the 1^st row of holes.

5. Fill stove with one ounce of alcohol and light with a match through one of the holes. 

 

Before the pot is placed on the stove the flames shoot out the center, but once the pot is placed over the top the flames are forced through the side holes. The How To web page insisted that the stove (with 1 ounce of alcohol) could bring two cups of water to a rolling boil in 4.5 minutes, however it took mine 15 minutes to boil one cup of water; my stove is not the Super Cat but the Mediocre Kitty. 

I decided to give homemade alcohol stoves a rest and try making fire the Bow and Drill way. You need a bow, shoe string, spindle, bearing block, and hearth board as well as a knife, tinder nest and ember pan. 

From left to right: Bow, spindle, hearth board, bearing block, ember pan (leaf) and tinder nest (dryer lint)

I followed the directions from the following website:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DC_54ICw-ao. 

I was able to get smoke however, I was not able to make fire. I think my hearth board was too thick so the embers were cooling off before hitting the pan. I have not given up on this.