Two leg journey this summer

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WilliamAshley

Member
Joined
Mar 20, 2013
Messages
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Location
Longlac Ontario
Hi, just planning a 250-300km hike this summer and of course others are invited to join me, none the less I'm trying to figure out if there is anything I am forgetting in my kit? I want to travel light, but I also want to test out my laptop gps and reception of the sdr dongle out in no mans land.

backpack
plastic bags + garbage bags
change of clothes.
knife
compass
water filter
bottle/camelpack
rice/proteinpowder/sugar/multivitamins/tea
laptop/gps/uhf-vhf radio/dongle/hamitupv1 - if possible portable solar panel??? must buy.... (laptop can act as camera)
poncho/tarp/bivy?? string/sleepingbag
3x new feet
??? crossbow.!!!!!!!!! and bolts..?

trek.png
 
just realized I should bring some matches and lighters.. and something to cook in.. now I could eat the rice unheated, after letting it soak for a day or so or just let it break down in my mouth... geuss I should bring a pot too.., or atleast a metal bowl, or tin.
 
First aid kit
Flare gun
Snake bite kit
Mirror to signal with
Insect repellent
Toilet paper?

Just depends if this is a deep woods or by road walk. That's a long trip. I'm listing stuff for more of a goodbye for a while civilization kinda thing.
 
Man that's a long trip with all the tech. This is where i start then go from there, when i have more time i will check out your list. That's awesome you are taking on that kind of mileage.

Updated Ten Essential "Systems"
  1. Navigation (map and compass)
  2. Sun protection (sunglasses and sunscreen)
  3. Insulation (extra clothing)
  4. Illumination (headlamp/flashlight)
  5. First-aid supplies
  6. Fire (waterproof matches/lighter/candles)
  7. Repair kit and tools
  8. Nutrition (extra food)
  9. Hydration (extra water)
  10. Emergency shelter
Classic Ten Essentials
  1. Map
  2. Compass
  3. Sunglasses and sunscreen
  4. Extra clothing
  5. Headlamp/flashlight
  6. First-aid supplies
  7. Firestarter
  8. Matches
  9. Knife
  10. Extra food
 
What kind of stove do you have ? Have you done a lot of back packing ? Here is a check list from REI. No one could carry all this but it might help you out.

http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/backpacking-checklist.html


I was just going to make a pit fire or rockfire with some tinder and other wood collected while hiking and toss a can or metal bowl on it, lots of conifers up here and birch, might even be able to do some sapping. Lots of lakes and rivers in the area for water, my stop points are through old rail posts and a couple ghost towns, and one old military base, and a few old bases/airfields from over 50 years ago. My bivy is my emergency shelter, along with a marpat tarp.
The baofang uv-5r my uhf-vhf radio has a pretty simple light in it for illumination.

Not sure why sunscreen would be needed up there... ? I have some basic first aid but nothing the vodka and mud/bark/leaves can't handle.

There is extra food on the way, I think I'll do this one when the cattails are harvestable up there. Not sure what is missing nutrition wise with my multivitamins/oliveoil, rice, and protien powder. this allwhey actually has a lot of extra good stuff in it like taurine and glycerol. Tree sap is great for nutriens and there are a lot of trees up here.

The hike is relative simple since it is all on trails or road. The north line is an old rail line that has the iron removed but ties still in place on the bridges, the south route is pipeline and road. the way up is old logging road, and the way down is an industrial road.


I've lived out of a backpack for like half a year. I did 300km to thunder bay last year, so I feel confident with more supplies this will not be difficult. I'm really only worried about my feet. Most of the weight will be rice. I figure I'll need close to a full bag of rice.... I could do a half loop instead and cache rice on the way up to loose weight faster... I figure 4.5 kg of rice 10,000 calories should be sufficient when mixed with oil. 2kg of olive oil is about 17000 calories. I figure I'll need a good 20,000 calories on me for safety. So between the rice and oil that should be about 27000 calories which should be enough for the trip with wild edibles and other stuff.

Last year I did the 300km on water and cattails, a mccain cake, and some snacks on the way, such as icecream chocolate bars and a few other unmentionables. I covered the distance none the less.. I think this year I am better supplied, so it is just a matter of putting in about 30-40km per day which is well within my capacity.

I figure 3-4 days to the pagwa river, then I can do the southern loop or loop back. The easy hike would be to loop back and just stach my suplies at my way points, which occur every 8-22km.

Its not a hike out in the uncharted woods, its all trail/road/pipeline and the trail is still visible from google earth. most of it is industrial road used for logging, the abandoned mainline that was closed in the 1980's, and some gas pipeline on the southern route. very simple hike next to no chance of getting lost if you follow the headings, and don't take a wrong turn which is hard to do since there arn't a lot of roads up here. only 4 or 5 points. The only confusing part is at Grant, a ghost town, that died off between the 1960's and 1990's, as there are a bunch of trails, but with a compass it doesn't seem difficult. the north leg is all just treking the old mainline.

The whole point of the hike is to get to the old NORAD radar site at pagwa that was a US airbase, then Canadian airbase as part of the pinetree line that shut down in the 1960's. It is a point of interest. Meanwhile there are stops all along the route every 10-20 kms at old rail service points, should anything remain.

I actually thinking I won't do the south loop the first time out, as I'd like to stash supplies doing a half loop which should make for an easier hike but still be about the same distance.
This way I can store supplies and cut my weight down much faster.
Day two is the long day as I want to cover about 50 or so km that day. Three days there three days back with one day extra.

bear in mind 300km is only about 190miles

So at my day 1 camp I stash my day 6-7 supplies
at my day 2 camp I stash my day 5-6 supplies
meaning the first day which is a shorter hike about 40km I have full food supples which make up most of the wieght.
day 2 is the hardest but I am down two days of supplies and I loose another 2-3 days worth that day, leaving half my supplies stashed or consumed, I can also leave small emergency backup kit, or BOL stashing likefishhooks, spare lighters etc.. this makes the hike on day 3 easier, but I'll only be carrying 3 days worth of supplies on day three. day four I will only need to carry one day of supplies, and day five I will only have about 1 day of supplies, and day six I will only have about 1 day of supplies. Since I will end up eating about half them in any given meal. I think the half loop is going to be an easier first go at the hike to the pagwa river from kenogami long lake.

I don't think a stove will be needed, that is a little overkill due to the amount of wood. Rice is still edible soaked if needed should it rain and there be absolutely no wood available. I don't think that will be the case though. ", if you don't boil the rice, you will receive more nutrition."...
 
Very cool, sounds like you have it dialed in, have you used the esbit fuel tablets ? They will heat a cup of water on one tablet boil on two, super killer fire starter also. I use a canteen cup and stove with the esbit tablets. I will send a pic in a few.
 
Very cool, sounds like you have it dialed in, have you used the esbit fuel tablets ? They will heat a cup of water on one tablet boil on two, super killer fire starter also. I use a canteen cup and stove with the esbit tablets. I will send a pic in a few.


These look really useful, but I'm not certain I will be short on fuel.. as there are lots of conifers that go up like a match out here. Its the boreal forest :)

If there is a shortage of available wood I will have a surplus of fire.


Its a bit like this only more trees
borealforest.png
 
Do you carry a swiss army knife or multi tool ?
I generally hike with a smaller knife, I did a stint with a machette but it was a gerber that I didn't really find effective against blocking branches in the coniferous dominated forest up here but have brought it with me a few times. My swiss army only had one bithead and I didn't find it too useful so stopped carrying it. I tend to bring screwdrivers with me if I'm doing salvage but I don't really find much use in bringing more than a small knife... what am I going to use a multitool for? I'm strong enough to break branches.

What can I use a multitool for that I don't already have with fitness and a knife out in the woods?

Sure I can see how it can be useful in a populated setting but in the middle of nowhere?
 
You might want to look into this for cooking I've used one they work great, weigh almost nothing, take up very little space in your pack, and boil water in no time.
http://www.moontrail.com/msr-pocketrocket.php

Also I haven't used this but it looks preety good on youtube...
http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?LH_SALE_CURRENCY=0&LH_PrefLoc=1&_nkw=GSI Outdoors Pinnacle Dualist&_armrs=1&_dmd=1&_from=R6&_ipg=50&_sargn=0

The problem i see with that set up is the fuel canisters, you would have to pack them in and out. I wonder how much cooking time you get per canister.
 
The problem i see with that set up is the fuel canisters, you would have to pack them in and out. I wonder how much cooking time you get per canister.
You get 60min. of burn time from an 8oz. canister it will boil 1liter of water in 3.5 min. that's about 17 liters of boiled water not too bad considering the time and effort gathering and chopping enough wood to do the same.
 
You get 60min. of burn time from an 8oz. canister it will boil 1liter of water in 3.5 min. that's about 17 liters of boiled water not too bad considering the time and effort gathering and chopping enough wood to do the same.

Thats pretty fast for a liter. The burn time is longer than i thought it would be. this is what i have used for the last twenty yrs. The seva. great stove but hard to light and super load. I have went to the canteen cup stove with the esbit tablets for my three day bag and bug out bag just because they don't make any noise and no smoke. Thanks for the link on that stove, might have to get one for backpacking.

240px-Svea_123R.jpg
 
I really don't get why I should carry extra weight for a fire source when I have thousands of sq KM of forest, seems a little absurd to me when I can carry a few lighters at various points in plastic ziplocks. Its not like wood doesn't burn. Especially if I have a kindling kit and a pocket knife to scrape off any dampened outer layer. Thanks for the tip but if I brought any cooker it would be a pocket volcano stove a penny can I can use with a bottle tin of vodka.

Extra kit imo. Non essential.

I want to travel light it is like a 300km hike.

A little over half a pound for something I can get from my surroundings is dead weight, while the "rain protection" factor is good. Not bad but I think I should do ok for cooking with fire made from a wood fire. Most likely dead fall. I'm going to schedule the hike for one with minimal rain forcast, none if possible. Nothing I'm carrying requires fire. Even the rice can just be soaked in water.

While it is only about 1lb for your heating and something to cook with it. I figure a metal bowl and a couple lighters, I have matches in my pocket first aid pack, will do me.
If I was hiking somewhere without ready availability of wood, mountaineering it being winter etc... sure the cooker makes sense, however in summer with plus temperatures and a possible week without much rain forcast I think I should be fine.

My goal is to get as much weight off me as possible in day 1 and 2. This means eating plenty the day before I head out, dropping off my return supplies at camp 1 and camp2 only heading out with a couple days supply after ~110km mark. Then using my cached supplies on the return. Day 1 and to a lesser extent day 2 are the "heavy days" Most of my weight will be food on those days.

I will bring kit that is essential but bells and whistles that add weight are probably not likely.

I am now considering some type of way to sleep in a tree though.

IMO even the food is non essential for a short duration hike of only a week. It just makes it a little more enjoyable :)

Bear in mind I know plenty of edible plants out in the woods. I am thinking of doing the first hike during cattail season and second during berry season. Both should have plenty of food out in the woods. It should be plus temperatures here between June and August more or less.
 
I really don't get why I should carry extra weight for a fire source when I have thousands of sq KM of forest, seems a little absurd to me when I can carry a few lighters at various points in plastic ziplocks. Its not like wood doesn't burn. Especially if I have a kindling kit and a pocket knife to scrape off any dampened outer layer. Thanks for the tip but if I brought any cooker it would be a pocket volcano stove a penny can I can use with a bottle tin of vodka.

Extra kit imo. Non essential.

I want to travel light it is like a 300km hike.

A little over half a pound for something I can get from my surroundings is dead weight, while the "rain protection" factor is good. Not bad but I think I should do ok for cooking with fire made from a wood fire. Most likely dead fall. I'm going to schedule the hike for one with minimal rain forcast, none if possible. Nothing I'm carrying requires fire. Even the rice can just be soaked in water.

While it is only about 1lb for your heating and something to cook with it. I figure a metal bowl and a couple lighters, I have matches in my pocket first aid pack, will do me.
If I was hiking somewhere without ready availability of wood, mountaineering it being winter etc... sure the cooker makes sense, however in summer with plus temperatures and a possible week without much rain forcast I think I should be fine.

My goal is to get as much weight off me as possible in day 1 and 2. This means eating plenty the day before I head out, dropping off my return supplies at camp 1 and camp2 only heading out with a couple days supply after ~110km mark. Then using my cached supplies on the return. Day 1 and to a lesser extent day 2 are the "heavy days" Most of my weight will be food on those days.

I will bring kit that is essential but bells and whistles that add weight are probably not likely.

I am now considering some type of way to sleep in a tree though.

IMO even the food is non essential for a short duration hike of only a week. It just makes it a little more enjoyable :)

Bear in mind I know plenty of edible plants out in the woods. I am thinking of doing the first hike during cattail season and second during berry season. Both should have plenty of food out in the woods. It should be plus temperatures here between June and August more or less.

Really no food ? Man you could be in trouble. I understand the weight issue i am a avid backpacker myself but to rely on nature is pretty trusting. The sleeping issue how about a hammock ? Don't take this the wrong way we are just bouncing off some ideas to you.
 

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