White gas, kerosene, isobutane, and denatured alcohols are common fuels for backpacking stoves. Fuel savings greatly depend on the efficiency of the cooking process, as well as the stove and type of cooking pot. One of the best ways to conserve fuel is to avoid energy loss during cooking. You don’t want to run out of fuel mid-hike and be left eating cold freeze-dried entrées. Here are a few strategies to conserve stove fuel. No flame in vain Only allow the fuel to burn when it is at work, or heating your food. Before preparing food: Collect all your camp […]
Whether you have recently started backpacking or are a veteran, you could probably benefit from a few cooking tips. First, we’ll describe the common method that backpackers use when cooking dried foods and strategies you can use to conserve your cooking fuel when using a backpacking stove. This cooking method is a great concept and works well both on and off the trail. We call it boil-soak cooking. It is incredibly efficient because it uses less fuel and water. Boil Soak Cooking Instructions Set up your backpacking stove. Find a spot to cook on level ground that is insulated from the wind. Add […]
Anyone spending time hiking, cycling, or skiing, has experienced chapped lips. The condition of dry, chapped lips often starts as a minor annoyance. Left untreated, it can lead to painful and unsightly cracking and bleeding. A more severe condition called angular cheilitis (also called perleche) is a fungus that causes painful splitting at the corners of the mouth. Chapped lips are caused by a lack of moisture when the layer of oil naturally produced by the body to coat the lips dries up. Exposure to cold and dry air, intense exposure to the sun, and indoor heating are all major […]
Knee problems are common because they are one of the most used and abused joints in the human body. If you frequently experience knee pain during descents or resulting soreness afterward, chances are you need to improve your form or pack weight. Excess weight adds more strain to the knees Your knees and hips are vulnerable to injury because they bear the most weight of your body. A force of three to six times your body weight is exerted on your knee with each level step you take. So, if you weigh 150 pounds, a force of 450 – 900 […]
Autumn is a spectacular time of color in many areas of the Earth, and the U.S. Appalachian Mountains are no exception. From radiant reds to mustard yellow, the vibrant display of color is short-lived, earning leaf-peeping a peak priority. What causes such brilliant displays of leaf color this time of the season, anyway? Think you already know? We thought so, too. Here are a few things we learned after some quick research. Here is what we found – Leaf Foliage Fall foliage is a byproduct of chemical changes when deciduous trees prepare to go dormant for winter. The difference in […]