Beginners Guide to Packing

“I don't drink rinse water. Someone does? Nasty and gross!”

“I must be the ONLY one who does not clean out their cup with water and drink it.

I should. Never fails I open my Nalgene at the start of a hike and find I didn't wash it out from the last hike. And of course it's always coffee with what used to be cream. Yuck!”

“LOL! Is Firefox looking out for me, HOI?

Like my coffee cup rinse water? I don't drink the rinse water. Why the #&%!$ would I do that?”

““I don't drink rinse water. Someone does? Nasty and gross!”

Especially when it's your underwear you're rinsing out. It may happen once but never twice. OK, three times.”

“hahahahaha! Glad I am not the only one. I thought I was doing something wrong and you all knew it just didn't wanna tell me. puhhh!!!”

“who needs to rinse dishes if they take a trail dog along? I thought that was the whole point.”

“zip lock cooking - no rinse needed but a fire helps dispose of the evidence”

“I rinse my cup and sure as hell not gonna drink that #&%!$. I'll dump it in the fire. somehow the rinse reminds me of puke, not sure why..I guess the thought of chunks does it for me.”

“I'm also very......................careful about bears, in case any of you didn't know. So I tend to use soap if I use/need a bowl for food. Certainly not gonna drink that!”

“I know some people drink their rinse water, but I just can't stomach it, and yes I did try. I scrape, wipe it out with a wipey and then rinse. I pack my wipes out.

I really think the chips would burn too fast to be of any use. I have heard of this fire starter and haven't tried it yet; any of you? Cotton balls soaked in melted petetroleum jelly, ie: vasoline. Double boil melt down petroleum jelly, push in as many cotton balls as it takes to soak it all up. Let cool. Smoosh 5 or so into a film canister. Each one should burn for about 10 minutes.

I don't like to carry waterproof matches because you have to have the box to strike them on. I think a tiny bic lighter in a waterproof container is a better bet.”

“I simply do not see why someone would drink the rinse water. Is it to save water? Cause I don't mind a few extra seconds at the water filter. Haha!”

“It is probably to prevent spreading water from the dishes. The problem I got is even if you drink it... you leave it somewhere else.”

“I think its "LNT gone crazy". kind of like a lot of LNT wankology.”

“Well, I'm in So Cal, so I guess it's to save water. Still to gross for me.”

“well, this got a little offtopic, okay anyways... yah, the chips burn really fast, the're not for use on the fire though, just as a fire starter, I use chips just to dry off wet wood because the oil contains so many carbs (aka, heat). Okay anyways, I don't know if i'd call myself a writer (infact i definitly wouldn't, not w/ my dislexia (sp?) i swap words/letters alot)... i use explorer 7 (used firefox untill i discovered thsi) maybe i'll look for a spell checker. Okay thanks anyways everyone, I'll keep working on it. (Oh and btw, I just drink my rinse water because the one time i didn't and only wiped it down i got mice chewing through my stuff to get at it... perhapse that's a tip i left out, i forgot to say, always leave some bag pockets open so mice can get in instead of chewing through your crap... maybe i'll put that ;). (Btw, just incase any of you want to know, i hate english class, i have to write most of that crap on my site for class, that's the only reason it's all on there)

EDIT: oh yah, that filter is really slow i know, but i love it... thats why i recommended that other one too, it's not quite so slow. And yah, i agree, i need to make this publication more generall, most of the equipment is really just my preference... i should probably explain a little more about how to choose your own, i'll rewrite some of those sections.
last edited: 1/02/07 7:30:10 PM”

“Oh, btw, this forum is starting to drive me crazy... not really into the feature set so I think i'll just not use it or check this thread any more, if anyone wants to contact me for any reason, you can use the form (or email) found at http://contact.greenmangames.vze.com , thanks for your help -Leif902”

“I know some people were kind of rude before, but I thought some of us were actually trying to be helpful. You asked for editing and tips, right? Yeah, some of us got a little of of topic, I know I did about the rinse water; sorry I do apologize. I really do think that the frito chips wouldn't burn long enough to dry out wood. I'm not trying to be a witch or anything, it's just my honest opinion. All in all, I think you actually did get some help here, and honest opinions. Unless of course it wasn't help you were looking for at all, but something else.

p.s. What do you mean by feature set? I must be missing something here.”

“we can set features here? why didn't anyone tell me?

really though, we are sometimes rude, but not bad once you meet us [sucking up because I see you hike in my areas...lol]”

“Drinking the rinse water isn't going to keep the mice out, more thorough cleaning will.

I agree with Bearmagnet, that sounds like LNT wankism. They are worried about leaving even the tiniest traces of food around that will interfere with the diet of wild creatures.
Buuuuuuuuuuuu-zonka!!
And like the Good Rev said, sooner or later you will have to take a piss and goodness knows that could upset the delicate balance of the wild universe.

Steer clear of Gemini, she be bad!”

“rude? I think all of it was helpful, rude be damned. Off Topic? Not really at all. Apologizing to a noob? Only if you're a noo..........never mind.”

“And stop sucking up to the newbie troll, gem! if it doesn't like the site then #&%!$ it!”

“I'm not sucking up bearmagnet, I was being facetious. He was obviously looking for major pats on the back and he didn't get it.”

“Pam - please not the "gem" in my post and her reference to "sucking up".”

“"note" the Gem, huh?”

“hahahahahahaha, I luv you bearmagnet :)”

“ouch

ok”

“leif, you got some cool pics from the Mt. Mitchell area. That place is one of my favorite places to hike.”

“not not but note. Thanks Marko. And no ouch Pamo.

And Big kisses to you, Gem!”

“Why is Marko always pulling out his gaydar?”

“Hey, can't a guy play with a new piece of gear?!?

”

“He's gone and he took his link with him. It won't open.”

“what link?”

“Piss? The deer were going crazy looking for salt in our piss in Glacier Peaks Wilderness. Hold it? Drink it? Alternatives?”

“Damn! Wish i had read the first sentence of his "guide" earlier:

Backpacking is one of the most enjoyable, dangerous, and fulfilling exercises you will ever embark on.

Oy vey!

And his food section is void of any substance.

And what a mighty fine clothing section!
last edited: 1/02/07 10:37:27 PM”

“OK bearmagnet, I'll accept you weren't biting my head off back there. Let me pull this tooth outta my scalp. Yep, I'm good to go. =)

I didn't answer his post for quite a while because I wanted to see what you guys thought first in case I was wrong. I also didn't want to be mean. But the writing was pretty poor; and frankly I thought, well, the info questionable and sometimes downright crappy.

But then after a while it became fairly apparent that he was only here to show off and pick up some praise. He had no plans to use any of the constructive criticism offered or even that any was coming for that matter.

Hey, if I ever get that way, OHGOSH, smack me down real hard, OK?”

“Pam - my writing is often "dry" and a little sarcastic but with no "teeth". If I were "biting your head off" then the writing would have been a little more colorful and probably sarcastic. For example:

"Jesus #&%!$ing Christ! Sorry I didn't spell out exactly who I was #&%!$ing talking about. Obviously my communication skills suck ass. Let me try again just for you:..."

etc. But don't worry. Peeps often mistake my intent. It's my writing style and I can't change it.

:D”

“That's cool bear, I getcha now! ;P”

“hah, i had forgotten about this thread :D, reading back over it was very enjoyable ;)... honestly though, I didn't want praise, I couldn't care much less what a bunch of blockheads I don't know think, I wanted feedback, and I didn't get much. What I did get I attempted to use, if anyone still wants the publication, please visit http://hikes.greenmangames.vze.com (I had server problems w/ google, Google Pages is not great).

Anyways, same deal, probably won't read this thread anymore, use the site to contact me if you need. (Or if you actually feel like suggesting any improvements to the publication).”

“I don't think that backpacking should be labeled as 'most dangerous'. It really isn't dangerous at all if you use good judgement. Sure there are bears and lightning and such, but most dangerous seems a little over the top.”

“good point, will be fixed in the next release... adventurouse (sp?) might be a better word.”

“how about 'simplicity in motion'......”

“Yes, adventuerous is better! Dangerous may discourage newbies.”

“the only advice i can give is to use lots of ballast stones to even out the weight”

“sandbags work better than stones. you can adjust the weight to fine tune the balance.”

“hah ;) yah, i like rocks, but i generally put them in other peoples bags.”

“hey, i actually carried out rocks to replace what i lost in food weight when i PCT'd last november. ROCKS ARE VERY VERY IMPORTANT TO CARRY IN YOUR BACKPACK!!! my husband so appreciated what i brought home, you just cannot begin to understand! schist! i brought home, feldspar w/black tourmaline in it, cloudy quartz, mica, all kinds of stuff i can't even name. this PCT i held myself back, i only brought home one rock, on account of my knee, but it was a fine speciman of a clear quartz crystal. you MUST all CARRY ROCKS home from your TREKS! someone, some poor suffering rockhound, at home is counting on you!!!! DO IT NOW!

CARRY ROCKS!!!!”

“As much as I love rocks, I try to leave the natural beauty of the wood alone. I can always see them next time I come through :)... Leave no trace!”

“Well it's not like I'm digging them up leif, I promise you that. Have you ever done the very southern portions of the PCT, where it's all rocky? They are just lieing there for me to trip over and almost twist my ankle for goodness sake! I am guessing you are not a rockhound?”

“If you take a rock aren't you leaving less trace? To add a rock would be to leave trace.”