Re: [at-l] alcohol vs dry gas

[Rick Bombaci <rpb@eoni.com>]

At 09:59 AM 1/15/00 -0500, Paddler wrote:

>Rick Bombaci wrote:
>[clip]
>> Thanks for the elaboration, Paddler.  I've pretty much talked myself into
>> using my Trangia (which I have used only a little) on the trail this year.
>> To check out the pricing and availability of "gas line dryer" I stopped at
>> the local Safeway grocery store.  They had a very expensive ($2.89 for 8
>> oz.) bottle of stuff that explicitly stated that it contained "no corrosive
>> alcohol."  Other than that, the ingredients weren't listed.  Then I stopped
>> at an auto parts store, and the guy there told me gas line dryer was
>> commonly available, usually at $.50 to $1.50 for a small bottle.  But they
>> didn't have any in stock!
>> 
>> So I have this nagging fear that 1) it isn't all that common to find, and
>> 2) much of the stuff out there may be unlabeled.
>> 
>> But you did the trail just last year, and it sounds like you didn't have
>> much trouble finding it and knowing what kind you were getting.  Am I
>> reading this right?  Maybe it's a regional thing.  I'm in the middle of
>> nowhere in eastern Oregon.
>> 
>> Sorry if I sound paranoid,
>
>Nothing wrong with being a little bit paranoid - especially when it comes to
>being able to cook your food on the trail. If you are not obsessed with food
>yet, you will be soon :).
>
>I had no problem getting methol alcohol based gas line anti-freeze anywhere
>along the trail. The only time I had to look in more than one place was in
>Franklin, NC. I looked at the outfitter first, and he did not have any. He
>suggested I go across town to the hardware store and puy a pint. I did not
want
>to spend $5 on a pint of fuel, only to leave 3/4 of it behind, so I
thanked him
>and walked across the street to the auto-parts store. They had it for
$0.29 for
>12oz... I bought a couple of extras and gave them to the outfitter for
free - in
>hopes that he would start stocking it for hiking stove fuel. I'm not sure
if he
>ever did.
>
>Many of the outfitters along the trail sell alcohol by the ounce along with
>white gas. The hostels tend not to, but the outfitters did. Many of the
hostels
>had alcohol that people had left behind - in fact there was fuel of one
kind or
>another in almost all the hiker boxes along the trail.
>
>The other place I had to ask specifically for non-petroleum based gasline
drier
>was in Pearisburg, VA. The auto parts store had three varieties on the
shelf and
>they were all petroleum based. I asked if they had any methonal based
products
>in the back room. The counter guy was a bit reluctant to help me at first,
till
>I told him I was hiking the trail and used this for stove fuel. He thought
that
>was very cool and went back to look. He brought me back 4 different brands
that
>were alcohol based - one iso, the rest methol. I bought my one bottle for
$0.80
>and thanked him...
>
>No one who carried alcohol stoves had any problems fueling them that I
know of.
>The only guy who quit using his alcohol stove that I know of went to cold
food -
>no cooking. He started with bottled gas, switched to alcohol, then went
>stoveless.  I couldn't have gone without my stove, but it worked great for
him.
>
>One of the nicest things about my Trangia was it's quietness. I could get
up in
>the early morning in a full shelter, cook my outmeal and hot cocoa while
in my
>sleeping bag, and no one would hear me. Contrast this to the
"Whisperlight" that
>sounds like a 474 wide body taking off, and after a few early morning
wakenings
>to the roar of the nearby airport, you'll be glad no one is cussing at you
like
>they are cussing at the guy who needs the air traffic controllers online at
>4:30am. Yes, I'm thinking of a specific hiker - who will probably be out
there
>again next year on his 18th attempt at a thru-hike. So far he has not made it
>past Fontana Dam, but he'll tell you he's an expert on anything and
everything.
>You'll know him by his trailname - it has a double-meaning that he doesn't
get;
>though everyone who meets him instantly understands it...
>
>-Paddler
>GA>ME Class of 99
>http://wcha.org/hike

Thanks for the reassurances, Paddler.  A couple of notes.

Remember the Svea 123?  That's basically all I've used for 25 years or so.
Makes a Whisperlight sound like, well, a whisper.  The great part is
listening to the silence after you shut it off.  But, seriously, you're
right, it is nice to be able to cook without disturbing others.

As for paranoia, I have to often remind one of my employees--a computer
tech--to be "sufficiently paranoid."  When working with computers, it's
essentially impossible to be too paranoid.  One reason I'm getting the heck
out of Dodge for a few months.

Thanks again,

R.


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