[at-l] Dehydration, bivy, poncho

[Northern Wind <northernwind@mail.geocities.com>]

>>
From: DaRedhead@aol.com
Subject: [at-l] Mail Drop/Dehydration question

Question number 7 in a 1000 part series - 


How early did you start preparing mail drops?
How early did you start dehydrating food for mail drops?
How long does dehydrated food last?<<

I started preparing mail drops a couple of weeks before I left.  I
dehydrated beef jerky, carrots, peas, and apples.  Two major trips
to the grocery store and one trip to an Asian market.  I highly
recommend Asian markets--a good source for inexpensive dehyrdrated
foods.  My mushrooms--flavored with soy--really helped the flavor
of my rice and vegetable dishes.  

Dunno how long the food lasts...Didn't have any problem with spoilage.
But it's important that the food stay dry.  Good ziplocks, sealage,
and storage are important.

Re: bivy....I didn't see many people use a bivy.  The few people that I 
saw with a bivy seemed to be using the shelters a lot.  I crawled in one
to try it out, and it was much too confining for me.  I loved stretching 
out in my Eureka Timberlite at the end of the day.  For me, it was the 
best 4 1/2 pounds in my pack. For other people, they loved their self-
inflating air matresses, while I was satisfied with my ridgerest.  Every-
one has to choose a couple of luxury weight items to make the hike more 
fun.  The trick is not to choose them all.  :-)

Re: poncho...I agree that rain gear is only a concern during cold or cool
weather.  I never wore my rain jacket during the summer, although I always
used my pack cover to keep my pack contents dry.  I would go with a separate
rain jacket and pack cover.  I did not bring separate rain pants and didn't
really miss them.  I carried nylon sweat pant bottoms, which I used in cold
rain and snow.    I bought an inexpensive rain jacket that went down to my 
thighs, and had some kind of copycat goretex that didn't really work 
(about $50).  I was able to achieve temperature control with the jacket's
buttons and zippers.  My goal was staying comfortable, not necessarilly
dry.  On the uphills, you sweat. And on the downhills, cool off....

Quid Pro Quo
GA>ME '96










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