Slowing Down

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Stumptown Coffee, Snow Peak Drip, Porlex Grinder -- Leica M240 + 50 Lux

It is easy to get caught up in all that exists around us.  The rush of day to day life can overtake us in the blink of an eye. I know that for me, the switch to Leica has enabled me to slow down even more with my photography; to become even more contemplative in what I am trying to accomplish.  The simplicity of the range finder and manual focus lenses just lends itself to slowing down.

Applying the same principals to other aspects of my life is paramount to long term peacefulness.  Recently I found myself making coffee in the ho-hum bulk way of a big drip machine.  The coffee, even with fresh grounds, just never tastes as good as it does when I brew it one cup at a time. 

Yesterday I received my little kit from Stumptown Roasters that included the travel Porlex Grinder; a travel drip kit from Snow Peak; a small ceramic cup; and a bag of their lovely beans.  Learning to slow down in all facets of life is good, but especially with your morning cup of coffee....

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Trip Planning - Where to begin

I have every intention of really detailing this topic, as I think it is what causes the biggest issue for people wanting to go out on some form of Adventure, big or small.  Right now, I need to make it through Labor Day weekend and then I can really begin sharing some details on what I am doing and what my thought process is for the choices I make. 

However, I will start things off with this.  I start every trip with the following key items and then I begin the process of iterating each one on their own.  After each set is done, I then step back and look at where I can eliminate any redundancy in an effort to simplifly my kit and reduce the need to carry extraneous gear.  So, where do you begin? 

• Mode of Transport
• Shelter  
• Cook
• Sleep System
  
• Element Protection, including moving and stationary
  
• Tools
• Electronics

To me, these are the biggest components of a trip, and the most critical.  There are always outliers that must be considered, but starting with these will allow you to begin the process of choosing gear and making key tradeoff decisions. As a teaser for some of my decisions, here is a little gallery of past choices just to get the discussion going.  Next week, I will discuss Shelter and Cook as it applies to the Lost Coast Bikepacking trip. 

Fuel Storage

As spring approaches one of the great things for us UL travelers is that we get to put away the big (relative) white gas and propane stoves and bring out our lovely little alcohol stoves.  If you are not familiar with Alcohol stoves, they are small, uber lite, and run on denatured alcohol or some other derivative.  For three season camping where all you are doing is heating water for coffee and tea, or boiling some water for pasta or soup, these stoves just cant be beat. 

While many opt to make super lite versions out of assorted types of aluminum cans, of which there is a plethora of You Tube directions, I prefer the strength and stability of the Trangia.  Trangia is a Swedish company that builds a complete cook system around their little stove, but for those wishing simplicity, you can simply purchase the burner without all the pots.  These are wildly popular in Europe for good reason. They are just bomber little devices.  I use the base Trangia unit paired with the little Trangia Triangle which forms a windscreen and pot stand  when in use and folds flat when you are done with it.

As with all stoves you have to carry liquid fuel, and while the big bottles sold by MSR work great for the highly toxic white gas they carry, I prefer something more simple for the trangia.  I have discovered over the last year that the folding bottles from Platypus work amazingly well.  I can take .5 liters of fuel on a trip in one of the collapsible bottles and as the fuel is consumed, the bottle gets smaller and smaller, taking up less and less space.  If you are simply going for a one or two day trip and don't need that much fuel, you can start out with the amount you need and the bottle will shrink to a very manageable size.  With regards to durability, I have had fuel stored in one of these bottles for the past 5 months with no apparent degradation to the bottle or the cap. 

​At my presentation the other night a student picked up the little Platypus bottle and asked why my water bottle said 'TOXIC' on it.  I told him it was not water and that instead was my way of insuring I did not accidentally drink my fuel.  Apparently it works!!​

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Trangia Triangle, Trangia Burner, Platypus .5L Fuel Storage

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The little Trangia Burner