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View Full Version : containers, how to hold things (soap, condaments, etc)



cburnett
05-06-2003, 11:41
Please inform me of how you have been carrying personal items on a thru hike.

tobasco sause?
spices / salt / pepper
other food (by meal, one bag)

Waste TP, other trash

Soap, toothpaste,

wet cloth / clean cloths, raingear

tarp

RagingHampster
05-06-2003, 12:36
I haven't made a "Thru" hike, but I've hiked long sections...

- I carry Olive-Oil in a 12oz Poland Springs Bottle.
- Peanut Butter in old Peanut Butter Container.
- Anything in Boxes goes into ziplocks.
- Things like Liptons stay in factory pouch.
- Spices I put in little plastic containers similar to film canisters.
- I carry a Gallon EZ-Zip Bag to keep trash in.
- I'm horribly wasteful and buy the mini-tubes of toothpaste.
- I bury my TP :eek:, and don't carry soap.
- I only have one smelly set of clothes, so no worries :D
- My 2oz Poncho gets stuffed in a mesh pocket to dry.

***SECRETS... don't tell***
- Sweet Sue Foil Packed Chicken.
- Chili Flakes instead of Chili Sauce/Tabasco

chris
05-06-2003, 12:43
I don't carry condiments for meals, so I can't comment there. Meals generally go into ziplocks, unless they are things like ramen or liptons. I generally don't carry out TP on the AT, prefering to use the privies when I can. When I can't I burn up the TP as best as I can and bury everything under leaves and rocks. Trash goes into old ziplocks. I don't carry soap, but toothpaste and brush go in a ziplock and into my food bag. Clothes go into a silnylon stuff sack. My rainjacket and hat are usually strapped to the outside of the pack if the weather looks bad, or buried in my pack otherwise.
Wet clothes go outside the pack. Tarp is in a silnylon stuff sack buried in the pack. If I pack up in the rain, in goes in an outerpocket (since it will be amongst the last things to go into the pack).

tlbj6142
05-06-2003, 13:07
Check out this (http://www.whiteblaze.net/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1396) thread as well.

PS. Shouldn't you be working? Wait, should I be working?:D

Jumpstart
05-06-2003, 15:28
For the few months before our thru-hike, we snagged as many of those individual salt & pepper packets from fast food places that we could get our hands on. MacDonalds and Burger King will give you as much as you want. We shipped these in our bounce box and resupplied them after we shopped. Always was nice having spices with our meals. We didn't take tabasco sauce, but we did snag a whole bunch of "fire suace" packets from Taco Bell..every time we ordered take out we just asked for bunches extra. They also made good additions to the meal. AdventureFoods.com also sells things like cream cheese powder, cheddar cheese powder, chili powder, etc if you want to repackage them for your use on your hike.

Nalgene makes a good set of small, trial-sized contaniers that hold any kind of liquid, powder, etc. You get baout 8-10 differetn types of container for about 10 bucks. Places like REI and EMS sell them.

I also carried a Gallon-sized ziploc freezer bag, and used that for trash, wrappers, food waste, etc. I had a seperate, smaller ziploc that was doubled and I lined with tin foil, I used that to carry my waste toilet paper. I kept that bag with all my "bathroom stuff": wet wipes and Tp that I carried. I disposed of it when I got to town. It's a good idea to always walk out of twon with a few extra large and small ziplocs, they have a way of coming in handy.

Soap I carried in one of those small Nalgenes. Only took about 1/2 ounce and only used it once. There is so much soap ditched in various hiker boxes, and if not, usually available at hostels, that this is an item you defintley won't need to carry. Toothpaste I just carried a trial sized and re-supplied at the drug stores when I ran out.

Wet clothes I wore until they dried, or hung them on the outside of my pack. I carried extra clothing in my pack in an Equinox silnylon stuff sack, and lined the inside of my pack with a trash-compactor bag. Never had wet stuff once.

Good luck!

Kerosene
05-07-2003, 09:29
See if you can snare a few packets of mayo from a local fast food restaurant (I've never found them in a grocery store) to add to your foil-packed tuna. Spoon into a mini-pita pocket and you've got a great lunch.

kythruhiker
05-07-2003, 09:56
My "kitchen" kit was constructed from an Outdoor Research backpacking kit. A zip-able pouch with a bunch of odd sized containers. I use the containers to carry salt, lemon pepper, Gold Bond powder, soap, etc...I plan on bouncing refills to maildrop locations. The pouch is where I also carry a spork, coffee filters for my water filter, and other misc. kitchen items. I may go for a bigger pouch this year and consolidate kitchen/first aid and misc stuff like batteries, etc...

Ed

MedicineMan
05-11-2003, 22:57
The coolest 'bottle' I have found is the very very very small breath mint drops bottle sold at Walmart...they hold maybe 1/16oz. which is plenty of detergent or mint soap or tea trea oil or Skin-So-Soft for a 3-5 day hike....also, if you know anyone (probably older person) who uses sublingual nitroglycerine, it comes in a very very small glass bottle which I have used to repackage small amounts of things....you can get Tobasco in a very very small bottle as is..check out their website.

Shoe Leather Express
05-17-2003, 22:06
All of my drinks (cocoa, coffee, tea, sugar, and creamer) go into a ziplock and stuffed in my lemonade cup/bowl container. Sugar and creamer are the packets swiped from resturants, and the container is an idea borrowed from Sgt. Rock.

I use the Coleman camper salt and pepper shakers for my spices. Salt and pepper in one, garlic powder and onion powder in one, and Italian seasoning and Cajun seasoning in the last. Each container has two compartments. I bought them at K Mart. Put them in a ziplock along with beef and chicken bullion cubes and a pack of matches.

I use some kind of little 4 oz travel shampoo bottle I got at Walmart for $.95 for my oil.

My dehydrated lipton soups, packets of oatmeal, and a pack of matches I put in a ziplock too.

Main entrees I just leave in their original wrappers, unless it's a box, then I zip lock it.

Throw it all in a bear bag and put it in my pack.

AmazinGrace
05-21-2003, 09:44
Check out this link for a superlight way to carry anything powdered:

http://www.parnet.org/kekawaka/straws.html

This is a container made from an ordinary drinking straw--I've been using this method to carry tooth powder (much lighter than toothpaste) and occasionally salt. It works great and is incredibly light!

For liquids, I use trial-size shampoo bottles (I get them from hotel visits on non-backpacking travels) and fresh-breath liquid containers.

Most other stuff just goes in ziplocks. Not dirty clothes, though--they'll fester and get even nastier smelling. I hang dirty socks off the back of my pack. This has the added benefit of repelling anyone in towns who might be thinking about stealing your pack or its contents!


Amazin' Grace

David S.
05-25-2003, 14:49
Here is a great place to get literally about any size, type, of plastic container. www.usplastic.com

I think my favorite types of containers for messy things like liquid soap, honey, oil, stove alcohol, etc are the squeeze containers with the flip top spout. These make clean work when dealing with liquids that would be otherwise awkward to try and pour especially if your all cold and shakey.

www.usplastic.com David S.