PDA

View Full Version : Hiking with no stove



schlepper
12-07-2007, 23:49
I plan on doing a month or so on the AT next year and was hoping to go without a stove. I would like to get some opinions on this and if someone has done this could you please give food suggestions, more specifically dinner foods.
Thanks,
Schlepper

JAK
12-08-2007, 00:07
I wudna hae it so. I would gladly gie up all my hot meals before I would gie up my tea. Wad you no still wanna make even a wee cup of tea now and then? Now come away tae yer tea poor laddie.

Tin Man
12-08-2007, 00:12
When do you plan to go? In warm/hot months, I could see forgoing a stove. In cool to cold months, having something hot to drink/eat in the morning and at night can be important for maintaining your body temperature.

Summit
12-08-2007, 00:15
Never in a million years. Eat a Mountain House meal at home . . . it's about as esthetically pleasing as a TV dinner. But eat one outdoors after hiking all day and man-o-man wow! Hot food just does the trick outdoors. Even instant rice mixed with whatever your imagination wants to add to it tastes absolutely great after hiking all day. I couldn't or better, wouldn't want to do without at least one hot meal a day. ;)

take-a-knee
12-08-2007, 00:17
Ray Jardine did part of the AT sans stove I think and he said it was a big mistake.

Tin Man
12-08-2007, 00:20
Never in a million years. Eat a Mountain House meal at home . . . it's about as esthetically pleasing as a TV dinner. But eat one outdoors after hiking all day and man-o-man wow! Hot food just does the trick outdoors. Even instant rice mixed with whatever your imagination wants to add to it tastes absolutely great after hiking all day. I couldn't or better, wouldn't want to do without at least one hot meal a day. ;)

Not even on a hot summer day? Hmm, I think I might consider skipping a hot meal on the hottest days, but not every day for a month.

Instant rice, made with chicken soup instead of plain water, Monterrey Jack cheese, foil-packed chicken and dried onions. Yum.

JAK
12-08-2007, 00:21
You could reduce your stove to a really small size though, and limit its use, rather than doing away with one altogether. The very least would be a tealight a tin cup and a minibic, but even that would be like gold if thats all you had. Pour a little alcohol in that tealight tin and wickatize that sucker and now your cookin'. Cheers. :)

http://zenstoves.net/TeaLight.htm

Tin Man
12-08-2007, 00:25
Yeah, I was going to say with so many lightweight stove options, what is the issue? Cooking can't be that difficult or a bother. I mean, what the heck else do you have to do or look forward to once the day's hiking is done?

Appalachian Tater
12-08-2007, 00:48
Usually you rehydrate food with hot water. If you don't rehydrate food, you have to carry un-dehydrated food. It's heavy. Much heavier than dehydrated food and alcohol. A SuperCat weighs well under an ounce, a pot under 6 ounces, a screen under an ounce. All that weighs about the same as two candy bars.

4eyedbuzzard
12-08-2007, 00:51
... I mean, what the heck else do you have to do or look forward to once the day's hiking is done?

Zactly. I got depressed just thinking about going stoveless.

Summit
12-08-2007, 00:52
I mean, what the heck else do you have to do or look forward to once the day's hiking is done?Exactly . . . followed by a bowl of my favorite Scottish Moor pipe tobacco! :)

JAK
12-08-2007, 00:57
Yeah, I was going to say with so many lightweight stove options, what is the issue? Cooking can't be that difficult or a bother. I mean, what the heck else do you have to do or look forward to once the day's hiking is done?I think that is really the biggest thing. Beyond all the practical reasons, which are numerous, it really comes down to entertainment value for most of us. It is really something deeper than entertainment, something that reaches back to our primordial selves when that first homo-stovilis mutated into a pyromaniac. But all entertainment, and all behaviour really, is like that on some level.

4eyedbuzzard
12-08-2007, 01:01
...when that first homo-stovilis mutated into a pyromaniac.

And they called him



:::drumroll:::



zelph

Tinker
12-08-2007, 01:18
Hey, you can hike on crackers and peanut butter, if that's your thing, but come NEAR a town, smell the food smells, and you'll be chowing down mega calories!!!!

If that's what you want to do, I give you credit for giving up one of the things this soft society thinks is an absolute necessity - hot food. Don't, however attempt this feat in cold weather, as others have stated above.

The entire AT has been done by folks without stoves, but the early Trail had no fire restrictions, either.

EWS
12-08-2007, 04:34
IIRC and I believe I do, MS hiked without a stove for sometime last year on his thruhike.

Frolicking Dinosaurs
12-08-2007, 06:28
You won't die from eating cold food for a month-long backpacking trip, but I dare say you won't enjoy your trip as much. I would get bored after a few days of cold meals, but you are not me. For me, a hot meal at the end of a long day does something more than nourish my body - it nourishes my spirit - and a hot breakfast gets me moving faster on cold mornings. YMMV

If you want to do this, my food suggestions would be tortillas; heavy, compact breads (rye and pumpernickel for example); peanut butter; nuts; dried fruit; summer sausages; cheese; fig newtons; cereals suitable for eating cold. Ramen can be mixed with cold water in a ziplock at lunch time and will be hydrated enough to be a cold pasta by dinner time. Couscous can also be prepared as a cold entree this way. I would imagine this might work for 'easy mac' type pasta as well though I have not tried it. I've added one of the single serving salad dressing packs to ramen as a cold salad - not spectacular, but edible.

mudhead
12-08-2007, 07:51
No coffee?

I aint goin'.

kayak karl
12-08-2007, 09:24
Search RAW FOOD on net. lots of segustions on foods that arn't cooked. but dont expect to pack lite and keep up 3000 caloies. thats alot of avacados.

hopefulhiker
12-08-2007, 09:42
You could look into dehydrating your own beef jerky or fresh fruit.. If you are doing it to save weight... But alcohol stoves and a little bottle of alcohol and a little pot can go a long way (so to speak) for just a few ozs. You can heat and rehydrate with just a half an oz of alcohol.. So 3 oz could get you one hot meal for six days.. the weight of the stove and pot could be around 5 oz. So you are just talking about a half a pound. for six days..

kayak karl
12-08-2007, 09:54
I think u can get better answers with more info:
1. No stove because u want to rough-it or us the fuels of the forrest (cook over fire the survival way)
2. You don't eat cooked, processed foods or meats (just raw foods)

I can help you with the foods!

Tipi Walter
12-08-2007, 10:03
I've gone on many backpacking trips without a stove, it's simple and liberating to a point. Appalachian Tater though has it right, without a stove your long term pack weight goes up since the snackable/noncook items will be heavier than the dehydrated cookables cuz of water content. Since water can be gotten along the trail, adding it to your cooked food allows a much longer and lighter trip without resupply than relying solely on snackables.

The people who do long noncooking trips are the military types, lurps, etc. There was a very recent thread on this subject, informative and full of the differing descriptions of foods, C rations, Meal, Cold Weather, MREs, LRRP rations, etc etc.

There's also the chew factor: When I was young and backpacking pretty much nonstop, I could chew and eat anything, almonds, frozen Power Bars(be careful!!), a bale of hay, granola, any and all raw type foods. Now, with a bit fewer teeth and not having the jawline of a horse, I sort of like to eat cooked food, if nothing else just for the relief of nonstop chewing. If you backpack long enough, you WILL break a tooth on some trail food, whether it be a granola bar or some gorp mix or whatever. So, relying solely on chewables can be hard on the whole mouth/tooth machine . . . just a suggestion.

Summit
12-08-2007, 10:07
Going "cold turkey" is "fasting" in a way . . . self-denial. If self-denial produces some positive benefit for you that outweighs the discomfort said self-denial produces, then you will have a positive experience when it's over. Otherwise, it's often referred to as a "lesson in futility!" ;) :)

clured
12-08-2007, 12:59
I went from Springer to Delaware Water Gap without a stove, bought a stove, used if for about three weeks, hated it, threw it out, and finished in Maine without one. Now, no doubt the freeze-dried dinners were very, very tasty, but for me the whole thing was just a hassle: doing dishes was a pain, I ended up paying more for food, and it just generally took up time that I would rather have spent walking or sleeping. I'd say I did about 1500 miles of the trail without one, and for me at least stoveless is the way to go.

Remember: PopTarts, PopTarts, PopTarts!

Roots
12-08-2007, 13:16
I couldn't imagine not having a hot meal at the end of the day. For me, it is a morale and nutritional thing. I feel like I 'have' to have that good hot meal, don't really know why. BUT, always a but, I can see where you would consider not doing a stove. I just read a SOBO journal this year where he ditched his stove in Maine. He did just fine. I was looking over at Trailjournals earlier and there is guy that is discussing the 'no stove' subject. He will complete a triple crown with his '08 hike on the AT, so he has quite a bit of experience with this subject. Its listed under Garlic and Pickles, his December 7th journal. I found it pretty interesting and will definitely look into his other journals he said he'll be posting about it. Good Luck!

Blue Jay
12-08-2007, 17:13
If you like terminal constipation, this is clearly the way to go. Remember it only takes a small amount of used food that you don't get rid of, to equal a small stove and fuel. If you want to be full of it, this is the way to not go.

Monkeyboy
12-08-2007, 22:40
No coffee?!?!?!? Blasphamy!!!!

If it's to save weight.....make a supercat....light weight, little fuel.....why go without?

Tin Man
12-08-2007, 22:49
Schlepper never mentioned why he wanted to go without a stove. We have been speculating that maybe he thought he could save weight or was not interested in the hassle of cooking. Maybe it is something else entirely. It is hard to recommend something when we are not really sure what the question is.

Smile
12-08-2007, 22:55
Yes, what is the question?

I hiked stoveless many a mile, and ate raw food. PM me if you want some details :)

Tin Man
12-08-2007, 23:01
My brother has hiked many miles without a stove. Well, at least until dinner time when he asks me, "what are you cooking tonight?" ;)

4eyedbuzzard
12-08-2007, 23:07
My brother has hiked many miles without a stove. Well, at least until dinner time when he asks me, "what are you cooking tonight?" ;)

Hey, Boo Boo...

Tin Man
12-08-2007, 23:16
Hey, Boo Boo...

Yes Yogi?

Smile
12-08-2007, 23:41
Yogi bear once tried to steal from Chuck Norris’ picnic Well, you know what happened next. :)

Monkeyboy
12-08-2007, 23:59
Chuck opened up a big can of whoop a$$ and fed it to Yogi real slow........

Panzer1
12-09-2007, 00:05
Anytime you go hiking and don't bring a piece of gear that everyone else has, you have to ask yourself why are you doing this. Does it make sense.

Panzer

ps If you choose not to carry a stove don't ask to borrow my stove. I'm not your sherpa.

schlepper
12-09-2007, 00:14
Thanks for all the advice. My main concern was to try to save weight. I don't have the best knee in the world, I had a partial tear in my ACL and a meniscal tear coming down a mountain only 49 miles into my hike two years ago. I'll never forget that last step! I plan to try again and want to go as light as possible. I have lost 30 pounds of body weight and was hoping to go from 40 pounds in the pack to the low 30's. I had used an alchohol stove, titanium pot and carried 8 oz. of alcohol. The one comment on how the water content of the noncookable food will offset the weight of a light cookset seems to make a lot of sense. I do remember my third night out when I popped open a Mountain House Lasagna and everyone at the shelter was jealous and boy was it good. I guess I get a small stove and pot and save weight in other areas.

mkmangold
12-09-2007, 00:40
Conceptually, I like the idea and many of the suggestions offered here are admirable. BUT being the practical kinda guy I am, I suggest that you try it out first on a mini-scale. Either a weekend hike without a stove or bring along a stove and fuel on a longer trek and try NOT to use it. After March in these here parts (southern WI, northern IL), I heat water in my solar bottle (black painted on half of a clear lexan water bottle) which can get the temp up high enough to rehydrate noodles. So, think solar.

Kaptain Kangaroo
12-09-2007, 01:40
I think it depends mostly on how much variety you like in your food. Going stoveless does mean more limited options. Try it out on a short trip & see how you like it. Put your cooking gear in a bounce box so you can get it back if you find that you don't like the cold food thing.

I ditched my stove in MA & hiked the last month & a half on cold food, mostly raw ramen with olive oil, Carnation Instant Breakfast and Power Bars. I loved it, but I'm not a fussy eater & a lot of other hikers didn't seem so keen on my menu :)

Cheers,

Kaptain Kangaroo

mudhead
12-09-2007, 07:25
Anytime you go hiking and don't bring a piece of gear that everyone else has, you have to ask yourself why are you doing this. Does it make sense.

Panzer

ps If you choose not to carry a stove don't ask to borrow my stove. I'm not your sherpa.


Gotta love the guts to asks: "Dude, use your stove? Have fuel..."

Not even a please.

kayak karl
12-09-2007, 07:26
Thanks for all the advice. My main concern was to try to save weight. I don't have the best knee in the world, I had a partial tear in my ACL and a meniscal tear coming down a mountain only 49 miles into my hike two years ago. I'll never forget that last step! I plan to try again and want to go as light as possible. I have lost 30 pounds of body weight and was hoping to go from 40 pounds in the pack to the low 30's. I had used an alchohol stove, titanium pot and carried 8 oz. of alcohol. The one comment on how the water content of the noncookable food will offset the weight of a light cookset seems to make a lot of sense. I do remember my third night out when I popped open a Mountain House Lasagna and everyone at the shelter was jealous and boy was it good. I guess I get a small stove and pot and save weight in other areas.

some advice i have been given:
*when you hit town bulk up whike doing chores. drink milk, fruit, potatoes, meats. stuff too heavy to carry.
*first meal back on trail buy what you want, heavy or not, only cary it for couple hours. then dehydrated next 3-4 days.
*if you have to carry extra water consider a front pack to offset load

Good luck on your hike. i have back and shoulder problems and have to go with a heavier pack for support and carry weight from hip. i trying to find other ways to cut lbs.also

joec
12-09-2007, 09:58
On my last solo(three days/nites) I left the stove home and had no regrets. I am not a hot tea or coffee drinker and hate the freeze dried food, so it was a better trip for me with less fuss and things to clean up after.

pyroman53
12-09-2007, 11:42
You can check out Stumpknocker's 2006 AT Journal on Trailjournals. He stopped carrying his stove for awhile (I went back and found the entry 9/7/06) on his thru. His journal is a good read and he talks allot about what he ate. Not for everyone, but it seemed to work for him and his food preferences. Definitely depends on what food you carry with and without stove.