View Full Version : random question: how do you all handle doing dishes on the trail to avoid animals?
basically the title is my question. i was wondering how this works? my first cookset purchased is in the mail on the moment but wanted to be sure I use it right in this respect.
Thank you!:o
Basically, I don't want my campsite to smell too sweet for any bears or mice or whatever else might come along. Dumping dish water with food remnants somewhere seems counterintuitive. Whats the ideal way to handle this? I really hate not being able to edit posts on here without donating..
Teacher & Snacktime
10-09-2013, 00:39
First things first....go ahead and donate.
Secondly, doing dishes is not necessarily something you have to do if all you do is boil water and rehydrate in a freezer bag (common with thrus).
But, if you do have to do dishes, if depends on where. Some shelters/camps have a screen area specifically designed for food waste. Otherwise, pack it out. Try not to have leftovers.
VTATHiker
10-09-2013, 03:36
It always depends on what you're cooking. If it's ramen then no need to do much cleaning. Just swish some water around the bowl afterwards and drink that. Done. If it's something that'll stick to the pot (mac n' cheese or potatoes... or both) then put a teaspoon of fine dirt in the pot along with a splash of water and rub the mix around - it works as an abrasive that cleans the pot amazingly well and you're only left with a small amount of grey water. Dump the grey water away from the shelter in a small cathole. Done.
Yeah, we split mountain house meals into separate freezer bags and put them in a cozy. Rehydrate with boiling water and pack out the trash. If we went on longer trips, this would get expensive, but on a 2-3 night trip, it's not bad.
QHShowoman
10-09-2013, 06:08
Freezer bags. I only bring one 'pot' with me on trips and it's a Snowpeak titanium mug. I'll boil two cups of water at a time - part of it will rehydrate my meal, the rest is for tea.
Eat right out of the bag and there's no mess to clean up!
And all you need is a pot, stove, spoon. I have a cozy I made of Reflectix that keeps the meal hot while it rehydrates, but you could easily use your winter hat or bandana as an insulator.
Old Hiker
10-09-2013, 06:35
Quart NAME BRAND freezer bags for FBC. I carry a gallon sized one or two for the trash over several days.
I usually stop and cook dinner a hour or two before I figure on setting up camp, cook and eat, and then hike on to where I want to stop for the night. And I use the freezer bag method. Doing so, eliminates many of the issues you're thinking about. This works for me, but as you'll see on his site, many different things work for many different people.
daddytwosticks
10-09-2013, 07:08
I don't have dishes. I usually have a singular pot and maybe a mug. Just rinse out with water and be done with it. Embrace the funk. :)
Tipi Walter
10-09-2013, 07:37
And all you need is a pot, stove, spoon.
That's it. Keep it simple, especially in the winter when you will not feel like cleaning a bunch of stuff with butt cold water. Pot. Spoon. Pass the fried eggs.
I don't have dishes. I usually have a singular pot and maybe a mug. Just rinse out with water and be done with it. Embrace the funk. :)
I consider a "singular pot" dishes. I hear occasionally of backpacking "chefs" taking out all sorts of crap---plastic ladles, a set of bowls, several plates, plastic/lexan silverwear out the butt, cups and mugs, nesting pots and fry pans, even a rolled-up cutting board! This is lunacy but HYOHUYFFO---Hike Your Own Hike Until Your Fingers Freeze Off. When push comes to shove and it's -10F in camp, none of this stuff will want to be cleaned.
FarmerChef
10-09-2013, 07:41
It always depends on what you're cooking. If it's ramen then no need to do much cleaning. Just swish some water around the bowl afterwards and drink that. Done. If it's something that'll stick to the pot (mac n' cheese or potatoes... or both) then put a teaspoon of fine dirt in the pot along with a splash of water and rub the mix around - it works as an abrasive that cleans the pot amazingly well and you're only left with a small amount of grey water. Dump the grey water away from the shelter in a small cathole. Done.
If you're on a thru, you may want all those calories sticking to your pot. Washing your pot with clean water and your spoon or finger means you can drink those calories up. That's what I do. If that grosses you out, dig a small cathole and dump the water in there, well away from your camp (say 200 yards or so). And +1 to the fine dirt. I prefer to use a bit of ash from the fireplace but they're "roughly" equivalent.
FBC is another method with easy clean up if that's your style.
That's it. Keep it simple, especially in the winter when you will not feel like cleaning a bunch of stuff with butt cold water. Pot. Spoon. Pass the fried eggs.
I consider a "singular pot" dishes. I hear occasionally of backpacking "chefs" taking out all sorts of crap---plastic ladles, a set of bowls, several plates, plastic/lexan silverwear out the butt, cups and mugs, nesting pots and fry pans, even a rolled-up cutting board! This is lunacy but HYOHUYFFO---Hike Your Own Hike Until Your Fingers Freeze Off. When push comes to shove and it's -10F in camp, none of this stuff will want to be cleaned.
I'm a camp chef sometimes and manage to use a single pot and a spoon for everything. It's all about preparation at home.
yellowsirocco
10-09-2013, 07:43
I always drink my grey water. Even with sticky stuff you can get it clean with some water and your finger. If you need some abrasion throw some baking soda in and the grey water will taste a little salty. The baking soda should be in your pack as tooth powder because it requires little clean up as well.
QHShowoman
10-09-2013, 09:09
I'm a camp chef sometimes and manage to use a single pot and a spoon for everything. It's all about preparation at home.
Rasty makes a really good point. Since you're new to backpacking, xalex, I would recommend doing a few car camping trips at local campgrounds. This way, you can bring all the cooking (and other) gear you THINK you'll need and figure out what you actually used and what you can do without. And if you think you want to do freezer bag cooking, etc., try it out at home or on a camping trip where you can easily obtain more food if your experiment doesn't work out.
Baby wipes and some leftover water.
Slo-go'en
10-09-2013, 10:12
I put my wash water into the fire pit. The charcoal filters the water, absorbs odors and any incidental bits of food scraps get burnt or eaten by mice. But if you have more then a tea spoon of left over food, that needs to be packed out with your garbage.
I do not use soap of any kind, just rinse with water. I have a small piece of "Scotch Bright" pad to scrub with if needed. If I really burn something to the bottom of the pot, I use some dirt/gravel as an abrasive.
I once saw a woman scrubbing her dishes in a stream, using moss pulled from the bank. Sure, that's the way to do it...
I put clean water in the pot, scrub with my finger, lick my finger clean, and then drink the water in the pot. No lost calories, and no dumped water to attract critters. I don't like pouring hot water into freezer bags because that releases bad chemicals (BPAs), and it also means that I get to re-use my freezer bags for the next resupply.
Tipi Walter
10-09-2013, 10:22
Get a Flex fry pan from MSR and it cleans itself. Teflon. If you're lucky it MAY last a year before you start ingesting PTFE---polytetrafluoroethylene. I did 2 trips before the top lip of the thing starting peeling off---but it's my favorite pot/pan as it holds enough to cook soups and morning coffee and doubles as a fry pan for toast and eggs, etc. I clean it with a damp paper towel.
http://tipiwalter.smugmug.com/Backpacking2013-1/Green-Cove-Cabin/i-CQH5M3L/0/L/TRIP%20147%20097-L.jpg
Rocket Jones
10-09-2013, 12:00
When I'm cooking and not doing FBC I carry a small square of netting from a bag of onions. Wadded up it makes a scrubbie for the pot, and it doubles as a rock bag (holds together with a carabiner) when it's time to hang my food bag.
I have a Jetboil Sol Aluminum and I cook directly in the pot. For breakfast, I typically first have a cup of coffee. Then I have oatmeal and attempt to eat every bit of oatmeal out of the pot. Then I boil water again and make another cup of coffee which will have some oatmeal residue in it. After drinking that cup, cleanup is pretty trivial. Boiling the water for the coffee does the trick. For dinner, I cook directly in the pot and eat every bit of food in the pot. I then add about 2 ounces of water, swish it around and use my fingers (cleaned prior to dinner) to dislodge any residue. I also have a small piece from an onion bag that I use as a scrubber if something is particularly hard to dislodge. I dispose of the tiny amount of grey water well away from my shelter (I know some people drink this ... I just can't do it). No, this doesn't get the pot entirely clean BUT boiling water the next morning for coffee should sanitize the pot sufficiently.
I am sure the OP is totally straight now on what to do. lol
Hikes in Rain
10-09-2013, 13:33
I'd say so. No matter what (s)he does, it's right! Or wrong, depending on your point of view. Mission accomplished.
atmilkman
10-09-2013, 13:36
I'd say so. No matter what (s)he does, it's right! Or wrong, depending on your point of view. Mission accomplished.
Isn't doing it all wrong the right way?
turtle fast
10-09-2013, 14:03
Food made in pot, eat all food (you need the calories anyway), put in water and boil water for coffee or tea...yeah you may have some extra potato, noodle, oatmeal flavor but it goes to the same place anyway right? Coffee seems to overpower those tastes anyways.
Use one pot to cook and eat out of. When you are done clean the pot as best as you can using your spoon and finger. When you stop at a hostel or motel give your pot a real good cleaning. I started my thru with stuff to clean my cooking and eating gear with. Soon left it all in a hiker box.
BigHodag
10-10-2013, 06:50
What are these dishes of which you speak? Freezer bags, boiled water and 1/4 paper towel to dry my cup. Simple and hygenic.
One thing I learned in desert hiking is that you don't need water to wash cookware, Some fine sand works great.
Most of me meals involve precious little clean up of dishes. I don't usually cook lots of sticky messy foods with melted cheese, meat(animal fats), etc. I have one Snow Peak Min Soloist Titanium pot with lid and a REI TI foldable spork or GSI Lexan sliding spork to basically rinse out/off. I don't clean my cookware at, in, or near water sources. Little rinse and hit my pot with my SHAM WOW! Ouila! When in town I rinse my cookware off regularly though even sanitizing it with nonscented bleach or hydrogen peroxide.
SCRUB HIKER
10-11-2013, 02:01
I know the OP probably isn't going stoveless anytime soon, because it's kind of a fringe maneuver, but ... my solution for dishes is to cold-soak my potatoes or breakfast muesli in an empty 28oz peanut butter jar, and when I'm done eating, drop a little water in, leave my spoon in (it fits in the jar) twist the cap back on, shake it up good, and disperse the waste water in a wide arc somewhere. Doesn't take too long.
I put my wash water into the fire pit. The charcoal filters the water, absorbs odors and any incidental bits of food scraps get burnt or eaten by mice. ...
Thats a great way too encourage the mouse population. May your last meal, @ 30 miles from a resupply be throughly sampled!
Cvt
Monkeywrench
10-11-2013, 08:54
I've always cooked in my pot, and I just rinse the pot out with a bit of hot water and my fingers. Every meal starts by boiling water s I figure that will take care of any residue that might still be in the pot from the previous meal.
I do tend to try to err on the side of runny rather than too dry, as it helps in avoiding stuck on glop in the pot.
Just Bill
10-11-2013, 09:40
I use a ZipLock twist loc container as my freezer bag. Typically a hot meal is followed by a hot drink, which doubles as clean up of the twistloc. I put a gulp or two in first, give it a good swirl. That takes care of the bulk of the leftover bits and leaves me only taking one good gulp of grey water. Then I pour the rest of my beverage in and enjoy it. I also have plastic concerns. Not just from a leaching standpoint, but from a landfill standpoint. Cooking in bags produces lots of dirty, used bags. Messy to pack, messy to re-use, and ultimately- messy to landfill. I chose the Ziplock Twist-Loc because they are a "safe" plastic. Check the bottoms to find out if the plastic is a number 5. It is safe for hot liquids or even microwave use. Peanut butter jars and other substitutes most likely are not the right type of plastic, and are not likely to be any lighter either. When I get home, or to a resupply, I fill the ziplock with water, lid too, and zap them in the microwave to kill off any accumulated yuckies. I wash my pot well too. After that they are ready for another week on the trail and stay more than clean enough simply by cooking, eating, and rinsing.
Feral Bill
10-11-2013, 10:41
Cook a couple hundred yards or more from your campsite. Bring a teen aged boy to eat all possible leftovers. Problem solved.
Use one pot to cook and eat out of. When you are done clean the pot as best as you can using your spoon and finger. When you stop at a hostel or motel give your pot a real good cleaning. I started my thru with stuff to clean my cooking and eating gear with. Soon left it all in a hiker box.
LOL Grampie I used this method as well ... Sadly with all the excitement in town I almost always forget or neglect to do the dishes!! :confused:
In this case you can also use a handful of grass or pine needles to scrub your pot. And I have drank my rinse water before but only under dire low-water circumstances. Like eating cereal with water, it happened during dark times and it is something I hope to never repeat LOL!!!
Another Kevin
10-18-2013, 13:27
Make sure you clean your spork well - or boil it the next time you boil water and don't use it in between. Your pot isn't as important unless you eat cold stuff out of it, because your pot gets sterilized every time you boil in it.
illabelle
10-18-2013, 13:29
I'm always cooking for two. We carry the pot that came with our stove, a small frying pan, and two bowls & spoons. Most meals have something cooked in the pot and something else in the frying pan. If the pot is used for anything more than boiling water, I'll use up to a quarter-inch of water to wash it (and the bowls and spoons) with my fingers, give them a quick rinse, fling the water away, and I'm done. I store the frying pan by itself in a dedicated grocery bag, and don't wash it at all. If we were out for more 7-10 days at a time, I'd wash it now and then.
Nothing like a little sauteed zucchini to dress up some ramen noodles.
Rehydrated hash browns fried with a little fake bacon isn't bad, either.
On our last trip, I brought a packet of blueberry muffin mix, added a little water, and fried the batter like pancakes.
Yes, I carry a plastic container with some margarine.
Point is, there's lots of different ways to cook and clean. Nobody is "right."
Another Kevin
10-18-2013, 13:41
Point is, there's lots of different ways to cook and clean. Nobody is "right."
Nobody is "right". But washing dishes in someone else's water source is wrong. (Obviously, that's not what you're doing. I'm not talking about you.)
illabelle
10-18-2013, 13:46
Nobody is "right". But washing dishes in someone else's water source is wrong. (Obviously, that's not what you're doing. I'm not talking about you.)
Agreed! :)
A little water in the pot with a packet of Emergency and drink. Fizziness cleans well and your body will thank you for the electrolytes.