Articles
Prep for minimalist solo expedition
- Category: Equipment, rigging & preparation
- Published on Monday, 23 January 2012 18:34
- Written by Josh
With 4 days off over the Australia Day break this coming weekend, I've decided to make up for lost time by heading to Fraser Island for a brief solo expedition. Previously I'd planned to do this over the Xmas break, but weather predictions scared me off. The same should probably be true of this time around to, but I've decided to brave wind and rain and go for it anyway. From all reports it looks set to rain heavily, so I'll be gearing up for mid-summer winter-like weather.
Heavy duty water-shedding apparel aside, I'm planning to travel ultra-light and carry absolutely no extraneous luxuries whatsoever - only the essentials will be packed. Where I plan to save most weight, bulk and stuffing around is in the provisions department. The only cooking equipment I plan to take is a liquid fuel burner and a small titanium pot, mug and fork... and thats it. All of my main meals will be prepackaged Freeze Dried types that I will both cook and eat from the packet (no bowl or plate required). That might sound a bit too extreme for most peoples tastes, but the truth is that Backcountry Freeze Dried Cuisine meals are surprisingly edible (and actually somewhat nutritious). To be cooked they merely require some boiling water to be poored in and sat for 10 mins (with the top of the packet folded closed to keep heat in), an occasional stir here and there for good measure. And it's really quite easy to eat the rehydrated slop right out of the packet.
Compared to how we usually roll as a group, this approach is going to reduce my load out dramatically. No bowl, plate or pan is required, nor are sauces, spices and other additives. All one needs is a means to boil water and a utensil to eat with (spoon, fork or spork will do). Of course I'll be carrying other snacks to cover breaky and lunch (muesli bars, nuts, dried fruit & beef jerky) to tide me over for most of the day, but the Backcountry meals will sort out my evening meals well enough. In case you're wondering, the meals I have selected are Classic Beef Curry, Thai Curry Chicken and my personal favourite, Honey Soy Chicken. These and many other dishes are available in single or two person serves, though in my experience, a 2-person serve works best for a single person after a big day on the water (or in the mountains, which is where I was first introduced to Backcountry Freeze Dried meals). They can be purchased from any outdoor recreation dealer who has an account with Sea to Summit.
An alternative approach that I considered was to just take a burner and pan, and rely on fish instead, though this approach is potentially risky, and tempting fate a bit too much. Until the day of my return trip (Saturday or Sunday, depending on the weather) it'll be a catch and release affair only.
I'm also planning to save weight by taking my minimalistic MSR Skinny One shelter (I hesitate to call it a tent), though past experience has taught me that this is by far the least waterproof of my tents. So to get around this I'm also packing a siliconized nylon fly-sheet to erect over the tent, which should also provide some dry shelter around my tent. Obviously, this is the first thing I'll have to pitch when setting up camp if it's raining. This should allow me to set up the Skinny One underneath, which would otherwise fill up with water while I was pitching it. Thats very likely to happen to, so it's going to be an interesting if not character building experience. I hope to catch as much of it on camera as possible.
55 minutes ago
