Best Practices: Saving Time in the Morning

Hi Tony

> I am a bit paranoid about accidental loss of fuel, so I don't completely
> thread it on til I am cooking

That just might be a BIG mistake. With some stove/canister combinations, having the stove screwed half-on can result in the canister valve being pushed just slightly open, without the benefit of the O-ring seal. If you hear a faint brief hiss as you screw your stove on fully, that's gas escaping for this reason. So screw the stove on fairly fast.

Personally, I would recommend either completely removing the stove, or leaving it screwed on properly with the valve shut. I much prefer the first option, btw. (Edit – for the same reasons as Tony mentions below.)

Cheers

Hi Tony and Roger,

>Personally, I would recommend either completely removing the stove, or leaving it screwed on properly with the valve shut. I much prefer the first option, btw.

I did some tests a few years ago where I left a stove tightly screwed on a canister overnight for a few nights and weighted the canister each morning, a few grams of gas was lost each night.

I always remove the stove from the canister after cooking and the stove has cooled down.

Tony

I discovered early in my UL career that time was an important factor in being able to cover many miles per day. Originally, I thought that 10-15 miles per day was my distance limit. Then I found time-saving methods to be able to get out of camp an hour earlier in the morning. If you keep your gear minimal, you don't have much to set up when you reach camp in the evening. I discovered that I could eat lunch without even breaking stride on the trail, but that I needed some lunch food two or three times per day. I used to hike until after dark. Unfortunately, I discovered that I was very inefficient in camp duties when it is dark. Headlamps go only so far.

–B.G.–

Sounds like you have your stuff pretty dialed. Other than possibly cutting down on stuff (anything you don't need?), I have only one suggestion.

Don't eat breakfast in camp.

Pack everything up and get on the trail straightaway. Much a few bars for the first 3-4 hours of hiking, then find a scenic spot, stop, and brew up. Have "breakfast" for brunch.

Breakfast in bed does sound luxurious, though I'll never do it around here (Griz country). Getting out of bed on a cold morning can be a big source of slow, and having immediate packing as a part of protocol can be more efficient. I find I'm motivated to get stuff done so I can get moving and warm up. Stopping to eat later also serves the dual function of letting you chill out at a new location that is hopefully worthy of further introspection, and providing an off the feet break when it is beneficial to the cause of further hiking that day.

+1 on David's suggestion. It's usually below freezing where I go in the morning and I need to be on the trail quick to get warmed up. I do eat about 500 calories of no cook snacks as I packing up.

You can also save some time and cold fingers by loosely packing your bag inside your bivy and stuffing it in your Jam2. It nice if you take your bag out to dry later since you can pull the bivy and bag out together. Also, the bag gets less compressed and can grow as your food supply dwindles.

Hey Greg – I don't want to hijack this thread too much (sorry Tony), but I'm just thinking out loud.

What if you have a Neo Air pad in the bivy? I know you could remove the pad and roll it up separate. I don't think you want to stuff a Neo Air, right?

When I had my bivy out for the first time, I had it rolled up with the Neo Air inside of it and the whole thing fit in the Neo Air stuff sack.

But I like your idea…..

I like the idea of skipping/delaying a formal breakfast.

Tony,

Craig Wisner and I did a 3 day, 2 night trip this past weekend. Although we did not discuss methods, and had never met before, we both operated in a similar method. Total time from wake up to walking about 30 minutes, which included cooking breakfast. Craig usually doesn't do breakfast, but he accomodated me, as he is respectful of his elders. Since I am near twice his age, he is nice to old people :)

Day 1:
Filled up 4 liters of water 1 mile before our campsite destination. Craig purified with Aquar Mira drops, I used tablets. We both had about 1 liter of already purfied water, so we could drink it without waiting for the chemicals to kick in. Water temperature at fill up was very cold (snow fed spring).

Night 1:
No bears, so no need to prep for that.
No chance of rain, so no shelter.
Lay out polycro sheet.
Lay out sleeping pad.
Lay out sleeping quilt to fluff up.
Lay out equipment for efficiency.
Put on puffy jacket.
Lay quilt over lap while sitting on pad.
Boil water for freezer bag dinner (Craig cooked and simmered his dinner).
Boil water for hot choclate and whiskey. Craig brought a little wiskey. Good man!!
To left of my bed water bottles, shoes, hat, and misc items in shoes (sun glasses, mircro light, camera).
To right of bed, leave Caldera Cone set up.
Put puffy jacket in cuben sack as a pillow.
Put all remaining gear and food in pack, place back under legs (NightLight pad is only torso length).

Morning 2:
Sit up and put on puffy jacket.
Boil water.
Place all gear in pack, except pad and polycro sheet.
Eat oatmeal and drink coffee (Craig ate cold meal).
Pack stove up and place in pack.
Place pad and polycro sheet in pack.
Start hiking.

Night 2:
Hiked for 14.5 hours. Arrived at campsite at 9:00PM.
Campsite had spring.
Craig had enough water to cook dinner.
I had enough water to drink.
I filled up water bottles for dinner and next day's hike.
Same routine as prior night.

Morning 3:
Quick breakfast of coffee and cold food.
Broke camp at 6:30 am. Craig filled his bottles, mine already filled.
Hiked for 8 hours to our vehicles.

I could pack a little quicker, since I had a little less gear. Keep in mind we did nearly 60 miles and Craig's base was around 6lbs, and mine just under 4lbs. If we did not have breakfast, we would probably pack in the same time. Craig cooks fresh food, and I boil mine.

"Don't eat breakfast in camp."

+1

My favorite times to hike are right after I get up and after dinner. I consider both of these periods to be "bonus" hiking periods, meaning I'm not trying to cover miles but rather just strolling in the mountains.

David,
I haven't played with a neoair so I dont know how flexible it is. If it's flexible then maybe you could stuff along with bag/quilt. I just pull my ridgerest out and pack seperate.

Best way to save time in the morning… Get out of bed! Your bed anchors you, physically and mentally (IMHO, of course).

I get up & dressed, stuff my bag, pad, and most clothes, set up my stove, grab my food, start the coffee & breakfast. While breakfast "cooks" I tear down the tent & pack it up. I take off my poofy layer & pack it. When I'm done eating I clean the pot, toss the food & cookgear in the pack. My midlayer comes off, goes in a small dry sack w/first aid, etc. Time to hit the trail.

Unless I'm camping with my girlfriend (then I'm in no rush to get up), I like getting up and moving quickly. So, I can really relate to your question.

You seem to have a system that works well for you. As several others have mentioned, I find that in addition to organization and having a good packing method, the best way to get out of camp quickly is to get out of bed and packed as quickly as possible. For me, this means not eating breakfast at camp, but hiking a mile or two and breaking out a breakfast bar or a Pop-Tart. Boiling water and cleaning up in the morning doesn't make sense to me IF your (read: my) goal is to get out and get moving fast.

I save the hot breakfasts for "slow days," when it's raining heavily or there's a really nice view from camp or for some other reason I'm in no rush.

Hi Greg,

The Neoair is not stiff in the least, it basically drapes like a piece of fabric. I wouldn't "stuff" it willy-nilly, but it would roll nicely along with a bivy or quilt, so long as you started at the opposite end from the valve to evacuate all the air.

Cheers,

Rick (not a morning person)

Thanks for the responses to everyone.

Still would like to hear what others do once they get into camp to make life easier that night or for the next morning.

Will definitely leave my stove either all the way screwed on tight for use in the morning or just leave it unscrewed and next to the canister to assemblem in the morning.

The idea of just getting up and hiking a few miles, munching on a bar for a snack and then stopping along the trail for breakfast to give the feet a rest does sound like a great idea…will have to see if the other(s) that I travel with would want to give it a go.

Yes, I could save time all together by skipping the hot breakfast, but I have to admit that I enjoy having a hot meal and drink in the morning to warm me up and get my hydrated. (My little luxuries).

All of this reminded me of someones idea/suggestion of using their bivy bag as a waterproor/resistant pack liner inside their pack.

Duel usage, sounds like a pretty good idea.

Any other good ideas out there that people have to share?

-Tony

We often just cook up an extra large dinner, and have the leftovers for breakfast, but we don't hike in bear country. We just leave the leftovers in the pot on the stove, ready to light, so only one round of pot cleaning. We have a separate 3 cup pot for brews also ready to go with water in it. We don't need to filter water either, but have full 3L bladders ready to go before bedtime. Other than that, we're not usually in a hurry to get moving in the mornings, unless it's a winter trip and daylight is short. I'm not a fan of a cooked breakfast on the trail as the bugs can eat you alive in just a few minutes, plus we never know when rain is just around the corner. Better to eat in the tent for us.

The idea of just getting up and hiking a few miles, munching on a bar for a snack and then stopping along the trail for breakfast to give the feet a rest does sound like a great idea

Does this really save time? You lose the ability to overlap heating your water with getting packed.

When I used to lead canoe trips in Canada for 13-14 year olds, getting going was important. Skipping or postponing breakfast was not one of the options :) so my solution was that their ticket to breakfast was having their personal gear all packed. That worked quite well.

— MV

Does this really save time? You lose the ability to overlap heating your water with getting packed.

Agree! And for me a hot breakfast is a great way to start the day.

Tony. You could just take a few less photos, lol! What's the rush? Out hiking is the only time I can have breakfast in bed.

If your goal is miles, then eating becomes an act of only fueling the engine and the enjoyment of eating becomes secondary. I prefer to enjoy each minute and if the miles come great, if I only make 10 in a day but have made some great memories, even better.

>Does this really save time? You lose the ability to overlap >heating your water with getting packed.

>Agree! And for me a hot breakfast is a great way to start the >day.

I agree that a hot breakfast can be a great way to start the day, but the general theme to this thread is "how to save time in the morning" and not heating water/eating a hot meal does save time.

Why does eating a breakfast bar a couple miles down the trail at a natural rest stop save time over making a hot breakfast in camp? That can be answered in two different ways – theoretically and experientially.

In theory, eliminating the time of preparing a meal, heating water, eating, and then cleaning up has to take more time than not doing any of these activities. Even if you do all these things quickly, if you hold everything else equal, you still take more time than not doing them at all. And, even if you eliminate the time of heating water by packing while the water is getting hot, you still have the other steps. Also, maybe I'm overly careful, BUT I would never leave a stove running unattended, so I'm not sure how one would pack and cook at the same time.

In practice, I've seen that when people (including me) cook in the morning, they tend to take their time and enjoy it. That's fine, but it won't get you out of camp and on the trail quickly. In reality, in rushed or emergency situations most people will skip breakfast if they need to get on the trail quickly for whatever reason.

There are plenty of reasons to take your time in the morning. Last weekend, I was out with my GF and we took our sweet time for a variety of reasons. Sometimes, however, you will need or want to get moving quickly. So, I think this is an important topic.

Notable time savers for me are:

Insulated pants – Using insulated puffy pants instead of baselayer tights. Not having to take pants and tights on and off in the mornings/evenings both saves time as well as keeps you warmer.

Routine – Unpacking and packing my backpack using the same method every time. This routine copies over to how I lay out my stuff under my tarp at night as well.

Stuff Sacks – If carrying a stuff sack for my tarp I tie it to one of my trekking poles so it's easy to find when I'm packing up in the morning.

I carry only a few stuff sacks to eliminate the need to pack stuff into a stuff sack and then pack the stuff sack into the pack. Some stuff sacks can save time (i.e. keeping all first air/repair items that don't get used often in a sack) but other stuff sacks are unecessary (i.e. extra socks, insulating layers, et al).

Minimize Steps – I pack my quilt into my pack while its still inside my bivy sack. This is faster and it also creates a redundant waterproofing system within the confines of my pack/pack liner.

Keep Items Handy – I keep snacks, pre-mixed Aquamira, sunscreen et al in the hipbelt pocket of my pack for easy access which doesn't require me to stop and take my pack off.

Keep the good ideas coming!

"Stuff Sacks – If carrying a stuff sack for my tarp I tie it to one of my trekking poles so it's easy to find when I'm packing up in the morning."

I attach the stuff sack to the tarp for overnight, and serves the multiple purpose as a wind sock.

–B.G.–

Thanks alot sam, for this:

Minimize Steps – I pack my quilt into my pack while its still inside my bivy sack. This is faster and it also creates a redundant waterproofing system within the confines of my pack/pack liner.

I will store my hammock tq and uq inside it now and just stuf fit in the bottom of my pack, im worried though. right now i stow them seperately on either side of my internal divider in order to balance the pack, i guess i could just unzip the internal divider. oh well, have to test it out, but i like it.

It usually takes me 15 minutes to 1/2 hour to get going in the morning.

Things I do to save time:
Rinse my breakfast bowl with a small amount of water and drink the water. No elaborate dish washing. Or eat no-cook food or eat while walking down the trail.

Pack everything in the same order every day. Unpack everything and leave it in the same place every night.

I usually do not camp near water. That wastes time. Instead I bring enough water at the end of the day to get through dinner and breakfast.

I might brush my teeth in camp or I might do that on the trail instead. If water is scarce, I won't do it at all. Brushing my hair wastes time so I have a hair style that requires a minimal amount of that.

Hot breakfasts and coffee waste time. But they are nice luxuries. Campfires and picnic tables also waste time and cause you to spread your stuff around making it harder to keep track of and locate.

I save time on clothing by sleeping in my hiking clothes. No change of clothing means no time spent changing clothes.

I save a lot of time by not being sentimental about my camping location. This sounds silly, but sometimes it seems like people are simply reluctant to leave. Once my stuff is packed I put my pack on, take a really quick look (really quick because I haven't spread my stuff out all over the place) and then I just GO.

I like that, Piper…..no nonsense.

Except I don't like sleeping in my hiking clothes.