bowls and water questions

[Mike bievenour]

Strange question. Our crew has decided to cook using freezer bags. We have trek 1 and no where does it say that we have a chuck wagon meal. Do we need to carry bowls for any reason?

Also if we have 3 dry camps and everyone carrys an extra 3l plus 2 0r 3 bottles of water do we need any more water carrying pouches like 2.5 gal container.

If anyone has been on this trek any advice or tips would be great
Thanks

[David Thomas]

Hopefully someone can answer if you'll need it or not, but your cheapest, lightest options for a bowl and extra water containers involve a little dumpster-diving at the recycle center.

For a nice, big, very light bowl, cut the bottom 3 inches off of a 1-gallon plastic milk jug. It is MUCH safer to do that with scissors and not with a razor knife. If that is too big for you (if you can't nest it nicely with other gear), find a half-gallon milk or OJ container and use the bottom of that. If you only need it early in the trip, just throw it away when you're done with it. Whatever you source, run it through the dishwasher. HDPE plastic takes very high (>boiling) and very low (<-50F) temperatures and cleans up completely in the wash cycle.

And for water storage, 2-liter pop bottles are tough and also free in the recycling bins.

[ed dzierzak]

You're correct in that trek 1 has no chuckwagon dinner. As for dry camps, everyone needs to have a minimum water capacity of 3 liters. Most in our crews do that by having 1 liter Nalgene (or similar hard container) and a 2 liter Camalbak or similar bladder in their pack. For dry camps, we no longer carry the 2.5 gallon killers that Philmont has in their gear list. Full, they weigh 20 pounds. Rather, we have a dozen 1 gallon flex containers (like a Platypus, only cheaper). Each crew member gets one and, depending on the water situation, has it anywhere from empty to full. Looking at trek 1, your first dry camp is Rimrock. That's not far to carry water. Choices there are Rayado Creek or Abreu (staffed camp if your Ranger lets you go there). Next is Mt Phillips. You may want to think about having your dinner at Clear Creek where there is water (staffed camp – ask a staffer for a site to have dinner). Then have your lunch for dinner at Mt. Phillips. It's a long uphill slog from Clear Creek to Phillips. The less water you have to carry uphill, the happier you will be. Your final dry camp is Shaefers Pass. You pass through Clarks Fork (staffed camp). You may want to do the dinner for lunch there too. It's another long uphill to Shaefers. Then, you have the long day to the Tooth and the never-ending trail to Base camp. No water on Tooth Ridge. Your last fill will be at Clarks Fork. Make sure everyone has 4 liters to start your day at Shaefers Pass. Yes, there is a spring at Shaefers, However, in the 4 times I've been there, we were only able to get water once. Don't count on it unless staff says it's running.

[Mark Rash]

If you don't have a Chuckwagon dinner anywhere, then a bowl isn't necessary. If you found yourself somewhere where food is offered, you can always have them dump it in a zip lock bag.

I have suggested to our crew that they carry a Zip Lock 3cup bowl like this one:

It weighs under 2 oz. and has a lid. It is multi-use as it can also be used to mix up some of the drink packets with water, and you can use it as a measuring cup when rehydrating.

We have also suggested to our crew to each take a GSI Infinity Stacking cup which holds 12 oz. of liquid and has measurements on the outside just as a measuring cup would. The two obvious uses for this cup are drinking and measuring liquids. The weight of the cup is under 2 oz.

[Larry M]

1) Head down to your local grocery store and buy one of those oriental noodle bowl meals (my favorite is Kung Pao Noodles).

2) Mix up and cook the noodles according to the package directions.

3) Chow down the delicious noodles. (Be sure to have a drink ready if eating the Kung Pao noodles; it's HOT.)

4) Wash the now empty bowl and lid with your favorite dish washing liquid. Do not put in the dishwasher.

5) Enjoy your new, featherweight ( 0.8 oz) bowl + lid.

[Tony Ronco]

Since you're on Trek #1, you won't need this bit of advice on Chuckwagon Freezer Bags, but for future reference:
At chuckwagon style meals I would recommend a larger gallon sized freezer bag instead of the more standard quart size. The extra size makes it easy for the servers to fill it, (They seemed nervous on filling, maybe spilling, the smaller bags). Also at Abreu the larger bag can do double duty as a bag or as a "soft" plate.

Last summer our troop had two crews do this and it worked out quite well at both Beaubien & Abreu.

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