Extreme Light Gear List… Try to make even lighter!

[Al Shaver]

I used to use a 64gm/2.3oz Snowpeak titanium bowl/pot with 10gm/.35oz homemade aluminum lid. Stowed inside was fast food plastic spork 1gm/.035oz, BPL wing stove 30gm, mini Bic butane lighter 11gm, foil windscreen 11gm, Esbit fuel tablet 14gm, 2 zip-loc snack bags 4gm for a complete cook kit weighing in at 5.3oz.

Since I cut the top off a 25.4 fl.oz. Fosters beer can (thanks to Dr.J for the idea) and added a disposable cookie sheet aluminum foil lid; the pot and lid dropped to .85 oz total. This leaves me with a slightly larger 730ml pot and 3.55 oz. cook and dining set including fuel. If you use tent stakes and/or rocks (as was previously suggested) you can lose the stove and drop your complete kit weight to 2.5oz. ready to cook! No need for 1oz. pot lifter. Use gloves, socks, clothing, sticks,etc. to hold pot. REMEMBER: try to avoid carrying items that serve only one purpose.

Titanium does have a very high strength to weight ratio, but aside from being ridiculously expensive; in most manufactured products it is WAY too strong for the application. The same goes for lexan spoons and water bottles (except for Lexan being much cheaper than titanium).
One application where the strength of titanium is applicable to our game is tent stakes. Dr.J. recommends carrying one Vargo stake to drive holes in the earth for your other lighter BMW titanium stakes.
Cheers

---

Al

[Jordan Calicott]

Gear- for an overnight, summer outing in the southeast (REVISED!!!)

•Gossamer gear G6 Whisper (3.7 oz)
• Nanoseeum mesh kitchen bag- homemade (.2 oz)
•Granite gear airbag #4- bag (.69 oz)
•Dancing light gear silnylon small stuff sack- shelter (.25 oz)
•Bozeman mountain works spintarp x-lite (4.5 oz)
•Gossamer gear polycryo ground cloth- small (1.3 oz)
•Vargo ti stakes- 6 (1.68 oz)
•Bozeman mountain works aircore spectra 1- 40’ (.16 oz)
•Western mountaineering highlite (16 oz)
•Mini bull designs stealth alcohol stove(.23 oz)
•4 oz alcohol squirt bottle w/ alcohol- to cook 3 meals
•Waterproof matches w/ trick relighting birthday candle (.3 oz)
•Snow peak titanium bowl (1.6 oz)
•Homemade foil lid (.1 oz)
•Taco Bell plastic spork (.1 oz)
•Homemade u.l. first-aid kit (1-1.5 oz)
•Deet in BMW small dropper bottle (.15 oz)
•Gossamer gear thinlight insulation pad (1.9 oz)
•2 platypus 1L bottles (1.6 oz)
•Katadyn M1 tablets- 6 (.18 oz)
•1 pair golite classic socks (1 oz)

Total weight: 36.55 oz = 2.28 lbs (minus food, water & fuel)

Items Worn on Body:
•ACR Emergency whistle (.2 oz)*
•Photon micro light (.2 oz)*
•Small pocket knife (.5 oz)*
•Teva mesh hat (1 oz)
•Golite c-thru s/s shirt (4 oz)
•Golite mens boulder shorts (5 oz)
•Golite classic socks (1 oz)
•Saloman gcs pro hiking shoes (32 oz)
•GoLite Wisp pullover (2.5 oz)
•Gossamer gear lightrek plus poles (5.2 oz)

* – items on lanyard

This is far beyond insane!!! Can this list possibly get any lighter?

[Bill Fornshell]

Jordan wrote: “This is far beyond insane!!! Can this list possibly get any lighter?
Subject: Newly Revised Extremely Light Gear List Posted: 06/24/2005 14:32:27 MDT by Jordan Calicott (ShortmanCal) Gear- for an overnight, summer outing in the southeast (REVISED!!!)”

Making a few of the items myself and the same overnight hike I can reduce the weight a lot. For an overnight hike I would carry 3 Ebsit tablets and find a couple of stones to support my cook pot. The weight per item listed next to Jordan’s are mine. They would be made by me. The big difference in weight is from a much lighter fabric I use. I would make a new pack bag sort of like the G6 but smaller and at less than 1oz total weight. I have already made a pack bag a little bigger than the G6 that minus the mesh pockets would weigh less than 1 ounce. I have just gone with your “clothing worn” items except I would use one of my home-made trekking poles at 2.8oz and my trail runners weigh a little less than yours. I would add my light weight digital camera.

• Gossamer gear G6 Whisper (3.7 oz) MINE – 1.00oz
* Nanoseeum mesh kitchen bag- homemade (.2 oz) MINE – 0.10oz
• Granite gear airbag #4- bag (.69 oz) MINE – 0.30oz
• Dancing light gear silnylon small stuff sack- shelter (.25 oz) MINE – 0.12oz
• Bozeman mountain works spintarp x-lite (4.5 oz) MINE – 2.00oz
• Gossamer gear polycryo ground cloth- small (1.3 oz) MINE – 0.60oz
• Vargo ti stakes- 6 (1.68 oz)
• Bozeman mountain works aircore spectra 1- 40’ (.16 oz)
• Western mountaineering highlite (16 oz) MINE – 9.00oz
• Mini bull designs stealth alcohol stove(.23 oz) 0.00oz
• 4 oz alcohol squirt bottle w/ alcohol- to cook 3 meals (3 Esbits) 0.00oz
• Waterproof matches w/ trick relighting birthday candle (.3 oz)
• Alan Shaver’s “Fosters” Pot (.85oz)
• Homemade foil lid (.1 oz)
• Taco Bell plastic spork (.1 oz)
• Homemade u.l. first-aid kit (1-1.5 oz)
• Deet in BMW small dropper bottle (.15 oz) 0.15oz
• Gossamer gear thinlight insulation pad (1.9 oz) MINE (Balloon Bed) 0.60oz
• 2 platypus 1L bottles (1.6 oz)
• Katadyn M1 tablets- 6 (.18 oz)
• 1 pair golite classic socks (1 oz)

8.02oz + 12.47oz = 20.49oz

[OLD TOTAL] Total weight: 36.55 oz = 2 lbs /4.55oz (minus food, water & fuel)

[NEW TOTAL] Total weight: 20.49oz = 1 lb / 4.49oz (minus food, water & fuel)

Items Worn on Body:
• ACR Emergency whistle (.2 oz)*
• Photon micro light (.2 oz)*
• Small pocket knife (.5 oz)*
• Teva mesh hat (xxxx) [Sub. my Tilley Hat]
• Golite c-thru s/s shirt (4 oz)
• Golite mens boulder shorts (5 oz)
• Golite classic socks (1 oz)
• Saloman gcs pro hiking shoes (xxxx) [My trail runners weight 28oz per pair]
• GoLite Wisp pullover (2.5 oz)
• Gossamer gear lightrek plus poles (xxxx) [1 trekking pole 2.8oz]
* items on lanyard

[ With the 9 ounces I saved I would add my light weight Digital Camera back at 5oz and my Tilley hat at 3+oz.]

Yes, it did get lighter.

[edited to add Alan Shaver’s “Fosters” Pot (reduced weight another .75oz)]

[Jordan Calicott]

Thanks alot for your comments! Now my gear list weighs almost nothing! Also, I have a few questions about some of your gear:
– What is a balloon bed and where could I find one? If it only weighs .60 oz I would love to have one!
– How did you get your tarp to weigh so little- 2 oz?
– What sleeping bag are you using? If I had that, I could lose 7 oz!

Once again thanks for your great comments! Soon, I will be able to go backpacking with around 1 lb of gear. THIS IS INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bill Fornshell]

Questions from Jorden:
I have a few questions about some of your gear:

Q1 – What is a balloon bed and where could I find one?

A1 – A Balloon Bed thing is sold by a UK company. Mark Veber posted a comment and a link to a review he did of a Balloon Bed the first of June 2005. You should read his review.

http://www.verber.com/mark/outdoors/gear/reviews/balloonbed.html

My first contact with the UK Balloon Bed was sometime early summer 2004.

http://www.balloonbed.com

Someone I think from the company that sells it posted a comment about it and a link to the UK site. I looked at the web site but thought it was a lot of money for very little product. Fabric is cheap and so are balloons. I went to my local Hobby Store and bought a bag of balloons and a small balloon pump. I had some $1 a yard ripstop from Wal Mart and sewed a sleeve from it for 5 balloons, blew up the balloons and layed down on it. It worked. On the floor It was to narrow and to short for what I wanted. I use a hammock to sleep in and the narrow width would work in my hammock. I went looking for longer balloons and decided I could make it as wide as I wanted if necessary later. I was able to find balloons 3″ by 65″ from a guy that does balloon sculpture parties for kids. I went to him and bought some of the bigger balloons. He took the balloons I was buying and made a bag out of some Poly Tube stuff that comes on a long roll. [(Remember this) When I saw this stuff I forgot about the balloons. I finished my bigger balloon bed but I had found a better material to play with.]

I brought up the balloon bed idea because your hike is only “over-night”. The balloons are a “use one time only” item and for several days would require carrying a bunch of balloons. For over-night and going as light as possible the Balloon Bed idea is worth looking at. It also takes up next to NO space. I did the Math between my Poly Tube Air Mattress and the Balloon Bed and at the 4 or 5 day point the Poly-Tube starts to weigh less than the balloons. The Poly-Tube stuff is re-usable.

This first link is the “life history” of my Balloon Bed/ Poly Tube Air Mattress/Down Air Mattress – Sleeping System for “0” degrees F. project. It is very long and covers a time period that starts in July of 2004. The pictures below are of my short romance with the Balloon Bed idea. They were taken early Summer of 2004.

Q2 – If it only weighs .60 oz I would love to have one!

A2 – This is where clever comes in. The sleeve for the balloons has to be part of something else so the weight is divided between two or more items. Something possibly your ground cloth. The 3×65 balloons weigh 3.9 grams each. You would have to decide how wide you needed the balloon bed to be and how long and then see how much the balloons would weigh. Shorter balloons would weigh less. You might decide half length would be OK and you might even go for a balloon that is 2″ for one night.

Q3 – How did you get your tarp to weigh so little- 2 oz?

A3 – You said you were using a BMW Spin-tarp x-lite. That tarp is 4’3″ by 7’9″ or 3.66 sq yards. The listed weight of the tarp is 6.2oz. At that weight and using simple math 3.66 sq yards times my material at .40 oz per sq yard would be 1.46oz. I didn’t add guy lines since you have 40′ of BMW Aircore spectra line added to your pack weigh already. The super light material I would make my tarp out of and the same size lets me drop maybe as much as 3oz over the stock BMW tarp.

Q4 – What sleeping bag are you using? If I had that, I could lose 7 oz!

A4 – I would make a very light weight Down quilt that would attach to my Air Mattress shell and create a bivy looking thing. For Summer I would guess a Down loft of 1 to 1.5 inches would keep me warm. This would be less than 1oz per Down baffle times 5 baffles. The shell material at .40 oz per sq yard would be about 2.4oz added to the 5 oz (Down + baffle material) for a total less the 8oz.or well under the planning amount of 9oz.

Mt current DAM/Down Top Cover System for “0” degrees F uses 1oz of 800+ Down per baffle at 3.5″ x 78″ long. The total weight of each filled baffle is 1.5oz. This gives me almost 4″ of Down loft. My Poly-Tube DAM has 9oz of Down divided between 9 Tubes of 1oz each. The Top Cover has 16oz of Down and a removable Down Cap with 2 oz of Down in it. All of the shell material used was $1 a yard stuff from Wal Mart and is not very light. When I get around to sewing the finial version I can decide between some Pertex Quataum I have or something like WM now uses on their sleeping bags. Both materials would work but I am not sure I will ever be able to get more Pertex Quataum. I have been saving the Pertex stuff for some time and may want to use it for something else now that I may not be able to get more.

Playing with the Poly-Tubes for an Air Mattress.

Is 1 pound possible, yes, but only with clever application of muti-use items. This gear list only needs to drop 6 more ounces. Piece of cake. The trick would be a hike longer than “over-night” with the 1-pound gear list.

Say a long section of the AT or maybe an AT Thru-Hike. Anyone game?

[“Once again thanks for your great comments! Soon, I will be able to go backpacking with around 1 lb of gear. THIS IS INSANE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”]

[Jordan Calicott]

Thanks for answering my questions. I love the balloon bed idea! I have one more question to ask you- where do you get the .40 oz per yard fabric? I would love to have some of that so I could make some gear.

[Bill Fornshell]

The material I have started using comes from Cuben Fiber. It is very light but strong sail material

http://www.cubenfiber.com

It is their product # CTO.6k.08 and costs $13.40 a yard. It is 48″ wide by however long you need. This is the .40 oz per sq yard material I made reference to. They have a lot of different fabric but this is the lightest they are now making.

They only ship after they receive payment. They don’t take credit cards so I send them a request for however many yards I want and they then send me a Sales Order. I then send a check and after awhile I get my order. They don’t have a 1-800 number but their regular phone number is 480-641-0438. I email them at [email protected]

A number of gear makers have tested this material but I don’t know any that are in production with it.

I made my G6 AT1 Clone out of a sample piece of some that weighed .35oz per square yard. The pack bag turned out to be 2.10oz and that inculdes 1.28oz for the mesh used for the side and front pockets. So the pack bag which is larger than the G6 took .82oz of fabric. It takes some creative design work to make sure the seams don’t tear out. I would get a yard or two and sew yourself a pack out of some and see what you think.

This stuff is not for everyone.

I have 5 yards of the .40oz on order and will make 2 more packs and a super light hammock out of it. Next will be my tarp and/or poncho.

[Al Shaver]

Bill— Kudos on your innovative R&D and focus. If I read your post correctly you are suggesting non-breathable Cuban fabric for your quilt shell. Wouldn’t that be rather uncomfortable?
I notice that your latest gear list includes the heavyweight titanium pot over the .85 oz pot and lid that I suggested. If you want to go sub pound, you’re going to have to start getting serious!

[Bill Fornshell]

Hi Alan, Good idea. I read your post but didn’t make the change. I changed my list to include the “Alan Shaver Fosters Cook Pot at .85oz. I have seen the large beer can used for a cook pot but have never tried one. I would worry about how long the Foster pot might last on a longer hike but since this is just an over-nighter it only has to last a day or so. I need to make one an do some testing with it.

As far as using Cuben material for a quilt shell, I also use a lot of silk and I can get silk in a weight of .40oz, .45oz, .57oz, .64oz per sq yard and that is just the really light stuff. My current silk Hammock is made out of 1.02oz per sq yard material.

Remember that Carol said in her article that Ryan’s SUL rules don’t say you have to be comfortable, just do it without dying.

[Kim Skaarup]

Hi. Come on.
Do you really need to cook on a overnighter.!!?
Just bring some snack along and save a LOT of weight.
Also the DEET could be applied before you take off. 100% last a long time.
Sunscreen with hight SPF also applied before taking off.
Lets go for a sub-zero-pound load weight.:-)

[Bill Fornshell]

You are talking about “Consumables” and they don’t count toward the “SUL-Pack Weight”. I didn’t remove them or move them but would not inclide them if it was my gear list.

Consumables:
Food
Water
Fuel
Toilet Paper
Baking Soda for your teeth
SunScreen
Matches/Lighter
Batteries
Bug Protection
“ALL” water treatment items – filters – etc
First Aid items
“Balloons” for the Balloon Bed (one time use item)
etc
etc

We need a ruling from Ryan on this question. Define “consumables” for us?

[paul johnson]

Bill,

I agree. Dr. J will need to provide a definitive ruling on this (at least we won’t have a 5-4 split !!!).

For my part, I only count food, water, & fuel (if i’m carrying any & not eating just GORP – however, I count 1 esbit for emergency even when eating just GORP on a trek), but all of the others items you list (e.g., water purification/filtration, chems, Rx, TP, etc.) I count towards base pack wt.

But..hey…maybe it’s just me that does that?

[EndoftheTrail]

Bill:

You are turning Super UL into Selective UL!

I don’t care two hoots about drawing lines like this — but suffice to say, your SUL weight definition is uniquely your own — which is fine if it makes you happy, but it does render a comparison with others a meaningless exercise.

If water treatment is a “consumable”, presumably because it relates closely to the consumption of a consumable (water), then shouldn’t your backpack be a consumable as well — since it is used to hold/protect your consumables?

[Bill Fornshell]

I only ask the question, so those that want to, will all be on the same “sheet of music” so to speak.

I defir to Ryan to answer the question. It is after all his challenge to those of us who care to enter the fray.

The more time I spent/think about this the more I think 2 pounds for a 2 or 3 day hike is very possible. This leads me to think an SUL AT Thru-Hike in the 2 to 3 pound range is also possible. This then is where I am headed.

[Kim Skaarup]

Normally if you see BPL gear list water, food and FUEL are consumables. So all the hardware, bottles etc. are gear. Also batteries as you could not leave them behind!!. DEET and sunscreen allready applied on your skin is not counted. Gear list tend to include these in the base weight. It is however consumables.!

The question is how about those stuff you actually consume. You dont count on comsuming first aid, survival gear etc.

However you should count your comsumables at the end off your list as this is actually the weight carried in the beginning. Soo where you put your TP etc doesnt matter in the end.:-)

[Bill Fornshell]

I agree this question will work itself out. It all has to be carried.

I am working on the details to make a Tarp/Poncho out of the .40oz Cuben material when I get my next order from them. Since the Cuben material comes 48″ wide my Tarp/Poncho will be 48″ by 96″ to keep the numbers simple. The true weight of the tarp/poncho should be at or under 2oz. Add guy lines and Ti stakes and the weight will come up another couple ounces. It might be worth the extra 1oz to just make a separate Poncho. I might even be able to work a separate Poncho into my sleep system.

[Mike Storesund]

Bill, I remember the old military poncho’s with liners worked real well as a sleep system. I used in the back of my truck a few times.
Not familiar with the Cuben material, could you make a liner for a Cuben poncho with the reflective mylar blanket?

[Bill Fornshell]

Yes, I have left over from my years in the Army 3 Poncho Liners. I even have one that I had a zipper sewn into to make a sleeping bag of sorts out of it. I just weighed the one without the zipper. It is way to heavy at 19.38oz. They also aren’t good much below 60 degrees (F) or so if I recall.

I will use Down in my “Poncho Liner-Kilt/Quilt”. I will make it simular to my home-made DAM Sleeping System Top Cover with removeable baffles. If I am slick the Down baffles will do double duty in something like a “Great Kilt” opened up flat at night and turned into the Sleeping Quilt. I have had the plans for something like this for awhile. Wear it as a “Great Kilt” during the day and add the Down baffles at night and it turns into my Down Quilt. You might need to see this as it “morphs” from Kilt to Quilt and back to understand. Using Down and very light silk for my baffle material will keep the weight really low.

[Jordan Calicott]

Can someone tell me about this Alan Shaver’s “Fosters” Pot? I’am very interested. Also, where can I get one?

[Bill Fornshell]

I don’t know where or how Alan made his “Fosters Pot” but if you look at this link it shows how sort of.
Watch for 3 more links in the part showing the Beer Can Pots that will just say [Can-Pot adapter / Stand / Can-Pot Stoves].

http://zenstoves.net/CanPots.htm

I am going to my local Wal Mart later and get a couple cans of Fosters if they have them. Hate to throw away the beer but I don’t drink the stuff. I will wait till Alan replies with some “how to” information and then make one.

[Jordan Calicott]

If I’am not able to attain a beer can, as I’am underage to drink alcohol, can I just use a coke can or something like that?

[Bill Fornshell]

The advantage of this beer can is it can hold up to 24/25oz. of water. That means I should be able to boil 18/20oz of water at one time if I need that much. The soda cans only hold 12oz. so you might get 8oz or so of boiling water at one time. If you don’t need a lot of water at one time the soda can might work fine. The link I listed does show how to make a cook pot from a soda can and a few other type cans that you should be able to find that don’t come with beer in them.

Now that I have 2 of the Fosters 25oz cans they seem to be a heavier aluminum than the soda cans. I am not for-sure on that and will not know for sure till I cut one open.

I am going back to that web site and re-read everything slowly then wait for Alan to answer back.

[Al Shaver]

Thanks for the Zen Stoves can-pot site. That’s a great reference! Dr.J made reference to using a Foster’s can pot in his Mt Gannet in-a-day post on the “Now These Guys Went Light!” thread under the Mountaineering and Alpinism category. I briefly described my construction technique on the 6th post on page 2 of this thread. Not much to it. The only things I left out were that I used tin snips to remove the lid and folded the lip over to prevent cuts to the user. Perhaps using a can opener as described on the Zen Stoves site produces a neat enough edge that it doesn’t need to be folded over. I’m also playing with roaster pans to produce a 3 liter pot suitable for snow melting on winter and spring trips in the Sierra Nevada.

Jordan–I’m sure you won’t have trouble finding an alcohol-aged adult who would be happy to purchase a can of Foster’s for you and consume the contents in the name of furthering man’s quest for lightenment.

Dr. J’s article on Super Ultralight Sub 5lb. linked on BPL’s home page defines base weight as excluding consumables ie. gear counts; water, food, fuel, ointments and T.P. don’t (see paragraph 6 of article). This makes sense to me. I know how many grams of food, fuel, soap, T.P., toothpowder etc. I use each day. Base wt. + daily consumable wt. x # of days + starting water = total starting pack wt. Headlamp and batteries are gear to me; even though batteries are consumed (although with batteries lasting a full season in our LED lamps this becomes a non-issue).

I look forward to reading the results of Bill’s field tests on his Cuben tarp and poncho. Perhaps when you are wrapped up tightly inside your quilt made of this fabric you can talk of sleeping warm inside your “Cuben Cigar”.

I love the kilt/quilt idea. For further inspiration watch the opening scene of the magnificent film “Rob Roy” in which Liam Neeson and his clan wrap cloaks around their torsos held in place by a large broach during the day. At night they unpin the cloak and bundle up in it. Come to think of it, Hobbits on grand journeys far from the shire carry multi-use cloaks also.

I did see a recent reference on this thread to “a reflective layer” being incorporated into a garment. This idea is promoted by manufacturers trying to sell us products (including no less than Western Mountaineering) and is oft repeated by consumers. Reflective films keeping humans warm is a myth. At low temperatures conduction is the primary mode of heat transmission and reflection is not even on the map. At medium temperatures convection comes into play. At high temperatures it’s all about radiation and conduction is of virtually no consequence. If you want to keep a 2000 degree tungsten filament from losing heat, reflect the radiation. If you want to keep a 98 degree human body warm, insulate it against conductive heat loss. Reflection is a waste of weight and money at human temperatures. When I get back to my files I’ll post the formula for heat transmission for those who would like to see the mathematical foundation for this statement.

Cheers, Al

[paul johnson]

Alan,

Thanks for all of your informative posts. Also, thanks for mentioning (and correcting me) on what Dr. J considers “consumables”.

I read all of the new posts, but eagerly look for those from you, Bill (the guy’s ingenious!!), Richard , Jacob, Glenn, F.R. (haven’t seen anything from F.R. recently – i like his “tell it like it is”, or even “tell it like it isn’t” approach – even when i disagree with him) & also a few others whose names happen to escape me at the moment (my “old-timers” actin’ up).

Glad you said the “Cuben Cigar”. Frankly, I didn’t have the nerve. I think a couple of my recent posts exhausted my allotment of bad jokes for this month..

I’d very much like to read your notes on heat xfr. When you get a chance, please post them.

It was around 1968 that I had the great displeasure of trying a space blanket. It was all I happened to have with me, & so had to make do with it. The daytime temps were normal for that time of year in CT & I only had on a short-sleeve shirt, jeans, cotton socks (yes..the “death fabric” as another poster a while back termed it – wool was too expensive), & canvas sneakers – was warm enough during the day. No other shelter (no rain was in the forecast). We were traveling light (this was b/f i had the money to buy all of that not-so-great fancy, expensive, & heavy gear fr/brand name mfr’s.). It was a cold night for early June (prob. in the 40’s near/after midnight) & no wind. Surely, this new fangled space blanket would keep me warm just like advertised – that thing was supposed to be a veritable toaster of radiant heat!! NO WAY. I slept very little that night even though surrounded on three sides by natural shelter & insulated underneath by a makeshift bed of leaves on top of small hemlock boughs (“boughs” – seemed like a good idea at the time). Don’t know what the temps were. Maybe a cold front moved in. Don’t know. Actually, shivered quite a bit. Didn’t sleep much – maybe 3-4 hrs all night with most of that coming when I first fell asleep b/f it got too cold. I think I only slept on & off after first waking up b/c I was exhausted from a full day of strenuous hiking in the hills. Should have practiced some firecraft, but didn’t want to be noticed. Don’t ask!!

[…ok… (the statue of limitations on trespassing has long since run out)… We were on Regional Water Company property practicing, what we called “Indian Camping”, which, except for the hemlock boughs, might nowadays be called LNT. Great land (no hiking passes were issued back then by the RWA) with deep forest, great berry patches (too early in June for berries), rock cliffs, small caves, lots of wildlife, & one very rocky ledge with lots of loose flat rock where snakes, including some timber rattlers, would come out and sun themselves. We were teenagers & could out run the Rangers – most of the time! We never used fire & other than an occasional dip in the lake, never polluted the water. Scout’s Honor. How’s that for rationalization. Worked for us. My conscience would nevert let me get away with it now though. Well…what the RWA couldn’t do (i.e., stop us), “Uncle Sam” eventually did.]

Now back to our regularly scheduled post:

My three friends had wool blankets. They slept fine. Come to think of it now, who ever saw an Indian with a space blanket?!! Should have known they must have had a good reason for not usin’ ’em!!!. For my part, have never bothered with a space blanket since.

I guess in space such reflective surfaces are actually used the other way around, i.e. to keep radiant energy from the sun from heating things up. At least so I’ve been told by an engineer from a sister division who makes the space suits for NASA. With no atmosphere, things can get really hot up/out there.

The space blanket certainly did nothing for me that night.

[John S.]

I’ll stay out of this one..hehe

[Author]

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