The SUL Wanderer (Video Series) – Episode 2: Food & Water

I ditched my spork a couple years ago. I found that I was not using the fork-end and they are hard to handle.

Instead, I use a long spoon (Sea To Summit .4oz)a little heavy but helpful with freezer bag cooking. If I do end up bringing food that requires a fork or stabbing, I make chopsticks from twigs. They are easy to carve, light and multi-purpose.

Great videos!

My wife chowing down lunch with forest-provided chopsticks

How come the video panel tells me… "Sorry, The creator of this video has not given you permission to embed it on this domain. This is a Vimeo Plus feature."

Both episodes say this.

Any SUL techniques to get rid of them tiny silt particles in glacial water?

Wim

Thanks for renewing my interest in SUL. I am 7 to 8.5 lbs base weight now but always looking to lighten up even if I never go to 5 or less.

Very good indeed!

And valuable even for one who's goal falls short (heavy) of SUL.

"NOW … anyone have ideas for improving my throwing accuracy?"

Depends on how you throw? If you throw underhanded, or throw like you're throwing a baseball, I can improve your accuracy.

Throw the bag like it's a grenade. Best way for bear bag line throwing.

Just want to point out the flip side of wood fires.

Despite our "natural" relationship to wood fires for most of human history, the fact is there is no amount of smoke from a wood fire that is safe to inhale. Most of the particles in smoke are below the nano-meter scale that gets embedded in the lungs for decades and causes all kinds of damage – it's associated with asthma, allergies, heart problems, other breathing difficulties, and lung cancer. Some studies suggest wood smoke is up to 10 times more damaging than tobacco smoke. It's also extremely polluting. In some cities where wood-burning is common, it is the biggest contributor to air pollution and to breathing problems locally – more so than vehicle exhaust.

I know this all probably sounds rather ridiculous, as the good ol' campfire seems such a hearty and natural pastime, but the science is pretty solidly against it ever being a good idea unless absolutely necessary. It's important to try to get past the cognitive dissonance when thinking about these sorts of things. Then again, I suspect a lot of folks likely just don't care much.

the fact is there is no amount of smoke from a wood fire that is safe to inhale.

So true … in fact about as true as:

the fact is there is no amount of smoke from the motor vehicle that drove me to the trailhead this weekend that is safe to inhale.

Those who travel in 100% electric vehicles will need to climb a power plant chimney to sample that smoke before declaring safety.

If the electric vehicle is charge by photovoltaics or wind turbine … they might be less harmful in the long run (unless you are a bird using a flyway populated by the turbines) but the emissions from manufacturing that equipment are certainly hazardous.

To paraphrase Hamlet (OK, butcher might be more accurate) "Get thee to thy bubble"

I'm not always this grumpy (am I?) but I just returned from a rainy weekend of trial maintenance … no way to keep dry doing that other than staying home and temps were solidly in the hypothermia range. I have a stronger than average personal furnace but still started shivering within seconds of stepping away from the campfire to pitch our TarpTent. Went to bed a couple hours later almost completely dry thanks to that fire.

"Our culture now has an alarmist attitude to anything remotely unhealthy while ignoring all of the significant things that damage our health every day."

Like… burning wood?
I mean, some people use it to heat their homes every day – and the evidence shows this is *exactly* a "significant thing that damages our health."

Anyway, I hear what you're saying, and I also get the (mostly valid) comparison to car exhaust (though the point was really that what I've read on wood smoke is that, despite what we'd like to believe, it is in fact far more dangerous/carcinogenic than most synthetic exhausts – that's possibly offset by the vastly greater amounts a lot of us inhale of the latter).

But where I disagree is that sound scientific research is just a byproduct of "our culture" and can be safely ignored. Do you feel the same way about "our culture's" views on UV radiation from the sun, or cigarette smoke, or looking both ways before crossing the street?
My point is that if you in any way make decisions in your life about the above three things, which are all well-researched and are extremely likely to have some impact on your health, you have similar reason to make an informed decision about wood smoke.
If you feel it's worth the risks, or you mitigate your exposure time and stay upwind, etc, then great, that's your decision to make either way. I'll probably do the same from time to time, though I suspect the amount inhaled at a campfire, even upwind, is far greater than we might think. I just think it's interesting to ponder how all that is natural is not always 'good' or always worth the "increase[d] connectivity to the natural environment" as Ryan put it.

My apologies for any potential derailment, as well.

"Throw the bag like it's a grenade. Best way for bear bag line throwing."

Listen up, folks. I saw Doug make some very impressive throws last summer, including one that still has me shaking my head in amazement.

What's the plan/timeline for the SUL wanderer series? Are we going to see any more – seems like there is a lot left to cover. At least enough for a few more episodes.

Gandered at this series again and hoping for more offerings in this series in the future. Also enjoy the sub 24 hour trip videos. A few video vignettes a year are a great addition to the BPL library.