Monday, April 16th, 2007...9:20 am

Make Your Backpack Light in 2007 - Kitchen Cleanup

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I remember showing up on my first backpack in 1998 with a 45-pound pack stuffed with every conceivable backpacking gadget and implement - such things as those orange spades used to dig toilet holes.
Backpacking Light Kitchen Advice
The shear pain of all that weight, plus having so many different items in my pack sent me in search of a new approach. Of course, I discovered the “Ray (Jardine) Way” and began getting ultralight, mainly by dumping things that really weren’t essential.

Honestly, for clean up you can use a little water, some gritty earth and your finger to get the oatmeal out of your pot. But I compromised with a 1-ounce solution: a small plastic bottle with biodegradable soap and a 1-inch square of sponge (with a gritty material on the back side for scouring).

Using the gritty earth-finger method is messy and if you aren’t near a water source, uses more water for clean up.

Be light. Be safe. Be one with the pack.

2 Comments

Filed under Accessories, Key posts and FAQ's, Backcountry kitchen, Uncategorized

2 Comments

  • Mike Kretzler
    April 16th, 2007 at 9:43 am

    You’re right about the gritty earth-finger, but it can be useful when you’ve got a lot of material to scrape off. The sponge gets clogged pretty fast and is hard to clean itself.

    Actually, I usually clean my pot in very hot water, no soap, and drink the results. It’s just what I finished eating, after all, and I can always use the additional liquid.

  • Bruce
    April 16th, 2007 at 6:04 pm

    Mike,

    You offer a good alternative. It’s very no impact by wasting nothing — neither water nor food scraps.

    If you’ve already got the fire going or have hot water on, then no additional fuel is required.

    Thanks for giving us another approach to going light.

    Regards,

    Bruce

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