I recently purchased a waterproof I.D. bag at REI for a friend who kayaks and a package of Clif Shot Bloks organic energy chews arrived in the same box as a free sample.

Well, I couldn't resist immediately ripping open the 2.1-ounce bag with 6 strawberry flavored chews and downing two of them.

The strawberry flavor was good. The texture/consistency is akin to Gummy Bears. While some “energy shots” have some pretty odd flavors, this was decent.

Rx for Energy

The instructions on the bag recommend taking 3-6 chews every hour during activity, followed by water.

Contents: organic rice syrup, organic cane juice, brown rice solids, citric acid, coconut oil and Carnauba wax (must hold it all together). No saturated fats or trans fats.

Sometimes you can be climbing in the mountains for long periods and your energy starts to run out. A sugar boost from an energy chew could help.

One acquaintance of mine is an ultralight backpacker in the extreme. He told me that he hiked in Greenland for two weeks, living entirely on 1,000 calorie per package energy shots like those used by weightlifters. Sounds pretty boring, but if you want to keep your pack weight down, eliminating real food is one way. But it’s not for me.

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

Ursack Bear Bag: A Wasted $50 Investment

I figured that I had found the perfect food protection answer a few years ago when I purchased a 4-ounce Ursack bear bag made of Kevlar , a material used in bulletproof vests.

A few months after my $50 purchase, however, wilderness officials announced that Ursack was not an approved container. I was really pissed. First at officialdom, then at Ursack. I asked the company, which pushed Ursack in Backpacker Magazine and on its website as an effective lightweight alternative to the bear canister, for a refund or at the very least an upgrade to a new double bag they hoped would get official approval.

Company Reject
Ursack rejected my request and I was stuck with a very expensive, but useless piece of anti-bear gear.That was about five years ago. Word came down in October 2005 that a new Ursack Hybrid , which weighs 1 pound, 4 ounces – half the standard Garcia canister, but nearly 5 times the weight of the original Ursack – has won conditional approval for use in some national parks and forests.

A Day Late, A Dollar Short
Ursack also reported that the original bags might possibly be approved for use in the future (no guarantee) with an aluminum insert. Last year, my original Ursack got carried away at Thousand Island Lake in the John Muir Wilderness when I failed to tie it to a tree (I was above tree line). Somewhere out there a critter still is trying to chew through the bag to get at a pound of prime beef jerky. I miss the beef jerky, but not the Ursack. Ursack’s website reports officials prohibit tying the new hybrid to rocks or trees for fear of environmental damage. Ursack company officials report being optimistic bears will not carry away the new Ursack if left on the ground. I wouldn’t count on it.

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It’s All About Fuel

In the past few years, manufacturers have developed a large number of really small, light and efficient backpacking stoves.

Most of them are 4 ounces or less. But that’s only half the story.

The other half is the fuel. It’s my experience that when you read expert recommendations about picking light stoves, the experts forget that fuel can double or triple the weight.

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Bears Kill the “Light” in Lightweight Backpacking

The requirement to carry bear-proof containers in most national parks and forests really makes an ultralight backpacker roar.

You cut off toothbrush handles, trim pack straps and remove tent labels to save a few ounces, only to add 2 ½ pounds of bear-proof container to your load.

Since most light packs (less than 3 pounds) are 3000 cc’s or less, a bear canister takes up a huge portion of the precious little space. Strapping it onto the outside of the pack is an awkward alternative. No straps are included with purchase.

Perhaps the best way to enjoy some canister-free hiking is to share carrying duties with trail pals.

My regular backpacking/camping companions, Wild Bill and The Duke, are quite accommodating when it comes to sharing.

The Duke frequently carries our evening wine in his 14-ounce GoLite Gust Pack. Wild Bill hauls blocks of cheese and quantities of anti-oxidants (large dark chocolate candy bars) as his contribution. As a result, I carry the community pot and more often than not, the group bear canister. In theory anyway, sharing could lighten your load. One canister will work for three people on a two to three-day trip, but not much more.

After renting a big Garcia Bear Canister at 2 pounds, 9 ounces, on several trips, I decided to search for a smaller, lighter solution. I found it in the BearVault BV350 Solo Bear Resistant Food Canister (pictured at left), a large see-through plastic jar with screw-on lid and child-proof lock.

The BV350 Solo (4 days capacity, according to the manufacturer) weighs 1 pound, 15 ounces (on my wife’s food scale), 10 precious ounces less than the standard Garcia and nearly half the bulk.

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My friend Sue recently handed me a coupon for a new line of foods called Chef 5 Minute Meals Beef Stew (Pack of 6). So far, I haven’t been able to find them in the supermarket, but am intrigued by the ad that says they need no refrigeration and have a salt-water activated “oven” in the box that heats the meal in five minutes to 140 degrees.

Each meal weighs 9 ounces. I visited the company website for Chef 5 Minute Meals, where they provide some information on the product, but no nutritional information. Among the features: each package comes complete with oven, utensils, napkins, salt and pepper. The advertising says there are no preservatives added, yet the meals have a five-year shelf life.

There are six different dinners and a dessert available: chicken cacciatore, chicken pasta Parmesan, beef strogonoff, spaghetti with meatballs, vegetable lasagna, beef chili with beans, beef stew and chocolate dessert.

A company representative told me they are available at Albertsons, Publix, ACME, Long’s Drugs, Kash ‘n Karry, Brooks, Eckerd and Amazon.com.

That’s all I can tell you about Chef 5 Minute Meals until I get my hands on some. If any of you have experience with this product, please share your thoughts with us. I find this product particularly interesting because you could actually take a trip and not carry a stove or any fuel (assuming you don’t need you’re daily fix of oatmeal, coffee or tea). Potentially good news for a light backpacker seeking ways to reduce pack weight.

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