[pct-l] Canisters

Thu Jan 29 12:37:52 CST 2009

Our cooking consists of boiling 2+ cups of water for tea/hot chocolate in 
the morning. Marcia also uses a small amount of this boiled water to clean 
her contacts. At night we boil +/- 4 cups water for hot chocolate and to 
rehydrate pasta, instant rice, or other foods. After the boiling water is 
added to the foods we turn off the stove and cover our cooking pot with a 
fleece jacket.  We also use a wind screen wrapped loosely around the stove 
and pot. This allows us to conserve fuel. We are getting 5-7 days off each 
small (110 gram) canister that way. That's for 2 people. We would probably 
ship a large canister with our food for long stretches like the high sierra. 
The large canister would last for over 10 days. We would never carry more 
than 10 days food, so we would pick up our next canister with our food. 
Notice that you may be carrying out an empty canister for some/many legs.

Since we mailed all our food with canisters I can't tell you where you will 
or will not find canisters. My guess is that you will find them thru 
California. You may find them thru Oregon, but Washington's resupply towns 
are very small and probably won't have canisters.  We used a spreadsheet to 
calculate where to ship canisters (figuring a new canister every 5 days). We 
usually end up with to much fuel and either burn it off or ship some home.

My feeling is that you should decide which stove to use and not carry both. 
The hitch to the very light alcohol stoves is that they use heavier fuel. We 
think that we are lighter using canisters if the resupply leg is more than 
about 3 days.

See www.gottawalk.com/shipping_fuel for information on shipping fuel. Two 
updates I need to make to that page:
1) Esbit is Hexamethylenetetramine UN1328, ORM-D only,  No Air Mail, surface 
(Thanks Frank Dumville)
mail allowed.
2) You may want to consider shipping your fuel separately from your food. 
Fuel is shipped by ground (truck). It seems to be the last package on the 
truck because it can take a very long time to arrive. Allow 2-4 weeks lead 
time. A package with just food should arrive within a week. Note that 
delivery times vary greatly depending on distance shipped and remoteness of 
the destination.

Stoves, like other equipment, are a personal choice. I suggest you take your 
equipment out for a test hike. (Maybe this is not the right time for that in 
eastern Canada. But you could test your stove inside.)

Ken
www GottaWalk com

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Tamsin McMahon" <tamsinrm at yahoo.com>
To: <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 11:41 AM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Wood stoves

On that note, my friend and I have been discussing our stove options. We're 
thinking of bringing a fuel cannister stove as our main stove and an alcohol 
stove as backup. Neither of us has used an alcohol stove and being from the 
northeast (eastern Canada, actually) we don't do a lot of hiking in very 
arid desert-like environments as we'll find in SoCal. I'd rather not be one 
of those folks who starts a fire trying to make dinner.

We're splitting a lot of stuff to save weight, so we can probably split two 
stoves and fuel.

That being said, are there specific points where we will definitely have to 
mail ourselves fuel cannisters, or switch to the alcohol stove? I'm guessing 
it might be difficult to get a fuel resully through the Sierra mountains and 
probably points north.

Has anyone used fuel cannisters exclusively on a PCT thru-hike? Where are 
the places where a fuel mail drop is essential? Where are the points where 
we'd be better off just using the alcohol stove to save the hassle of 
getting off the trail to pick up a mail drop/buy fuel cannisters? I'm hoping 
we can just use the stove to boil water, rather than simmer a nice pot of 
stew or something, despite the fact that you can do this with a fuel stove.

----- Forwarded Message ----
From: Ken Powers <ken at gottawalk.com>
To: pct-l <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 1:47:47 PM
Subject: Re: [pct-l] Wood stoves

I want to add one more thing to for all stove users to think about. The
climate in the west quite dry. The Forest Service and BLM regularly declare
areas of high fire risk. In these high fire risk areas only stoves with a
shut-ff valve are allowed to be used. Cooking over open campfires, stick
stoves (like the Sierra Stove), and alcohol stoves (Pepsi can, cat can, etc)
is not allowed.

This is supposed to be a dry winter and spring for the PCT. This follows
disastrous fires along the PCT in the last several years. Please, use your
stoves responsibly.

Ken

----- Original Message ----- 
From: <enyapjr at comcast.net>
To: "pct-l" <pct-l at backcountry.net>
Sent: Monday, January 26, 2009 10:16 AM
Subject: [pct-l] Wood stoves

Okay, I can't stay out of this string regarding wood stoves without saying
something regarding the rules/regs...
First - a reminder - please remember you need a CA Campfire Permit; the PCT
Thru-Permit is NOT a campfire permit...
Secondly, it is your responsibility to know the rules, regulations, and
current restrictions for wherever you are on the PCT...

The use of wood stoves is 'illegal' in certain areas no matter what time of
year...
An example that should be obvious is at high altitude in the
subalpine/alpine zones - the fragile 'soil' needs
all those 'twigs' for the replenishment of the already low quantity of
nutrients in the soil...
Burning 'twigs' does NOT return 100% of the original nutrients to the
soil...
The PCT does stay 'high' for very long stretches and the subalpine zone
drops in elevation as one goes North...
I'm NOT saying don't use a wood stove, but rather use it only in appropriate
areas (elevations)...
The government agencies DO consider "tiny sticks" as "firewood", and a stick
stove as a 'campfire', also...

Yosemite has a limit of 9,600' for campfires: see
<http://www.nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/wildregs.htm>...

Please note the FAQ at the very bottom of the page:

> Can I use a Sierra stove above 9,600 feet?

> No, you may not use a Sierra stove (stick stove) above 9,600 feet
in elevation. The small

> twigs used to fuel Sierra stoves are just as valuable a part of the
> ecosystem as is the larger

> wood used in
traditional campfires. Regrowth at higher elevations is extremely slow
and the

> soil is low in nutrients. Removing this wood from the system
further slows growth.

Seki has different elevation restrictions in different regions of the parks
and has added many specific areas below
those 'standard' elevations of each region banning "campfires" (which would
include using wood stoves):
see <http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/kernfire.htm>;
also
<http://www.nps.gov/seki/planyourvisit/upload/2008FoxtailBulletin.pdf>...

Inyo NF: see
<http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/sitespecific.shtml>...

So what is "just twigs" to some folks is very similar to "just TP" to
others...
Do what's 'right' in ALL of your actions even if it takes a little extra
effort - if not for yourself and fellow hikers, then for the future
generations...

Happy trails!!!
Jim / PITA

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