[pct-l] IDEAS on what stove to use when cooking for 4

[Diane Soini of Santa Barbara Hikes]

Well, first of all, being Trailhacker's significant other, I always  
thought we brought our own gear because we like to play with our own  
toys. We've sometimes even brought our own tents. I think that was  
because Trailhacker wanted to try out the tent he planned to solo in  
later.

Anyway, I thought self-sufficiency was one of the essential rules of  
going out into the wilderness. Trailhacker likes to get rides in  
helicopters or fire trucks, so if we're somewhere without cell  
service, it's probably a good idea I have enough gear to get me to  
some place where I can call his ride should he be lying in a canyon  
or clinging to Apache Peak or something. I like to get mad at being  
lost and plow forward into an abyss of tangled brush, leaving him  
behind. Probably someday I'll find myself completely lost without him  
and he'll need to call a chopper for me after calmly finding his way  
with his GPS. We all have our quirks, I guess.

It's not really a cultural thing at all for husbands and wives to  
have all separate gear. Many do share but I think it's probably safer  
to at least have shelter and food for each of you should you become  
separated.

Diane

On May 4, 2011, at 10:00 AM, pct-l-request at backcountry.net wrote:

> Okay -- apparently there's a cultural thing I'm missing about this  
> endeavor
> ... new to me ... if I'm reading some of the inferences right ...  
> so on the
> PCT wives & husbands are recommended to bring their own gear in  
> case one
> wants to hike his/her own hike, split up for awhile, or one or the  
> other
> takes a zero day while the other hikes on  ... on the PCT it's not
> unexpected or unusual for old couples who've been together for 20  
> years to
> split up for part of the trail even though they've set out to do this
> together ... and for fathers and sons to split up and leave one  
> behind when
> ill while the other hikes on ... and for a mother to leave her  
> daughter,
> say, at Warner Springs while Mom hikes on ...
>
> I'm cool with what others choose to do ... and I'm really cool about
> learning from others' experiences ... so this new culture is one  
> I'm paying
> attention to. It's a bit of a culture shock, I'll grant. But I'm  
> paying
> attention.
>
> Wow.
>
> ~Charles Doersch
>
> On Wed, May 4, 2011 at 10:44 AM, <abiegen at cox.net> wrote:
>
>> Steeleye wrote:
>>
>>> I don't expect this is anything you, or your group, wants to hear  
>>> but I
>>> think the best plan is for everyone to carry their own full array of
>>> ultra-lite gear.  It is very difficult for even two committed  
>>> people to
>>> remain in close association for 4-5 months on the trail, and the
>> likelihood
>>> of four making the trip would be very slim.
>>
>> I have to ditto what Steeleye says. Even the Three Stooges weren't  
>> always
>> the same stooges. And there were only three of them. Ok, sometimes  
>> four.
>>
>> With one person, if you get tired and need to take a zero you do  
>> it. If you
>> are slightly injured you just walk a little slower and maybe a  
>> shorter
>> distance that day. With a couple, the chance for one of you to get  
>> tired or
>> injured is twice as likely and that effects the other person. It  
>> goes up
>> exponentially with the number in the group. If the group splits up  
>> for a
>> couple of days, who gets the stove?
>>
>> I hike all the time with Piper but almost always we each have our  
>> own set
>> of gear. We do almost always share the tent since it is two pounds  
>> but
>> everything else is doubled. Sounds inefficient but we feel that  
>> each person
>> should be able to continue on if the other has to stop or quit for  
>> some
>> reason.
>>
>> TrailHacker
>>
>> "When my feet hurt, I can't think straight"
>> Abraham Lincoln