[pct-l] Hello & Alcohol Stoves

[Karen Borski <kborski@yahoo.com>]

Hello,

I've been lurking on the list a few weeks now and have enjoyed the
discussions.  I'm considering a PCT thru-hike in '00.  I just
completed the AT in '98.

Regarding the stove discussions, I wonder if anyone has experience
with the simple alcohol stove in cold weather.  I carried an MSR
Whisperlite on my thru-hike, but most of my hiking friends converted
to homeade alcohol stoves along the way (I didn't because of
laziness).  Their benefits include:  cooking in silence, boiling water
as fast a white gas stove, extremely lightweight (we usually
constructed them from aluminum cans), easy and cheap to
replace/repair, completely dependable as long as you have fuel. 
Drawbacks are possible problems locating fuel, denatured alcohol. 
Sometimes on the AT, my friends would be visiting hardware stores to
resupply on fuel whereas I could find white gas in more places.

I plan to carry an alcohol stove on the PCT unless they are adversely
affected by cold weather.  We had some 10 degree weather on the AT
occasionally with no performance degradation with the homeade stoves. 
Anyone with other experience or knowledge?

Thanks,
Karen




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