In the end, I settled on my ExPed Thunder 70 which weighs in at 1.6kg. I could have taken the even lighter ExPed Lightning 60, but I don't like its rolltop (I like a conventional lid pocket). Or the very light (900g) Impact Leisure 40L, but I didn't trust that 40L would be enough. Or maybe the Kathmandu Vardo 75L, but it is a sturdy pack that weighs in a full kg heavier than the ExPed Thunder. It offers better support though, but I wouldn't really need that for a mere 17kg load (hah!).

The ExPed Thunder is supposed to be weatherproof. Nope, it's not. Just as well, I've learned a thing or two over the decades and put everything in dry bags, or I would have had soggy clothes, sleeping bag, food etc.

Backpack envy

Gordon's Z-Pack fared better in the waterproof stakes and is even lighter than the ExPed Thunder. Not sure what model he has, but I like the look of their Arc Air Robic 60L, even if it doesn't have a conventional pocketed lid. Only 700-ish grams! A full 1 kilo off my already lightweight ExPed! Wow. You can't pay for that... Actually you have to pay for that. The less you buy, the more it costs, when talking about hiking gear.

Next time, I will consider my 900g Impact Leisure 40L pack. It would have been big enough in retrospect, and limited capacity might have dissuaded me from taking too much clothing... And despite its low weight, I bought it at a bargain price of $80 from Anaconda long ago but have never used it much. Never quite trusted it. It seemed too good to be true. Unknown minor brand and

Hmmm, can I call Uber from here? Pack is too heavy

63

What about cooking? Basically, heating water was all we needed and not for warmth or anything. Choices for us were gas or shellite, and although better than gas in the cold and snow, shellite wasn't really necessary in this case. It is also slightly heavier and more fiddly. And riskier (says he who once almost burnt down New Federation Hut due to a cracked fuel line). Gordon has a lovely gas stove like this one from FireMaple, Blade 2 Titanium Backpacking Stove, though his is not made from titanium. It has the gas connected to the burner via a hose, which makes it lower, more

Don't stint on nourishing food. If it's too heavy, eat faster!

64 | Bushwalk December 2024

stable and easier to keep out of the wind, unlike my Pocket Rocket that sits up on the gas cannister. We took both, for redundancy and because I like to boil up water for coffee in the morning whilst the other burner is busy making porridge.

It's a gas, man

I found a great source of gas at K-Mart where they sell 230g cannisters for $4, which sell for $12 dollars in dedicated camping stores (cough, ripoff). These are Korean made and they worked fine. We worked out that 3 of the 230g cans would do us for the 12 days, with plenty of reserve, so we carried one each and had one in the drop barrel. Previous measurements showed that 1x230g can would do the 2 of us for 5 days, based on about 1.5 litres of boiled water per person per day. I.e. say four 250ml cups of coffee/soup/tea, 1/2 cup for porridge and one cup for freeze-dry meal per person, plus maybe a 1/2 cup per person for dessert. Be aware that the 230g is the NETT weight, i.e. just the weight of the gas. The can weighs about 110g empty. So at about 15g of fuel to boil one liter, you get about 15 boiled liters of water from a cannister. Half or even a third of that if it is constantly windy or cold. Half that again if you are going to be melting snow for water. Altitude throws a spanner in the works, too. Water boils sooner but doesn't get as hot, so food can take longer to cook. Do note that unless it is for reasons of killing pathogens, you may not need to actually boil the water. i.e. for coffee or soup.

I think that we pretty much emptied one can and the other two were probably left about half full each at the end of the trip, so with care (and me drinking less coffee), we could have done it with 2. However, we were not going to give up the hot soup at the end of the day, no way! And I get grumpy if I miss my coffee in the morning…

Put that fire out!

Keep water handy to put out any grass fires your stove might cause. Cook on something less flammable than old dry grass. I used my soggy gaiters spread out on more than one occasion. Cooking in the rain is challenging, and on a couple of nights we cooked under the tent fly in a vestibule. This is where the shellite stoves would have been at a disadvantage as they can easily flare when first lit, but the gas is better behaved. Ensure good ventilation in this case, and be vigilant and wary of things like an unsecured tent flap dropping onto the stove. This almost happened to me when a wet fly, folded back and held just by water tension, suddenly decided to flop down. Sorry Gordon... Also, be careful of spilling the hot water on yourself when cooking, especially in cramped conditions, on uneven ground, or when passing around the hot soup. In case that happens, pour lots of cold water on the burn as soon as possible. Soak it in the creek for 10 minutes if possible. Don't do what I have seen some YouTube videoers do and cook inside the tent itself. It's too easy to tip it over and burn a hole in your floor. Or unthinkingly put down the hot pot and burn a hole in the floor. Be careful of carbon-dioxide and monoxide build up, too. Make sure of your ventilation. This is very important in snow caves, but also in tents.

Campfires? Despise them. They take too much work when I'd rather be sleeping. The only purpose would be to dry stuff out and that means after or during rain, and then it is even harder to start the damn things. Considered it a bit but never used one. I saw plenty of car-campers that appeared to believe that you absolutely had to have a roaring great fire going in the middle of a stinking hot day in order to sit around drinking

65

I wondered if I should take a machete? Just for slashing blackberries, not cutting down forests for firewood. The Gerber Gator or Bolo from Anaconda looked good, though way too heavy at 700g to 1kg. Maybe an Imacasa 18 Inch Pata de Cuche (300g!). In the end, I decided not to take one. It would have been useful though. A Jedi light-sabre even more so...

Water

Water is obviously important. You need a lot of it every day. Like 2 or 3 litres per person and even more when it is hot. There is no easy way you can carry enough to meet your needs for multiple days, so you have to resupply frequently. Take some water-purifying tablets, a UV-steriliser, or a good filter (maybe a pump one. I found the squeeze one I tried was much too slow) to prevent infection from dodgy water. Get your water from running sources, well upstream of any campers. And boil, filter, UV-sterilise or add appropriate purifying potions to it if in an area with livestock or ferals like deer, brumbies or pigs. Treat still water (i.e. not running) with even more caution.

One of my most prized bits of camping gear is a simple water bag I made about 40 years ago. The recipe goes like this:

Buy a cheap cardboard cask of wine with a bladder in it. A nice Moscato perhaps, if you like it sweet. 3 or 4 litres ought to do. One with a valve that pops off. This might

be hard to determine at first and some experimentation might be called for.

Drink wine. Check on valve popping off ability. Repeat until successful.

When hangover subsides and you are feeling better, take bladder out of cardboard box and rinse it out.

Get an appropriately sized canvas gear bag, with a drawstring, for the bladder to go into, cut a small hole down the bottom for the valve to poke out of.

Tie a string to the valve cap so that you don't drop it in the creek when filling the bladder. Make sure the hole you put in it for the string doesn't compromise water-tightness, otherwise go back to step one.

Put a handle made from a bit of plastic tubing on the rope of the bag because the thin rope will hurt your hand when carrying the full bag back to camp from hundreds of metres away.

Water bag

66 | Bushwalk December 2024

This article was originally a part of a larger article that you can find on Terry’s blog Outdoors OZ.

The snake that wouldn't run away

68 | Bushwalk December 2024