Hello everyone!

I hope everyone had a great weekend!  For those of you who celebrate Easter happy Easter to you and your families!

I had the great pleasure of meeting and hiking the Tecumseh Trail this weekend with some folks that have spent several nights or several hundred miles on the AT and another that told me about a great hike that he made on the Knobstone Trail.  Look for more trips coming up around these locations and many more!

On our trip this weekend the subject of stoves and food came up.  Very briefly the idea of going stoveless came up but no one had ever tried it.

Deciding to look into it I ran across this article by Julie "Stopwatch" Urbanski a triple crown backpacker.  Of the many things that I took away from her articles the ideas that stood out were:

It can be done with variety and taste good

It is a very good idea when hiking in bear country

You can read more about her no stove backpacking here and even see a spread sheet of what she takes with her, where she buys it and how many calories that it provides here.

I had read that people hiking the AT frequently stopped and cooked dinner several miles before they planned to stop for the night.  There was also the idea that cooking food leaves scent on your clothes that bears could track.  Julie's comments seem to confirm all of this.  However I have no personal experience in serious bear country.  If you do I, and I'm sure many others, would like to hear your thoughts.  Please post comments on the discussion forum on this site or on our Facebook page.

At any rate the idea is intriguing.  I will probably try a few meals like that and see.

So speaking of food how about fresh juice on the trail.  Sometimes water is just so..boring.  I always bring dried fruit of some sort but the idea of making it into fresh juice had never occurred to me.  Here is an article that deals with just that.

And then there are feet.  Feet that burn, get wet, have blisters and a multitude of other things that can happen when hiking.  Here is an article that talks about various ways to help prevent the agony that occasionally happens.  One idea that he talks about I have found to be particularly true.  I don't wear waterproof shoes when backpacking.  I find that is much easier and my feet stay drier by wearing trail running shoes that drain quickly.  It does take a little trial and error finding the right socks to do this.  I find tha ta merino wool blend with polyester works well.

Have a question or comment about our group, gear or backpacking in general?  Post it in our discussion forum or on our Facebook­­­­­­­­­­ page.

I want to personally thank everyone who has contributed or bought SWAG from our store to help pay for the site.  Thank you!

See you  on the trail!
John

Indy Backpackers does not charge for our trips or charge annual dues.  If you have enjoyed a trip or benefited in any way we do appreciate a $5 donation or purchases from our SWAG store to help pay our meetup fees.
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