I am certainly not an expert, but I have spent my fair time in the woods. I know there is always a careful balance between carrying extra weight for something you don’t use and finding yourself in an emergency and really wishing you had something that would help people find you.

Here is a list of several things to consider:

1. Create a clear plan on where you will start and end, with a time line for the trip. Leave a copy with people outside your hiking group.
2. Everyone carries a map and compass with the trail marked on it, and clearly showing where the water located and where are you going to camp.
3. Everyone carries a whistle and at least one other signal device.
4. Everyone in your group should have the contact numbers for all the people on the team and their designated emergency contacts.
5. Everyone carries identification in more than one place.
6. Medical conditions that could cause complications on the trail should be shared with your group.

I want to let you know that Bulgur wheat is a very fast and easy trail food.  Cooking is a major advantage over pasta or rice, as it only requires that you pour 2.5 cups of boiling water on 1 cup of bulgur wheat and allow to soak for 30 minutes.  There is no simmer time, so it frees you up to do other things during the soak.  It's like freezer bag cooking without the dehydration time.

Shug and Rylan are still talking about stoves. Shug has a friend who sent him a box of camping stoves to use in his videos. Alcohol and wood stoves are the topic as they discuss the Mini Bull and the Bush buddy. The warmth, crackle and ambiance of a fire on a camping trip is always welcome...

December 27, 2009

OK, hang on for a little photo tour of Travis and me climbing up to the Pilchuck lookout tower: