Campout
CAMPOUT
The Backpacker-Motorcyclist Looks at Lightweight Living
H.J. JEWETT
I’VE BEEN a backpacker for many years and can’t see the need for the usual 90-lb. assortment of equipment motorcycle campers usually carry. The heavy gear is all wrong, too bulky. A backpacker carries everything he wears, eats, sleeps in and cooks with, and all the shelter, fishing gear and camera equipment he requires. All this weighs 30-40 lb. A backpacker must eat well, and sleep well to keep up the pace. He hikes dry and sleeps dry. So why not apply this thinking to motorcycle camping?
The saddlebags get packed first, then the rack. I drape a piece of heavy, clear plastic sheeting, over seat and rack, to keep equipment waterproof. I go over my checklist, and I check fuel and oil. Everything is in order. With helmet and gloves on, I make one stab at the BMW’s kick starter and it purrs into life. At 2:45 a.m. I turn into the light suburban Los Angeles traffic of the hour. In a few minutes I’m skimming along the freeway to Lancaster at a steady 65 mph. The miles and hours pass quickly. I proceed up Highway 395 and stop at Bishop for breakfast. After breakfast I pick up a few fishing items, make a stop at a gas station, and I’m on my way again. The highway drops down and around Crowley Lake and I notice the mountains on my left still have snow along the peaks. At last I see the turn to Mammoth Lakes. I slow and swing onto the side road. Soon, I pass beautiful Twin Lakes among the pines and firs, and turn on a little dirt road that climbs steeply. Low gear is necessary. A quarter-mile up the road is the spot I have in mind, with a level sandy area, a huge pine at each end, Forest Service table, and a stream runningjust 6 ft. away.
First comes the tent. Outside aluminum poles make it easy to set up. I peg out the corners and fasten the tie cords with little rubber bungees. These take out most of the wind shock. (I hate waking up in the middle of the night with a tent draped around my ears.)
The sleeping bag and air mattress I toss inside to be unrolled and pumped up later. I set up my primus stoves and fold the wind screen around them. The coffee pot, filled from the stream, is put on to perk. Rummaging through the food packs, I select what I want for lunch and put it to soak.
Setting up my fly rod I step down to the little stream to see what manner of trout it might contain. By the time the coffee is ready I’m back in camp with five 10-in. eastern brook trout. I clean them and hang them in a shady spot. After lunch of rich potato soup, toast and coffee, I fire up the bike and drive to the end of the narrow dirt road for some white water fishing where the stream flows through a meadow. Back at the camp, I pump up the air mattress, unroll the sleeping bag and put the rest of the camp in order. Supper that evening is trout, creamed carrots, hash brown potatoes, toast and coffee. As it’s getting dark fast, I pump up the Coleman lantern for light to wash dishes by. I gather an armful of down wood and start a fire, but the cold begins to creep in. At 9000 ft. neither parka nor coffee does much to drive the cold away. From experience I know the best place to keep warm is in the sleeping bag.
I douse the fire and turn out the Coleman. A few minutes later I’m deep in the warm bag. For a few minutes I listen to the wind in the pines, and that’s all I remember.
Quarreling chipmunks wake me the next morning. The little monsters have chewed a hole in one of the food packs and are arguing over the spoils.
After dressing, a wash in the icy stream and breakfast, I fire up the BMW for a morning of fishing the many lakes in the area. The rest of the week is spent in several all-day runs to Yosemite over the 9941 -ft. Tioga Pass; to the Tuolumne Meadows; to June, Gull and Silver Lakes; and across beautiful, lonely Long Valley to Benton.
At the end of the week I pack up, a 15-min. job, and head south to Lone Pine. In a small campground a mile or so out of town I spend the remainder of my vacation, fishing.
What went along on this trip? What does it weigh and what does it cost?
First necessity is a motorcycle, one big enough to carry equipment and, possibly, another passenger at highway speeds. Next requirements are a rack and a pair of saddlebags, or panniers to carry the camping gear. It’s better to have the saddlebags or panniers too large than too small.
The list that follows is my basic kit. All that’s needed is addition of food and necessary clothing.
Folding camp seat. Without this 12-oz. item one is either sitting on the ground or on a rock, in dampness, pine pitch or ants, and that rock is never where it should be.
Sleeping bag. This is the most important item and generally is the most expensive. A down bag with baffled seams and overlapping tubes is best, lightest and warmest. Synthetic fiber bags are good, if the better makes are bought. In any bag, watch for shoulder and hip room. Some bags are flared out at the lower end to provide more foot room. The length should be at least 6 in. longer than the sleeper is tall. Full length zippers permit zipping two bags together to make one double bag. Good sleeping bags will vary in price from $60 to $125. Buy a stuffing bag. Don’t roll that bag, stuff it. It’s quicker and a lot easier on the bag. My present bag is a synthetic fiber model that weighs 4 lb. and cost $38.
Air mattress. This item is not absolutely necessary, but it’s nice to have along, especially if the ground is wet or rocky. There are many makes on the market in half-, three-quarter and fulllength, costing from $ 10 to $ 15. Mine is a Li-Lo, four-tube, full-length mattress.
Coffee pot. This one is a perk type. Use only instant coffee, for convenience and speed. My pot cost $2.50 and weighs 11 oz.
Fuel and oil cans (3). Fuel is necessary for the primus stove and Coleman lantern. Steel cans, not aluminum or plastic, 9.5 in tall, 4 in. wide and 1.75 in. thick are best and hold 1 qt. each. Being flat, they stow more easily than the round type and weigh 2.25 lb. filled. These tins take a beating without leaking; they have been dropped, run over and shot by some idiot with a BB gun and still won’t leak. They have screened fillers and pouring spouts and cost $2.90 each. The same type of tin, but 7.5 in. tall contains engine oil for the bike. The cost was $2.50. The weight, full, is under 2 lb.
SVEA primus stoves (2). Light (1 lb., 3 oz., each), and small (5 in., by 3.5 in. in diameter), these stoves are economical, using 0.3 pt. of white gasoline per hour. And, they’re temperamental. The pahgives me the same cooking area and efficiency as a two-burner Coleman gasoline stove that weighs from 12 tb 14 lb. These little SVEA gems cost about $8.50 each. Lighting one of these things can be as simple as lighting a match. They have no pressure pumps, so, to get fuel to the burner, the base is held between the palms. This warms the fuel, or expands the ah, to force fuel out of the burner into a cup just below. This is lighted and the heat builds up enough pressure to start a steady flow. One burner will boil a quart of water in nothing flat once lighted. They are very little trouble, once this starting operation is learned; I wouldn’t be without mine.
Plastic double-walled cup. The double-wall keeps drinks hot longer, and the removable handle makes for easy storage; cost is 75 cents and weight, about 5 oz.
Hand axe. This is used mainly for driving tent pegs or hammering exhaust flanges tight. An expensive luxury at $5.50, an axe is not really necessary, but at times is convenient. It weighs 1.75 lb.
Single-mantel Coleman lantern. This is the next best thing to an electric light and, used with care, it can heat the tent. It beats a flashlight when setting up camp in the middle of the night. Cost is $11; weight, 3.5 lb.
Plastic bag with velcro closure. This is to hold all the little items that otherwise float around the bottom of the saddlebag—tent pegs, tent cord, wrenches, spare plugs and spare mantles. It costs nothing and weighs, loaded, about 3 lb.
Two-man tent. The things to look for in a tent are light weight, a waterproof floor that extends up the sides several inches, and one that is relatively easy to set up. Tents, of course, come in all sizes and weights. Prices run from $35 to whatever one wants to pay. A 6-by-8-by-5-ft., 6.5-lb. model costs $125. This includes a rain fly that covers the whole tent.
Hunting knife. This is also used for a dinner knife. Why carry two?
Wind screen. The primus stoves work
best when shielded from the wind. A little evening homework can produce one using three 0.020-in. aluminum sheets, and some dime store hinges. It should open to 7 by 30 in. It should be big enough to use with both stoves. Weight is about 6 oz.
A 7by 7-in. 0.070 aluminum sheet. This is used for making toast over the primus. With a little practice it works well. Cost and weight are nothing.
Cooking kit. This is comprised of three nesting pots with a frying pan lid. This kit weighs 2 lb. and cost $4. There are many different kinds on the market. Look for an 8-in. diameter set with non-removable handles or bails. The Tourist Cooker is a good set, 8 by 5 in., 1 lb. 10 oz.
That’s my basic kit. I’ve used it for several years and have found nothing that should be added and a few things that could be left behind. Total weight is 28 lb. including fuel for the primus and lantern.
Unless the trip is only for a day or so, or plans are to eat all meals in cafes, don’t consider anything except dehydrated foods.
One gets tired of fried food all the time, so, take along a roll of aluminum foil. I unroll mine and fold it for easy packing. Almost any food that can be fried or boiled can be baked in the foil.
Before using new pots and pans, coat the bottoms with old yellow laundry soap. Black soot from the open fire is difficult to clean, but the soap comes off easily, taking the soot along with it. Better yet, leave the black on. Black surfaces absorb heat; shiny surfaces reflect it.
Take plenty of plastic bags, 8 by 12 in. Use them for storing food, clothing and special equipment such as cameras. Rubber bands easily close these bags.
When choosing a campsite, remember that winds blow up canyons during the day and down them at night, and never set up camp at the bottom of a canyon or wash. A sudden storm miles back in the mountains could sluce the camp right out of this world. Leave the camp clean. It’s no trouble to put trash in a receptacle. A good rule to remember is, “Leave nothing but footprints; take nothing but pictures.”
Be sure the heavy load on the motorcycle rack does not obscure the taillight. As a safety precaution, mount an extra light on each saddlebag. A tire pump should be included along with a tire repair kit.
Keep the weight of your load as low and as far forward as possible (Matter of Moment, CW, Sept. ’68). Weight too far aft or too high can drastically upset steering geometry.
Give it a try ; a few weekend campouts will show what’s needed for more extensive trips. It’s fun and an inexpensive way to travel. That BMW R-60 will be along the road somewhere. Stop in for a hot cup of (instant) coffee. [Ö]
