My last journey, which was cut short due to weather, had me carrying far too much crap that I never looked at. I decided when departing on my s24o to strip down my pack carrying only the stuff I’ve used. The stuff I never use, but carry, was left behind (everything except for survival stuff i.e. magnesium flint stick, first-aid pack, water purification tablets, etc.). To see my pack-list head on over here.

One of the things I’ve been fooling around with on my last couple of adventures is, how to carry water. I’ve always used a Camelbak for hydration. But riding without a pack on my back is much more pleasant than with. That said, I’ve yet to figure out a way to carry enough water to keep me comfortable without my Camelbak. 

On my last journey, I decided to carry a stainless steel sixty-four ounce Klean Kanteen. In theory the canteen was perfect to bring along. It carried enough water to keep me happy, along with my two 20 ounce water bottles. In actual use however, the canteen was hard to strap down, it was very heavy when filled, and the stainless steel bottle was easily dented when dropped. I feared dropping the Klean Kanteen on asphalt dreading it might puncture.

So for my latest overnighter, I picked up a forty-eight ounce Nalgene to supplement my thirty-two ounce Nalgene. I use the thirty-two ounce Nalgene with my MSR Miniworks. I’ve decided to go back to the Nalgene bottles because of their indestructibility. The theory behind the Klean Kanteens was genius. A water bottle which you could boil water inside of while in the bush, if you needed to. But in practice, the stainless steel was just too weak. Maybe it was the size I was carrying though. That said, stainless steel still has plenty of good uses.

Finding good cookware in the backcountry is always a long drawn out process. I’ve used a few products during my adventures that I’ve never been satisfied with. I’ve used the basic Walmart special mess kit, which is nothing more than a toy. I’ve used expensive aluminum non-stick pots from MSR and GSI both. I’ve never adventured into titanium though, only because I cook real food rather than dehydrated pouched meals.

My latest purchase has me pleasantly surprised. After using my GSI Dualist to the point of scratching the non-stick coating, while hating its narrow and deep size, I decided that it was time to search long and hard for a replacement. My back country culinary interests always keep me searching for better more useful pots. This is because I’m the guy cooking up chili, red lentil curry, black beans and rice, or hobo stew a la carte, all from scratch. So my searches always had me coming back to the 1.6 liter MSR Stowaway pot. This thing is stainless steel. It latches to itself extremely tight, and packs away full with kit stored inside. The more you pack inside the pot, the more useful it becomes. And this pot is sturdy. You can pound a grizzly bear in face with it defending your camp, and after the bear retreats you can continue cooking your dinner with this pot. You can pack it full of supplies and then toss if off a cliff face, hike down to fetch it, open it up, and cook dinner – it’s that sturdy.

My only fear was the fact that burning my food to the bottom would be a problem. I had to remind myself that I’ve been cooking for years with aluminum cookware. This would be a step up from the thin aluminum I’ve been previously using. And, this pot nests nicely on top of my MSR Dragonfly. It’s almost like they were made for one another. They probably were due to the fact that both products are made by MSR. Because of this, it didn’t take long for me to cook up my chili in a proper simmer (while on my s240o), for the first time ever. After dinner I rapidly boiled up some water for tea. Everything was fantastic. I can’t wait to pull this pot out on the summit of Windigo Pass cooking up some red lentil curry with coconut milk.

While I’m cooking, I like to jam out to some fantastic tunes using my X-Mini Capsule speaker paired with my iPod Nano. If you haven’t heard an X-Mini – the sound is actually fairly good, and at only forty bucks – what’s not to like. Tunes in the bush. I keep everything charged with my Solio. Which I’m not very happy with. But it was a cheap battery back-up. 

Cookware, water portability, tunes, tent, sleeping roll, some food, and a change of clothes, all strapped on to Black Magic. I’m ready to head to Crater Lake via forest service roads with a much lighter load. I’ve tested out the Mondials, and they’re ready for the challenge. I need to complete this tour, bad weather or not. I need an adventure before my next challenge – finally earning my college degree.

Oh, and should anything life threatening happen, this is my lifeline, a Personal Locator Beacon.