Chris Townsend

by The Backpacker's Handbook - 3rd Ed

  For a while I used my lantern with a thermoplastic insert called a Candoil that burns lamp oil via a cotton wick. It can also burn kerosene, though it’s very smoky. The Northern Lights Candoil insert weighs 3.5 ounces. It’s not as bright as a candle, and the wick has to be adjusted to just the right length to minimize smoking and maximize light output, which is a little fiddly and can take time. The Candoil holds about 1.7 fluid ounces of lamp oil and burns ten to twelve hours. Northern Lights also makes the Ultra Light, an oil-burning lantern that weighs 5.5 ounces and burns for seventeen hours on one fill. Even with lamp oil, I always ended up with greasy fingers after using the Candoil, the main reason I stopped using it.

  An interesting new twist is the UCO Duo, which has an LED light in the base so you can use the lantern as a flashlight. You can also remove the LED and attach it to a headband. The batteries are said to last forty hours. The base doesn’t add any extra weight, since it replaces the normal one. The LED base can be bought separately if you want to fit one to your lantern.

  White-Gas, Kerosene, and Cartridge Lanterns

  Lanterns that run off butane-propane cartridges are fine for base camps and for backpacking in winter when a bright light and a little warmth can be welcome. They emit a constant hiss when lit, which can be irritating, though I soon got used to it. They use far less gas than stoves, since the heat output is much less, and will run well on almost empty cartridges that will barely power a stove.

  Most lanterns have glass globes that surround and disperse the light from a glowing, lacelike mantle, which in turn surrounds a jet. Both the globe and the mantle are fragile, and the lantern must be protected in the pack.

  Many lanterns are quite heavy, but a few are light enough for backpacking. I’ve had a Coleman Peak 1 Micro Lantern for many years and have used it often on winter trips. It weighs 7 ounces and has protective lightweight steel bars around the globe. The output is a bright 75 to 80 watts. It runs off standard resealable cartridges. More recently I’ve tried Primus’s similar EasyLight lantern, which weighs 7.5 ounces and also runs off standard cartridges. The EasyLight has electronic Piezo ignition, which does make lighting it much easier, since you don’t have to remove the top and risk burning your fingers when you insert a match. Although I don’t like Piezo ignitions with stoves, in lanterns they seem much more durable, since they’re protected inside the globe. The 7-ounce Campingaz Lumostar C270 lantern runs off CV cartridges, which could be useful in places where these are sold rather than standard ones. Coleman makes a lantern—the 12-ounce Exponent—that runs off Powermax fuel (see pages 299–300). It doesn’t use the cartridges, though. Instead it has a fuel tank that is filled from a Powermax cartridge. Brunton also make a refillable lantern, the strangely named Glorb, that weighs 8 ounces and runs off butane lighter fluid. The Glorb has Piezo ignition, and the light output can be varied for a dimmer or brighter light. The maximum output is 60 watts.

  The best-looking lantern for backpacking however is the Primus Micron. This lantern weighs just 4.4 ounces and has stainless steel mesh instead of a breakable glass globe. The Micron lantern uses the same system as the Micron stove, including the Piezo lighter, and is meant to be very fuel efficient. It’s also said to be quieter than other cartridge lanterns. Output is 70 watts. I’m looking forward to trying one.

  White-gas and kerosene lanterns are heavier; at 30 ounces, the Coleman Peak 1 Liquid Fuel Lantern is one of the lightest. I wouldn’t bother with one for backpacking.

  Lightsticks

  Lightsticks are thin plastic tubes that when bent break an internal glass capsule, allowing two nontoxic chemicals to mix and produce a pale greenish light. To me they seem no more than a curiosity (at least for backpacking). I’ve never carried one. If you want an emergency light a tiny LED one would be the best choice.

  HEALTH AND BODY CARE

  First Aid

  Basic first-aid knowledge is essential for hikers, since it may be some time before help arrives if there’s an accident. Taking a Red Cross, YMCA, or similar first-aid course is a good idea. Many outdoor schools also offer courses in wilderness first aid. There are many books on the subject, too. Medicine for Mountaineering, edited by James Wilkerson, is the standard work. It’s comprehensive and good for home reference, but at 26.5 ounces it’s rather heavy for carrying in the pack. More portable at 6.5 and 7 ounces are Paul Gill’s Wilderness First Aid and William Forgey’s Basic Essentials: Wilderness First Aid. Even lighter at 4 ounces and the only first-aid book I’ve ever actually carried is Fred Darvill’s clear and concise Mountaineering Medicine. Be forewarned: a close study of these texts may convince you that you’re lucky to have survived the dangers of wilderness travel and that you’d better not go back again! (The antidote to this is a glance through the statistics on accidents that occur in the home and on the road—driving to the wilderness is likely to be far more hazardous than anything you do in it.)

  First-aid basics consist of knowledge, skill, and a few medical supplies. The last are only of use if you have the first two. There are many packaged firstaid kits. Some are very good, some are pretty poor. Outdoor Research, Adventure Medical, and REI are among those that offer good ones. But the problem with even the best ones is that they usually contain items I don’t feel are necessary, while items I consider essential are absent. Putting together a kit from the shelves of the local drugstore, as I do, means you get exactly what you want. It also means you know what you’ve got and are likely to know how to use it. I’ve been surprised at how many people with packaged kits don’t know what’s in them, let alone how to use everything.

  Every book on wilderness medicine and backpacking features a different list of what a first-aid kit should contain. Many years ago I carried a fairly comprehensive kit (weighing a pound), but in keeping with cutting weight wherever possible, I now take it only when I’m venturing into remote areas where help could be many days away. The total weight has dwindled to 8 to 10 ounces, too.

  Mostly I carry a small kit weighing 4 to 5 ounces. The contents vary, but it usually contains:

  first-aid information leaflet

  1 6-inch-wide elastic or crepe bandage for knee and ankle sprains

  4 2nd Skin Blister Pads or other gel dressings

  roll of 1-inch tape for holding dressings in place

  2 2-by-2-inch nonadhesive absorbent dressings for burns

  2 butterfly closures

  3 or 4 antiseptic wipes for cleaning wounds and blisters

  12 assorted adhesive bandages for cuts

  10 foil-wrapped painkillers—ibuprofen or aspirin

  2 safety pins for fastening slings and bandages

  I keep the kit in a small zippered nylon case marked with a large white cross and the words First Aid. Having your first-aid kit clearly identifiable is important in case someone else has to rummage through your pack for it. There are no scissors or tweezers in the kit because I have these on my knife and no large bandages because a bandanna or torn piece of clothing could be used. Other items can be used for first aid too—needles and thread, duct tape, moist wipes, even pack frames, foam pads, or tent poles for splints.

  For a larger kit I usually add the following:

  1 4-by-6-inch sterile dressing for major bleeding

  2 sterile lint dressings for severe bleeding

  1 7-inch elastic net to hold a dressing on a head wound

  extra antiseptic wipes

  4 butterfly closures

  4 2nd Skin Blister Pads or other gel dressings

  triangular bandage for arm fracture or shoulder dislocation

  4 safety pins

  1 4-by-4-inch sterile nonadhesive dressing for burns

  20 extra painkillers

  On long walks in remote country I also carry prescription antibiotics in case of illness or infection and prescription painkillers—ask your doctor about this. If you need personal medication, it will have to be added to the kit as well, of course. Such medicines don’t last forever, though—be aware of expira
tion dates.

  Groups need to carry larger, more comprehensive kits. The one I take when I’m leading ski tours weighs 24 ounces. A plastic food storage container keeps a large first-aid kit from being crushed. Nylon pouches are lighter, however, and fine for the smaller kits.

  Tooth Care

  It’s wise to have a dental checkup immediately before a long trip. I can tell you from painful experience that a lost filling or an abscess is to be avoided if at all possible. If your teeth, like mine, are as much metal as enamel, I suggest carrying temporary filling materials such as Dentemp or Cavit. If you’re really concerned about tooth problems, you could take an emergency repair kit such as the Adventure Medical Dental Medic kit. This comes in a waterproof case and contains a tube of temporary cavity filling material, a wax stick for filling cavities or stabilizing loose teeth, anesthetic gel for pain, a black tea bag for relief of dental pain and bleeding, 12 yards of dental floss, 3 toothpicks, 5 gauze pellets, 5 gauze rolls, and an instruction sheet for various dental emergencies.

  Wash Kit

  It’s surprising how long you can go without washing your hair or body; I managed twenty-three days in the High Sierra on the Pacific Crest Trail. When every drop of water you use has to be produced laboriously by melting snow, washing—except for your hands—becomes unimportant, though I did occasionally rub my face and armpits with snow. Still, a minimum of cleanliness is necessary. In particular, you should always wash your hands after going to the toilet and before handling food. I usually manage to rinse my face most days as well. When it’s cold, I save more thorough washing for when I get home or, on long trips, for a shower in a motel or campground. In hot weather I wash more often, if only to stay cool. Large water containers hung from trees make good showers—if you leave them in the sun for a few hours beforehand, the water is surprisingly warm.

  Proper hand washing is essential in a group to avoid spreading stomach bugs, and it’s wise for solo hikers as well. There are several phosphate free, biodegradable soaps, including Coghlan’s Plus 50 Sportsman’s Soap in small squeeze tubes weighing an ounce, Campsuds in 2- and 4-ounce plastic bottles, Mountain Suds Backpacking Soap in 2-ounce bottles, and Dr Bronner’s Soap (various scents) in 4-ounce plastic bottles. Even these soaps can pollute water sources, however, so use a minimum amount and dispose of washing water on gravel or rock at least 200 feet from any lake or stream. I prefer moist wipes, which I drop in my garbage bag after use, or hand-sanitizer gel; neither requires any water. On long trips I’ve carried a pack of fifty wipes. Mostly, though, I decant two or three a day into a Ziploc bag. Most recently I’ve been carrying antibacterial Atwater Carey Hand Sanitizer, which comes in 2-ounce plastic bottles, since this leaves no residue or trash to carry out. The main ingredient is ethyl alcohol, so once you’ve rubbed some on your hands it evaporates very quickly, leaving your hands feeling fresh. Whether I carry sanitizer or wipes, they go in the plastic bag with my toilet paper to remind me to use them immediately after defecating.

  If you want to do more than wash your hands or face, No-Rinse Bathing Wipes are larger than standard ones. They can be useful for removing dirt and sweat at the end of a trip so you don’t smell too bad on the journey home or in that first restaurant. No-Rinse also makes 2- and 8-ounce bottles of No-Rinse Shampoo and Body Wash that could be used for the same purpose.

  I don’t carry a cotton washcloth or towel; both are heavy and slow to dry. A bandanna does for the former, a piece of clothing for the latter. Fleece jackets make particularly good towels. If you don’t fancy using clothing to dry yourself, there are small, light pack towels. Cascade Designs’ Packtowl is made from a highly absorbent viscose material and comes in several sizes. The smallest 10-by-30-inch size weighs 1.5 ounces, the extra-large 30-by-50-inch weighs 7.5 ounces. The Packtowl works surprisingly well. I’ve tried the small one, which is fine for hands and face, and it soaks up masses of water—nine times its own weight, according to Cascade Designs—most of which can be wrung out so you don’t have to carry it. Tie it on the back of the pack, and the Packtowl dries quickly.

  My current wash kit consists of a small toothbrush (without the handle removed), a very small tube of toothpaste (I collect those often provided on long-distance flights, or you can decant some into a tiny plastic bottle), moist wipes, and a comb. The kit weighs about 2 ounces in its Ziploc bag. Like soap, toothpaste should be deposited a long way from water. You can get biodegradable toothpaste, but toothpaste isn’t essential anyway; if I run out I do without. I carry a comb so I can look somewhat presentable in towns on long hikes. If I won’t be passing through any towns I leave the comb in my car or with any clean clothes I’ve left to be picked up after the hike.

  I don’t shave, so I don’t carry a razor. Those who do shave carry disposable razors—and usually curse them and the difficulty of shaving in the wilds—or else a tiny battery-powered shaver, such as Braun’s Pocket Twist, which runs on two AA batteries.

  Biting and Stinging Insects and Arachnids

  If you’re unprepared, swarms of biting insects—mosquitoes, black flies, no-see-ums—can drive you crazy in certain areas during the summer. Bites can itch maddeningly for hours, even days. I’ve yet to meet anyone immune to insect bites, though sensitivity varies and some people suffer much more than others. Biting insects are usually found in damp, shady areas. Camping in dry, breezy places is one way to minimize insect problems, though it’s often not possible. Insects are usually less evident when you’re walking, but the moment you stop anywhere sheltered they’re likely to appear. The increase in West Nile virus, spread by mosquitoes, makes prevention important. West Nile virus affects the central nervous system and can be serious.

  Insect repellent and clothing are your main defenses. You can cover up with tightly woven, light-colored clothing (dark colors apparently attract some insects) and fasten wrist and ankle cuffs tightly. A head net (1 to 2 ounces), worn over a hat with a brim or bill to keep it off your face, is extremely useful. It’s the only defense I’ve found against black flies, which seem immune to repellents. If you’re likely to need a head net often, Plow and Hearth’s 4-ounce cotton Bug Cap comes with a nylon head net that rolls into a pouch on the bill. Any head net needs some form of closure at the bottom or else loops that fit under your arms to prevent it from riding up. Clothing made from no-see-um netting is available, but I’ve never used any. Netting clothing needs to be held away from the skin, since insects can bite through it.

  Any uncovered skin needs to be protected with repellent if you don’t want to be bitten. The most effective is reckoned to be DEET, short for N, N-diethyl-meta-toluamide or N, N-diethyl-3-methylbenzamide, the active ingredient in most insect repellents. Well-known brands include Muskol, Cutter, Ben’s 100, Jungle Juice, Repel, Sawyer, Buggspray, and Deep Woods Off! Small bottles and tubes weigh about an ounce. Creams are the easiest to apply, but liquids go further. DEET repels most biting insects, including ticks. It also melts plastic, so it needs to be kept away from items such as watches, pocketknives, GPS units, and cameras.

  DEET was developed by the U.S. Army in 1946 and first registered for public use in 1957, so it’s been around a long time. It’s considered safe by the EPA, which reregistered it in 1998, as long as instructions are followed. These include not applying it over cuts, wounds, or irritated skin, using just enough to cover skin or clothing and not using it under clothing. Wash skin once the repellent isn’t required anymore, and wash treated clothing before using it again. The latest DEET repellents feature controlled release and contain about 20 percent DEET. Because the DEET is released slowly, one application can last all day. Sawyer says its Controlled Release Lotion works for twenty hours.

  Some people react badly to DEET and feel unwell or nauseated if they use it or even smell it. My partner Denise reacts like this and never uses the stuff. Although I don’t use DEET anymore, I did for many years without any adverse reactions—except that Denise wouldn’t come near me! However, I was never too happy with the idea of
putting something on my skin that could dissolve plastic and make some people feel ill, and since an increasing amount of gear had to be kept away from it, it seemed easier to use an alternative. If you do use DEET, you can keep it off your skin by applying it to clothing.

  Oil of citronella (Natrapel is the main brand) is the traditional alternative to DEET. A more recent one is lemon eucalyptus, found in Avon Skin-So-Soft Bug Guard, Repel Lemon Eucalyptus, Badger Anti Bug Balm, and Off! Botanicals Insect Repellent. Most of these come in 4-ounce pump bottles and 2-ounce tubes. My experience is that citronella doesn’t work very well and eucalyptus is better. The active ingredient in eucalyptus repellents is citriodiol, which is said to last for six hours before it needs to be reapplied.

  Other suggested ways of repelling insects include massive doses of vitamin B or eating lots of garlic. I can’t vouch for these.

  Repellents do just that. They repel, not kill. Pyrethoids are insecticides and kill insects on contact. The original pyrethrum comes from chrysanthemum flowers, though many pyrethoids are now synthetic. Permethrin is a common one. Pyrethoids can be used for backpacking in two ways: as sprays for tents and clothing and as coils for burning in camp. Sawyer 6-ounce EcoPump Spray and Repel Permanone Trigger Spray are two types of pyrethoid sprays. I’ve sprayed tents with permethrin and found that it stops insects from landing on the tent so you don’t wake up with the fly sheet black with them. You should use these sprays at home and let the tent dry before use. Applications are said to last up to two weeks of exposure to light. When sprayed items are stored in the dark the permethrin doesn’t degrade, so items don’t need retreating before use if they’ve had less than two weeks’ use. There’s no point in putting permethrin on your skin, since it will last only fifteen minutes. It can be used on clothing though, including head nets.

  In an enclosed space such as a tent vestibule or under a tarp, burning a mosquito coil can keep insects away. On my walk through the Yukon, I often lit a coil at rest stops and found that even in the open it kept mosquitoes away. You can also buy citronella candles, but these are much heavier than coils. Coils come in packs of ten or twelve weighing about 7 ounces. Each coil lasts five to ten hours. When lit, they smolder like an incense stick, sending wreaths of insect-repelling smoke into the air. Remember that the end of a burning coil is hot and can burn you and melt holes in synthetic gear.