| There are many ways to re-supply ones self with provisions on a trip into the wilderness many of which rely on outside assistance such as airdrops, pack-trains, Sherpas and so on. So how does a person re-supply his or her self yet remain totally independent from outside help?
One of the more practical ways is to place several food caches ahead of time along the route in which you plan to travel. Unfortunately, due to time restrictions, I would be unable to put together any type of plan for this trip. I was left with two choices. One. I could try to pack everything in one trip on my back or two, I could use some other means of transportation such as a hand cart or maybe even a traditional travois like the Indians used to transport their belongings from one camp to the other.
I decided to try to build a wilderness cart. Here's how I approached the project:
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The Cart
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| My first thought was to convert a traditional two wheeled hand dolly (the kind you see UPS and other delivery services using to deliver packages) into what I needed. It seemed that most everything was there; axle, wheels, handles, and so on. That idea eventually led to another.
I remembered an old aluminum ladder that I was planning on throwing out at work for safety reasons. With a few modifications, I thought it could serve as the cart's chassis.
Here's a short photo journal of the wilderness cart under construction:
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| Section of aluminum ladder
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| Flat-free tires
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| Axle assembly
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| ...another view
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| Rear view of wheel assembly
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| View of cargo platform
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| The beast in position
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| Before I could finish the cart, it was brought to my attention that wheeled vehicles are banned from many wilderness areas therfore using the cart would be breaking the law. It was also pointed out that the wheels on the cart may cause irreversable damage to the environment; something I would never want to do.
So, the idea of using a cart to transport my gear into the wilderness was eventually shelved.
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| The Pack-Frame
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| Since the cart idea wasn't going to
happen, it was time to think of a new plan. A natural move was to call
upon a well-proven piece of equipment and old friend; a vintage Kelty
pack-frame.
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| The burden...
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| Along with my usual assortment of wilderness gear, I divided four weeks of provisions equally between two five gallon plastic buckets. As one can imagine, the weight of the load was substantial. Waddling over to my base-camp, it was obvious that trying to haul everything
in one trip would prove to be a lesson in pain. Time for yet another
plan.
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| ...and the beast that will carry it.
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The "new" plan would be to pack in only
one bucket (along with my other gear) containing the first two weeks
worth of provisions. When those supplies were exhausted, I would then
make the long trip back to Base-Camp and retrieve the second bucket.
In order to keep the second bucket safe from varmints and other
wilderness hazzards, I removed several pieces of gear from the 30
gallon steel drum that I'd been stashing my base-camp supplies in,
and secured the bucket containing the provisions inside.
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| Still going strong!
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| Once again the pack-frame proved to be
a valuable piece of gear. Not only did it provide a stable platform
for hauling a wide assortment of equipment, but there was even a few
useful cracks and crevises left for some Juniper bark; a tinder
material that I like to use for fire making. The area inside the cargo
shelf worked especially well for this.
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| The Provisions
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Here's a look at the first two weeks
worth of provisons. Even though most of the items fit inside the two
buckets, there were still a few items that I had to carry inside of my
shoulder bag.
The following list represents the entire months worth of provisions.
Let's see if I can decifer my own notes!
- two (2) two pound 10 oz. packages of instant oatmeal
- four (4) one pound packages of raisins
- four (4) 13.75 oz. packages of instant potatoes
- two (2) 2.5 pound packages of flour
- four (4) one pound jars of peanut butter
- fourteen (14) packages Kool-Aid
- twenty four (24) packs of granola bars (2 bars each pack)
- fourty (40) tea bags
- one (1) one pound can of Crisco
- one (1) one pound bag of powdered milk
- two (2) 11.5 oz. bags of coffee
- four (4) 8.5 oz. packages of dry salami
- four (4) 9.5 oz. jars of jam
- four (4) 3.4 oz. packages of instant pudding
- two (2) one pound bags of sugar
- small amount of baking soda, baking powder, and salt
- Twenty eight (28) single serving Mountain House freeze dried meals
Well, that about covers it. Other than the few steak dinners I had air
dropped in, the above lists represents an entire month's worth of
provisions. And judging from the above list, it's obvious this
trip wasn't meant to be a "live off the land" type of adventure but
then again, very few of my trips are conducted in such away. I find
that many miles of high altitude travel can really start to take a
toll on my body if I don't eat regularly. But hey! It doesn't
take a rocket scientist to figure that one out!
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| A follow up
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| Due to my decision to cut my trip short
after twelve days, as an experiment, I decided to leave a fair
amount of food behind just to see how well my food storage system
would hold up to the Sierra elements. And due my recent relocation to
Texas, it may be a while before I can check on things. A good
experiment indeed!
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| * I'd like to dedicate this section to
the late Dick Kelty, designer and maker of the wonderful pack-
frame I used on this trip. I'm sure Mr. Kelty brought joy to a great
many people who were fortunate enough to use his outstanding products.
Rest in peace friend.
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Copyright © 2001 by Eric Stoskopf. Last updated 2/22/04
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