Learn from my mistake

When packing for a trip, make sure you locate the most important gear first rather than assuming you will find it when you go to pack it last. Just about out the door and I can't find my coffee basket despite turning the gear room over twice. There will be nothing but instant to get me through the weekend :(

Now that's what I call roughing it!

Ed

What did people do before coffee baskets?  They made coffee without them. Put your ground coffee in a vessel and simmer it.  When the coffee is done, take it off the heat, and add a small amount of cold water to settle the grounds. 

But Ppine, my most glaring nod to the bourgie, pretentious lifestyle is my coffee affliction.  I must have my basket, else it just isn't coffee.  I camp with a guy will is ok with cowboy coffee.  I find letting the grounds pickle in the brew bitters the flavor.  Said moi!

But expounding of LS's sentiments, I have been in this fix before with gear I forgot to repair since the last outing, but mostly my unforced errors regarding equipment come from forgetting to pack items, despite using check lists.  I have forgotten stoves, sleeping pads, sleeping bag, pots and pack harness straps. I was able to improvise in all cases, but sometimes with considerable comprise and hardship.  One can get sleep in sub freezing nights without a bag, but I prefer this option not be an unplanned imposition.  Strange thing is I have never forgotten my coffee kit or my equivalent of the ten 'nsentials.  Odd how that works out...

Ed 

I will never forget the time i brought the 3P tent, but left the poles behind.  A rather shoddy pitch!

Funny stuff.)

For some reason the one item I've forgotten multiple times is a spoon/spork. Sometimes there aren't large enough pieces of wood around to whittle a good facsimile. Eating oatmeal with chop sticks isn't my best skill.

I survived on some Tasters Choice instant tubes I found in the cupboard from a few years ago. All things considered and that would include broken trace hardware on the pulk and packing two of the same dinner, this was my biggest problem on what turned out to be a pretty darn nice trip.

Glad I didn't cancel when I couldn't find that basket ;)

I’ve done the tent without the poles thing twice now. Not too bad when your on your own, kinda  a little makeshift bivy, more than one person though and it gets interesting!

I've had a friend show up without all of the tent poles.

She also left my new-ish ice axe on the top of Mount Washington (which she replaced) years ago. It's still a joke whenever we're there...I wonder if my ice axe is up there/around here somewhere...?

Patman said:

Funny stuff.)

For some reason the one item I've forgotten multiple times is a spoon/spork. Sometimes there aren't large enough pieces of wood around to whittle a good facsimile. Eating oatmeal with chop sticks isn't my best skill.

 Zip tie and duct tape.

The bigger point to made here is that backpacking is supposed to be simple. Your world gets really small.  I have forgotten all kinds of things over the years and it hardly ever matters at all.  It is best when it is low tech. 

Leaving the spork at home wouldn't kill me since I can just eat out of the bag if necessary. Wouldn't do the winter beard any favors though :)

The biggest point ppine is that laughing at your troubles and going camping when you can are better than the alternatives. Sure hope you folks are all making plans!!

Lori Pontious said:

Patman said:

Funny stuff.)

For some reason the one item I've forgotten multiple times is a spoon/spork. Sometimes there aren't large enough pieces of wood around to whittle a good facsimile. Eating oatmeal with chop sticks isn't my best skill.

 Zip tie and duct tape.

 Lori,

I have some imagination but would love to see a picture, lol

In our courtin' days my wife and I went on a canoe trip on Lake Umbagog where I wanted to surprise her with some homemade mint milano ice cream that I brought along in a widemouth steel thermos. At our campsite we discovered that, in our pheromonal daze, we had forgotten all eating utensils. So we made rough chopsticks out of spruce branches and ate not only our mac and cheese (or whatever) with them, but also the ice cream. So somewhere I have a picture of my youthful (now) wife trying to eat ice cream out of a thermos with crooked chopsticks.

Oh, and in the (excellent) movie Line Across the Sky about Honnold and Caldwell doing the Fitzroy traverse, there is a scene where they are eating couscous with a broken pair of sunglasses. Necessity is the mother of improvisation.

Eating with a broken pair of sunglasses is a great image.  When I was younger I was always looking for a fit woman that thought that way. 

I found one 20 years ago.  I remember a trip to High Rock Canyon in northern Nevada years ago and wind was blowing 50 in the spring.  My girl actually made dinner in the front seat of the truck with the lee side door open.  Adapt and overcome.  What mistake?

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