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What have you left behind?

I forgot to pack my food bag once. Luckily I was just going overnight and it wasn't far from home. I was able to call it in from a house near the trail head and have someone drop it off.

I did a week long trip in the Adirondacks once with a group of 4 and none of us brought a rain coat or poncho. Uncharacteristic for the Adirondacks, it didn't rain one single drop that whole time. Talk about luck...

Now my wife and I refer to this as 'the luck of the Knauf' - Knauf being my last name. It's seems whenever I'm around there is good weather to be found. I don't really believe in that sort of thing, but I like nice days (although I've seen some of the best wildlife paddling in the rain). OTOH I know people who won't even go to the Adirondacks anymore because they've had weeks of rain and misery.

TP - yeah... I've forgot that.

Now I have a pretty good system of how I pack stuff to minimize forgetting something important. I lay out my essentials in color coded bags and make sure they all go into my pack. Anything non-essential like a camera or my kindle usually goes in at the trailhead.
 
I keep a master list on my computer. Every time i go out, i print it off the night before. As i pack each item, i cross it off with a marker. It doesn't get crossed off until its in my pack. I did however manage to forget my portage yoke pad in my car as i set out on cedar lake. Big wool sweater to the rescue.
 
I've done 4 trips this year. Each trip, I've left from work. I place the cooler items in the work fridge for the day. This past weekend (Moose river bow trip) was the first time I've remembered to grab the food from the fridge before leaving.

Lists and notes are key for me!!
 
Glenn MacGrady said:
So, basically, I'm always packed and ready for a trip . . . if I can count to two . . . and if I remember to take the magic bus instead of the Mustang convertible.
Click to expand...

I haven't quite figured out how to get my boat on my convertible. I thought maybe if I bought a pack canoe I could lash it to the trunk... but mine's a girly Miata; not a manly Mustang, so I don't know if even a pack canoe would fit...
 
I have been reading some books on ultralight backpacking especially the ones with the cartoons by Mike Clelland. It is amazing what modern bpers do not bring. Tp is a good example. Mountain hemlock is a good example of a great substitute. You just have to go the right direction. Only organic materials left in the woods.

It is not that hard to do without a lot of stuff that we all tend to bring. I can get my backpack down to about 30 pounds for a 4 day trip. That is a mixture of modern and traditional styles with a tarp instead of a tent.
 
Sheesh... What is TP anyway? Isn't paper kind of organic? It used to be once upon a time.

I guess if you use that colored ultra-soft stuff it isn't.

I hear a corn cob works well... and the corn is good eats before hand.
 
l'oiseau said:
Sheesh... What is TP anyway?

I guess if you use that colored ultra-soft stuff it isn't.
Click to expand...

I once became enthralled with coloured TP in Paris France. (Don't ask.) Our rental apartment had one single roll of pink stuff left on our arrival. It had been an 8 hour flight and a mad dash from the airport to our door. I had to go. A quick (very quick) walk to the corner store to shop for essentials rewarded me with wine, cheese, and TP in the colours rose et bleu (pink and blue). Tres cool. I treated ourselves to his & hers TP everyday for 10 days ( naturally the wine and cheese were an everyday thing too). When I wanted to fill my suitcase full of wine and rose et bleu TP for the flight home, my wife threatened to trade me in for a Frenchman smelling of garlic and cigarettes. Anyway...
I've never forgotten TP on any trip, but have tripped with foolhardy souls who have. I handed out precious lengths of the stuff like it was made of gold. Pulling Mountain Hemlock between the cheeks sounds oh so close to self flagellation. That truly sounds like roughing it. And not in good way.
 
We easterners have sphagnum moss The diaper material of earky Native Americans. Striped maple works well too. The omission of TP is not a catastrophe Non recognition of poison ivy could be
 
A spoon, caused me all sorts of grief during dinner and breakfast for that trip! One of the little things that counts is a toothbrush too, don't loose or drop yours.
 
A PAPER SAGA WITH PICTURES - July/August 2012

I don't use TP. I use FMW (flushable moist wipes).

I loaded my canoe on the cart at the campground at the end of Forked Lake for the six mile portage on paths and roads and finally goat trails to Long Lake. Before starting out in the 90 degree heat, I used my FMW at the pit toilet at the campground.
IMGP0059.JPG


A couple of miles later I realized I had left all my FMW at the campground toilet. Oy, oy, oy, vey! Too hot and far to go back.
IMGP0062.JPG


After about five miles of brutal up and down hill pushing and pulling in the tropical heat, I arrived at the goat path that drops down to the lean-to's at the south end of Long Lake.
IMGP0066.JPG


Cripes, the trail is steep and rutted with roots, rocks and logs.
IMGP0067.JPG


Precipitous decline continues. How do I run this?
IMGP0069.JPG


Oh, great. Now this.
IMGP0070.JPG


Finally make it to one of the lean-to's. What's that on the shelf?
IMGP0071.JPG


Is it really?
IMGP0072.JPG


Yes, a miracle! God provides . . . or maybe Ray.
IMGP0073.JPG


Now fully enpapered, I skipped the grungy lean-to and found a lovely site at the inlet of Long Lake.
IMGP0076.JPG


THE (HAPPY) END.
 
Cute story!

But those FMW don't degrade in pit toilets as quick as TP. And they are the bane of wastewater engineers. And the bane of me if you come to my house and flush them down my septic system.

There are advisories in the Everglades back country to not put FMW in the porta potty but to leave them in their own special box. The reason is FMW clog the intake hose of SS Stinky, the potty tender.

http://msue.anr.msu.edu/news/are_flushable_bathroom_products_safe_for_sewer_and_septic_systems

I used to like them too. I still do but they have to be carried out like the rest of our trash. I'm not that fond of my food the second time around.
 
Hmm...this is interesting. It's my practice to watch the roll of paper towels in the kitchen and when it gets down to about 1/3 or so I change it out. The first advantage is you avoid those times when you have a greasy mess in the kitchen and you're down to two towels left on the roll.
For camping I cut the reduced roll in half and squash it flat. Of course you've got paper towels then while camping and TP as well. I truly do hate those poofy kinds of toilet paper that spontaneously morph into clumps of lint and fluff! No such problem with the paper towels!
I suppose if you needed a little water for clean up you could add it to the towel, I don't really know if the towel would break down in a septic tank or not.

YC, I really enjoyed your observation about the poison ivy!!

Best Wishes, Rob
 
No paper towel either in my septic tank! I don't carry it camping so have no idea of PT and thunderboxes.

I have a dedicated bandana too. Its a noxious color for a reminder that it substitutes for FMW
 
What I have heard from septic guys and maintenance workers over the years is that the only things that should be flushed down a toilet are human waste and toilet paper. Not wipes, not paper towels, not dental floss, condoms, tampons, cotton balls. Not even tissue paper.

That conventional wisdom applies to septic or sewer household waste disposal and is even more of an issue with vault toilets that need to be pumped out.
 
I didn't know this stuff about wipes. It's good to know. We only took wipes once on a canoe trip for post potty hand hygiene. It was handy, but the cumbersome package was clunky in the pack, so I take just a little alcohol gel bottle now. I know this sounds weird, but I hate the dirty messy conditions after a week spent far from home. I'm a little fussy about kitchen cleanliness and hygiene. It can be a challenge. Needing a bath and/or laundry is simple. In camp I just jump in the lake with some suitable soap, and voila! laundry and bath time chores done all in one swim. The subtle problems of cooking and personal hygiene can be problematic though. I'm not a germaphobe, but if I ever get sick out there, I'd rather it be getting sick and tired of all the peace and quiet I'm enjoying (and good food and good company), than from anything else.
 
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My wife uses the wipes for number 1 but packs them out. Girls have it a bit tougher than guys do in that regard.

Anyway we never questioned packing them out. I grew up with a septic system and recall the advice Mike's septic guys have given. This was after ours was pumped out for the first time. I believe my Mom got a talkin' to after that one :rolleyes:
 
A university trip 2 years back was outfitted with nice Foxworx Microlight paddles + 1 extra for the trip. One morning everyone left the beach, each with a paddle, the spare left in camp. From now on, it is not the group that carries a spare, one person has 2 paddles.
 
Dilution IMO is entirely appropriate in many instances. On a remote lake alone. On Lake Superior and especially the desert rivers
 
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