Going stoveless, bad idea?
I'm thinking about a thru attempt in April and am considering going without a stove. Any and all input appreciated.
mid-april on you should be fine. before that it's nice to have hot stuff on a cold wet day. especially if you're becoming hypothermic
so are you planning on not cooking or cooking over a fire?
The cooking over a fire thing might be an issue in some areas and it is generally frwoned upon by the LNT folks. i personally don't have an issue with it at established sites but other may see it differently.
If you're not planing on cooking (unbelievible by the way) what are you planing on eating for six months straight?
Take almost nothing I say seriously--if it seems to make no sense what so ever it's probably meant as a joke....but do treat your water!
Send a PM to Garlic -- he didn't carry a stove on his thru.
I think there have been other no cooking threads, maybe not for a thru hike. Usually fast packers. I think its still nice to carry the option of heating something up, or even to make a simple bark tea. All yoy need to do this is a bic lighter, assuming you have some sort of metal cup, and you don't even need that really.
Will you still carry a lighter?
I do plan to carry a pot and soup or noodles, tea bags etc. only if I get very cold. I had thought about summer sausage, pepperoni sticks, peanut butter, sardines, tuna, beef jerky etc. If I have do cook (very rarely) I'll just do so at the shelters. There always seems to be a fire there.
Yes, it's a bad idea.
Thanks Jester, Why?
Originally Posted by Jester2000
Why, when he can just borrow other backpacker's stoves?
I'm not really a hiker, I just play one on White Blaze.
lots of people go stoveless. you'll be fine if it's what you wanna do
I think its nice to be able to heat up some food and drink anywhere on the trail. It doesn't take much. Great thing to do when you are stuck someplace, or lost. Sometimes you need to slow down, even if your not cold. Making fire and tea or soup is a good way to do that. It helps to prevents Darwin awards. Pyromania is basically all that really separates us from the lower life forms. Don't fight it. Embrace it.
need a stove? what? someone said there were McDonalds all along the AT, and the shelters had coke machines and air conditioning... you mean we have to carry your food? if you activate that emergency SPOT device, do they bring you big Macs and fries? geez this sounds harder than the magazine said it would be
What are you talking about PraHa4, I'm not an idiot, I've been on the AT before and have stayed in the shelters. I was looking for honest opinions and/or anyone who. has gone stoveless before.
No Stove
In 2002 a young hiker I saw regularly on the trail had no stove... sure he survived OK but on many occasions he didn't look too happy eating his grub while everyone else had nice hot meals.
A good hot meal really helps you recover and warm up after a hard day, particularly when it is cold or wet.
There's nothing wrong with wanting to travel light but you really need to balance that out with being comfortable and happy.
Downunda
Invariably, the people who post this question on whiteblaze are people who have not done a long distance trail before. I don't know if this is true of you, but it seems to be the case most of the time.
People who haven't done a long distance hike rarely know what will make them happy or unhappy on the trail. And many, many of those people don't realize the positive emotional effects of hot food, hot coffee, hot tea. And so every year there are people on the trail who thought they would go stoveless who are instead borrowing other people's stoves and fuel "just to heat up some water for tea. What's the big deal?"
Many of those people also fail to factor in that food that doesn't have to be cooked, like a summer sausage, is heavier than food they would have cooked, so they're not actually saving any weight.
So here's what I would recommend instead: Bring a stove and fuel (or have it in a bump box); bring your stoveless food. Spend a month or so eating stoveless, and don't ask to borrow anyone else's stove for that month. After a month or so you'll probably know whether it's a good idea for you or not, and if you want to switch to cooking you'll be able to.
Most people don't enjoy stoveless meals for five months. That may not be true of you, but generally speaking it's not a good idea for people to plan on doing that for the whole trip, when their plan is based on lack of experience as to what they will or won't need.
Andrew Sukura also goes stoveless. He eats mostly meal replacement bars, Cliff bars, etc.
The obvious advantage is weight savings. I'm just a section hiker, but I've never done it and never will even on short hikes simply because I enjoy hot coffee in the mornings and a hot meal at night. I think that you need to decide if you would be happy eating cold foods on a regular basis.
People who go stoveless can always get hot food in towns and at resupply points, so it's not as if you'd be forced to eat cold food for the duration.
And you could always start out going stoveless and see how it goes. I mean, getting a stove on the trail is about as hard as finding an empty soda can and a bottle of Heet. It's not as if your decision will be carved in stone.
You should talk to Garlic. He can talk from experience and give you some pros and cons.
Last edited by John B; 03-11-2010 at 15:26. Reason: clarity
I was on a 10 day hike a few years ago. Even though it was late Spring (May I believe) I can remember walking through a cold rain all morning and being very glad to have some hot tea at lunchtime. It was in the 50s and I was thoroughly chilled.
You are going to have lots of daylight to cook. Having a hot meal at the end of the day is something to look forward to.
Thanks for input John B, Thats exactly what I was thinking
Personal choice.
My personal choice is NO WAY!!!
No coffee, tea, or hot chocolate in the evening?....Blasphemous!!!!
Nothing finer than eating a nice hot meal after a cold wet day of hiking.
-milkman
got soul?
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