Ultralight: State of the Revolution

This is a 7-part article written by Ron Moak from Six Moon Designs. This is a thoughtful essay, looking at the history of “ultralight” camping, and all it’s implications.

Andrew Skurka update

Professional hiker and author

Andrew Skurka is now blogging. He is sharing his very detailed insights into trip planning and trail techniques. Of special interest to me was his food planning and how to print topo maps for a long hike.

His book is due out any day now. It's published by NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC and it's loaded with color photographs. It's titled: The Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide: Tools & Techniques to Hit the Trail (linked to his site).

hiking in Finland REVIEW

Don't they TELE ski in Finland?

Here's a super nice review of the book on an awesome site called HIKING IN FINLAND. I felt really honored to see this photo featured there.

igloos are easy!

The tent weight logs in at ZERO!

A nice instructional article on IGLOO CONSTRUCTION with a shout out to one of my other books. Sam and I have worked together and hiked together in the big mountains of the Northern Rockies. He is a seasoned ultra-light camper, and his blog is a must read.

review from a pal

Yours truly brewing coffee while hiking in soggy Alaska

Wanna read a swell reiview of a really cool book? Check this out, by clicking right HERE.

enormous pack

Me in a previous era.

Enormous pack on a NOLS course. Wind River Range, Wyoming 1994. Still wearing running shorts from the 80's.

RANKED NUMBER ONE!

ego-rific!

I just saw that my little lightweight book is ranked NUMBER 1 in a sub-catagory (of a sub-catagory) known as "excursion guides" on amazon.

The competition looks a lot more mocho than my humble and gentle offering.

video tutorial on CLOTHING

I pull my pants down as an educational technique.

muffin

muffin eater

Eating a warm muffin in the Tetons. Summer 2011. Muffin instructional HERE! (and muffin mystique explained)

ranked as a best seller!

Will it ever get all the way to number 1?

Check it out, my book is listed as the second most popular book on amazon.com! Well, in a sub-category of a sub-category. Also, all the reviews average out to 4.5 stars. The only 1 star review is actually my favorite (thanks Cindy!).

As seen in Der Spiegel

As seen in Germany's most important source of news. Direct link HERE. My corespondent from Europe translated some vital Journalism, that may directly influence the entirety of the EU.

The text sez:

Author Mike Clelland recommends a cut beer can as the lightest (and cheapest) outdoor cooking pot.

shockingly delicious

Calorie dense goodness!

Super Spackle is a powerfully wonderful snack, and I'm not the only blogger who thinks so! Click HERE to see a very simple recipe that can satisfy a hungry camper.

From tip number 152 in my humble book.

It really IS shockingly delicious!

caramelized onion sauce

This is a recipe that is NOT included in the book, but it's heart wrenchingly wonderful. I'm adding it here to this blog as a way to share the love!

CARAMELIZED ONION SAUCE

3 yellow onions (finely chopped)
5 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
1 red pepper (finely chopped)
4 oz olive oil
2 oz peanut oil (or any high heat oil)
1 oz soy sauce
1 oz hot sauce
tablespoon tahini
tea spoon salt
tea spoon pepper
dash of vinegar
dash of sugar

(all weights above are measures, not weight)

Start by cooking the finely chopped onions in a large skillet on low heat with the peanut oil. Stir frequently for approximately 20 minutes, until the onions are caramelized and brown.

Add the finely chopped garlic and red pepper let cook approximately 10 minutes.

Add the soy sauce, hot sauce, salt, pepper, vinegar and sugar. Let this cook another 10 minutes or so. The stuff in your pan should be brown and gooey.

Take off the heat and let cool for a few minutes.

Put the warm concoction in a blender or food processor with the olive oil and tahini. Blend until smooth.

You will now have a brown flavor packed sauce that can be added to your camping meals. Carry it in a small lightweight plastic bootle. Approx. 2 ounces (in weight) per person per meal will bring tears of joy at dinner time.

PLEASE NOTE:
I'm a cook that ignores recipes, I pretty much just wing it in the kitchen. I encourage anyone reading this to get creative and tweak the above recipe to meet their own needs, and to match whatever you might have on hand in your pantry!

Bon Appetit!

toothpaste dots

Tip number 54 in the book is how to make toothpaste "dots" by drying stuff out of the tube yourself. But look what I just found (thanks Clayton)! Linked HERE.

Product description:
Archtek's Toothpaste Tablets are a chewable tablet that replaces paste in a tube and creates an incredibly clean feeling mouth. The tablet is placed in the mouth, chewed, followed by normal brushing and rinsing. Chew, brush, go! Travel-friendly Toothpaste Tablets are lightweight, more sanitary than toothpaste and the packaging is recyclable. Less mess, less weight, more green, more sanitary.

it really IS just this easy!

Shirking the fancy-schmancy. Living the dream.

Howdy Mike!

I thought you would enjoy this photo. It is of a student I had here at NAU [Northern Arizona University] - he was already pretty committed to the lightweight gospel but went the extra mile this past April on a 17-day trip in the Gila Wilderness. He made his own pack the day before the trip from mostly recycled materials - tyvek scraps from a construction site, buckles and flat webbing straps from an old pack he found at goodwill and an old cut up ensolite half-pad. The only new items I recall were some gorilla glue/adhesive and thread from the sewing machine.

I think the empty pack weighed in at 10 or 12 ounces. He was able to carry a 7 and then a 10 day ration, group gear and such with the pack and I think his largest pack-weight was in the upper 20's during the 10-day ration period. We had just received a half dozen copies of your book - hot off the press - loaned him one about 3 days before the trip and he attributes his inspiration and success to YOU!

Peace,
Aaron

_________________________________________
From Mike C:
The above just arrive in my in-box. Oh how I dearly LOVE this kind of thing!

(photo by Aaron Divine)