Solo Backpack — Part One

I recently re-read Ernest Hemingway’s Big Two-Hearted River. It is my favorite short story. I first read it years ago. I liked it because it succinctly detailed many things I had experienced myself. The style of camping he describes is much like what I knew as a boy — effective but primitive. It was more woods-craft-like than the refined equipment and methods of today.

Reading the story now was a chance encounter. I knew much more this time about the context of what Hemingway was writing. Big Two-Hearted River reflects his WW I experiences and observations. He wrote it using the trademark style he was developing at the time. I was glad I had forgotten most of the details of the story. It was a delight to read it again.

On to backpacking: I took a break from posting to Didit.live for a while. I was hoping to find our backpacking journals after we arrived in Surprise. They don’t seem to be here either, so I’m starting a series of posts without them.

While there wasn’t any outright camping involved at Spar City, many of the basic chores and activities were similar to those in Big Two-Hearted River. The fishing was nearly the same, including catching grasshoppers (we kept ours in Prince Albert tobacco tins, though). Spar City gave me a good background for backpacking.

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I realized the possibilities of backpacking on an overnight hike into Desolation Wilderness at Lake Tahoe. It was organized by Art Fong — my good friend and an esteemed engineer at Hewlett-Packard. About a dozen of us went. We had a great time. I particularly enjoyed climbing what I’d call a giant staircase to the top of a peak. I don’t remember many other details, but I did learn quite a bit about gear for backpacking.

Soon after that, I started thinking about more ambitious backpacking. It offered a taste of the life of a mountain man without the hardships. I had been too busy with work and graduate school for much in the way of outdoor activity. I was ready for something new. Backpacking offered adventures that were challenging but not do-or-die . Five days of vacation time plus a weekend on each end would give me nine days to hike.

I could not interest anyone I knew in such a venture.  Why not make it a solo hike? The big question for me would be food, not being alone. Could I carry my camping gear and enough food for nine days?

Food for an ordinary diet is mostly water — 80% or more — and much of it requires refrigeration. The food I packed would need to be dry to cut down weight and avoid spoiling. I wanted a reasonably balanced diet as well. That meant a good mix of carbohydrates, fats and proteins. There was no such thing as freeze-dried food in those days, so I roamed grocery stores looking for ideas.

I made a big mistake on the proteins. I always enjoyed cheese and Italian dry salami appetizers at weekend BBQs. Both would keep well at the cooler temperatures in the mountains. Along with some bacon bars, that would cover the proteins. I figured three rolls of salami would be about right (Wrong! read on…).

Other than the salami, my grub worked out pretty well. I had dry Monterey Jack cheese (superb), pilot biscuits (huge crackers), oatmeal, dried fruit, dried milk, Freetos, peanuts, jerky, figs, dates, M & Ms, Tang, Swiss Miss, and some of Marcia’s killer chocolate-chip cookies.

All of that was good, but I was sick of salami by the third day. It was all I could do to choke it down. I even tried frying it. That tasted good the first time, but worse than cold salami the second time. At least I caught trout for a few dinners.

Keep in mind, the timeframe here is the early 1960s. There was not much available in the way of good equipment for backpacking. Legendary Orchard Supply Mel Cotton’s did have some basics in those days. I got boots, a big pack, a poncho, an aluminum cooking kit, and a sleeping bag there. The poncho would serve as rain gear and lean-to tent.

Backpacking stoves did not yet exist (and I probably didn’t even think of a stove anyway). I found a small wire grid, about 8 by 12 inches, to cook on. I set that over small fires that I built between two rocks. I eventually got a stove, but I cooked with that grid for several years. It worked splendidly for roasting trout.

You need to be extremely careful not to loose things when you’re backpacking. You can’t go to the store to get more matches, replace your knife, find another grill, or replace any other essentials. Those things are all a few days behind you. “A place for everything, and everything in its place,” is the key to success.

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The next couple of posts will continue with this first venture into the wilderness. I was lucky that Yosemite was close. It is backpacking heaven, or as John Muir put it, “that gentle wilderness.” Nothing else compares.