We have been looking forward to this trip since returning
home from Sealer’s Cove last year. This year’s pilgrimage coincided with
Chinese New Year and the devastating bushfires but we were determined to go. We had to admit that we were watching the air quality index like hawks and it did dawn on us that we may have abandon this trip and do it another time.
The camping troupe had a different approach this year,
and booked the sites over 6 months ago.
I left work on Friday and took the train to Glen
Waverley. Kim and the children picked me up from the station as holiday care
was nearby. We checked into Toora Lodge Motel and had dinner at Royal Standard Hotel. The rest of the troupe arrived in dribs and drabs and that evening was the
start of our adventure.
This year's challenge was to reduce as much weight as we could. Many YouTube self-help videos were watched. It was vital to learn from others who have experienced backpacking light and how they achieved their goal. We were encouraged to think outside the box and decided what was important for those two days.
We started gathering and packing the camping equipment
and food supplies about a couple of weeks before the trip. My first pack was weighed.
It was about 15kg. Determined to carry less weight, the pack was culled,
repacked and reweighed. Then, repeat.
Ultimately, my pack was 13.08kg including water and Kim’s
was about 17kg.
Below were decisions that were revised numerously in
those few weeks.
FOOD
The recent devastating fires gave us a new challenge. We
were thinking that perhaps that we needed to find a recipe that doesn’t require
the stove, quick to prepare, lightweight and minimal bulk, nutritious and tasty
for the whole family.
Below are the pros and cons of some of the food that we
looked at:
1. John
West Ready to Eat (various flavours e.g. beans and tuna):
Pros:
ready to eat while on the go. Cons:
heavy and bulky
2. Cous
cous:
Pros:
“stoveless”, adaptable (can be added to other tastes i.e. Asian style with
additional spices and herbs or Italian style with tomato paste), quick to
prepare, lightweight, filling and minimum bulk. Cons: none
3. Rice
noodles:
Pros:
“stoveless” but quicker if hot water is utilised, adaptable (can be added with
miso soup powder, dried lily flower, dried black fungus, goji berries, sliced
dried shitake mushrooms, dried seaweed, sesame oil, sesame seeds), Lightweight.
Cons: bulky.
4. Cricket
powder:
Pros:
adaptable (added to other tastes), lightweight and minimum bulk, nutritious, stoveless.
Cons: the thought of eating cricket could
be irksome to some.
5. Milk
powder:
Pros:
lightweight, “stoveless”, nutritious. Cons:
None
6. Pomegranate
powder:
Pros:
lightweight, “stoveless”, nutritious. Cons:
None
7. Vegetable
powder:
Pros:
lightweight, “stoveless”, nutritious. Cons:
None
8. Dehydrated
soy:
Pros:
lightweight, nutritious, delicious when made into Bolognese. Cons: when “stoveless” – it doesn’t
soften as well and therefore requires a longer soak. Nevertheless, the family
would eat it if necessary as we tested it at home. It tastes better if we add
more tomato paste (which is heavy)
9. Wraps
rather than bread.
Pros: not
bulky, lightweight, can be squashed and it is not a problem Cons: heavier than bread, not as tasty
as a breakfast.
10. No
nut muesli bars:
Pros:
nutritious, lightweight, filling, consumed on the go. Cons: None
11. Eggs:
Pros:
delicious, nutritious Cons: bulky,
breakable
12. Fresh
vegetables and fruits:
Pros:
delicious, nutritious Cons: bulky, susceptible
to bruising, attracts possums.
13. Instant
noodles:
Pros:
delicious, quick to prepare Cons:
unhealthy
14. Pasta
(except for risoni):
Pros:
adaptable. Cons: takes a while to
cook, difficult to cook in a small pot
15. Rice:
Pros:
adaptable. Cons: takes a while to
cook, difficult to cook in a small pot
16. Precooked
quinoa:
Pros: delicious,
quick to prepare, nutritious, lightweight, filling. Cons: none
PACKAGING
Many items that we have bought came in bags. These bags normally have closing mechanisms by which are made of elastic and plastic toggle.
Do we need these bags? Are they to keep items together so that we can find them in the backpack? Is it to keep them being scratched or damaged? How much do they weigh? Can we do without?
After a few weeks of pondering, these were the decisions.
A garbage bag was used to line the inside of the backpack. It is cheap, light and replaceable. As we had a creek crossing ahead of us, it would be ideal to tie a knot in the bag so, if we accidentally submerge the bag into the creek, the contents of the bags will be dry.
So, most of the items were loose except for:
1. bowls, cups, cutlery and cooking utensils. (in a plastic bag)
2. Tent (in its original bag)
3. Bag per meal (in ziplock bag with labels)
4. Water filtration (in its original bag)
5. First aid kit (in ziplock bag)
Some items such as inflatable pillow can be wrapped inside the pillow case.
CLOTHES
We had a few discussions regarding this. The weather was hot last year and we spent a lot of time in the water and on the beach. It also had a short burst of rain once.
This year's weather had been very strange. The bush fire in Australia was intense. Some days were very humid. Some hot. Some dry. Some windy. Some thunderstorms. Perfect weather for bushfires.
We decided that we should bring one spare t-shirt, long pants, 2 pairs of socks, two pair of underpants, lightweight jumper, waterproof jacket, swimmers and flip flops.
We dipped in the sea every day. So, we were pretty clean. Kim and I were at two minds about this. He was worried about the weather and I relented and packed spare clothes and jumper. These are the items:
2 pairs undies
2 pairs socks
1 tshirt
1 lightweight jumper
1 long pants. These have to be insect bite proof. Linen trousers were not great as the horse flies bit through them.
1 waterproof jacket
Flip flops
The clothes can be rolled and fill the gaps left by the sleeping bag, tent and mat. We hung our flip flops outside our bags.
EQUIPMENT
Most of the weight comes from our tents, and cooking equipment.
Tent:
We already have split the tents (2x) weight between Kim and myself. Each tent (Kathmandu Lansan) https://www.kathmandu.com.au/lansan-ultralight-tent.html weighs 1.72 kg. That is the best we could do that is within our budget. We have been thinking about giving Thomas with his own bivvy. But we need to have more confidence that he will be ok.
Lightweight tarpaulin.
Sleeping bag:
I decided to share the goose down sleeping bag with Thomas. It was to be compressed in its bag and compression sack.
Self inflating mat:
These were rolled twice in order to get most of the residual air out. Because these items are rolled and bulkiest, the clothes will fill the air gaps in between
Cooking equipment:
These were the items we packed:
1. Stove
2. Smallest propane gas bottle by taking a chance that it will be suitable for 2 night and 3 days.
3. Pot with lid. This would be our frypan as well as kettle.
4. Bowls doubled up as plates
5. Cooking utensils: lightweight and foldable and timber chopsticks
6. Eating utensils: 4xsporks and 2xtakeaway plastic knives. Sporks were packed with the lunches that were to be consumed on the hike in and out.
7. Stackable 1970s aluminium cups and Kim's mug. The aluminium cups were good as they were stackable and as heavy as our plastic ones. Unfortunately they are fabulous heat conductor which made hot drink difficult to drink.
8. Dishcloth
9. Dishwashing liquid
10. Dishwashing sponge
11. Water filtration system: Platypus Gravityworks 4.0L System: This is one thing that we thought that was important for all the camping members. Rebecca and Ronn have theirs last year that we all shared. They spared us from drinking water that has been sterilised with chlorine tablets. Apparently it doesn't taste very nice. As advised by them, we bought the 4 litres system. We like this as you can start the filter process while you prep the food or chinwag.
What we negated from the pack were:
Frypan, kettle, chopping board, knives, folding bucket
Laundry
1x pegless clothesline
What we negated from the pack were:
Laundry powder, pegs, extra clothesline
Technology
1. Camera: Our beloved Lumix camera recently died, and we bought a Go-pro.
2. Mobile phones: Even though there wasn't any signal last time, we carried them. One was used to take photos
3. Power bank: To charge phone and head lights. This was a just in case item.
4. Headlights: We found cheap but lightweight ones from Decathalon. They are USB charge, tiltable and red light.
5. Two Way Radio Walkie Talkie: As we are normally walk in pairs and quite far apart depending on each child’s pace, this will ease with communication throughout the walk. We have 3 of these.
Toiletries
1. Toothbrushes and travel sized toothpaste
2. Moisturiser
3. Sunscreen
4. Loo roll with inner cardboard removed
5. Lightweight spade from Daiso
6. Eye patch
7. Ear plugs
First Aid Kit
1. Bandaids
2. Sterilise wipes
3. Bandage
4. Safety pins
5. Gauze
6. Splinter remover
7. Mosquito repellent
8. Sunscreen
9. Mopiko
10. Paracetamol tablets
11. Antihistamines tablets
12. Hydralyte powder
13. Mosquito head net
14. Dust mask. Just in case the days are dusty from the fall out of the bushfires.
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