One Ounce Camp Sandals And Modified Socks

I have just found the answer to light weight camp shoes. Check this link out to see how you can make your own shoes for camp use.

One Ounce Camp Sandals And Modified Socks:

"Instructions For One Ounce Camp Sandals
And Modified Socks"

The Sandals:

These ultralight camp sandals are made from shoe / boot inserts and nylon cord. They take only a few minutes to construct and no special tools or skills are needed. Brawny's pair in women's size 7 - 8 weigh about an ounce. My pair in men's size 12 weigh about 1 1/2 ounces. This represents a weight savings of 2 - 3 ounces over a pair of flip-flops, and about 8 ounces (a half pound!) over "lightweight" Wal-Mart or K-Mart sandals.

In our opinion, these sandals are definitely not sturdy enough to be used for hiking or water crossings. However, they seem durable enough to wear around camp and perhaps even in town.

Brawny used a pair from Fontana Dam, NC to Mt. Katahdin, ME (about 4 months) for camp and town use on her 2002 AT thru-hike. She had to re-tie them once. However, when she finished her hike, they were in usable condition.

If you want a thicker sandal that provides more protection from rocks, roots and wet ground, use your shoe / boot insert as a pattern and cut the material from a closed cell sleeping pad. Most Wal-Mart stores have these sleeping pads in the sporting goods department for $5 - $6.

The following items are needed to make the sandals:


One pair of shoe or boot inserts (new or used)
About 2 feet of nylon cord.
Knife or scissors for cutting cord.
Matches or lighter for sealing cord ends.
Sharp pointed object to force cord through insert holes (knife or scissors tip works; knitting needle might do nicely).
Marking pen (optional).
Pair of sandals to use as a guide (optional).

Team Gunn Parker - News

Team Gunn Parker - News: Gear weight calculator
I have just added a new download, a gear weight calculator.
It is not mine but chrisibbeson's and it does work quite well.
Find it here.

Talking about Ultralight Done Right: Customize & Adapt

Backpacker Magazine - Ultralight Done Right: Customize, Adapt

Your pack's excess straps weighing you down? Cut 'em off. Plus how to maximize the gear you do bring.

by: Elisabeth Kwak-Hefferan

Read More
Ultralight Done Right

CUSTOMIZE GEAR
1. Slice off or trim your pack's excess straps and daisy chains, shorten zipper pulls, and remove tent guylines. But be careful, warns Lichter. "Get to know your gear first. If you cut it too short, there's no going back."

2. Build your own first-aid kit. Must-haves: antibiotic ointment, duct tape, gauze, bandages, and blister treatment. Some hikers start with a commercial kit (like Adventure Medical Kits' Ultralight & Watertight .5; $17, adventuremedicalkits.com) and adjust contents to their liking.

3. Downsize toiletries by repackaging sunblock, soap, hand sanitizer, and contact lens solution in .25-ounce plastic dropper bottles.

4. Photocopy and carry only the map section you need, not the whole thing.

ADAPT ON THE TRAIL
1. Bring just one set of baselayers and take advantage of body heat to dry them when they get wet or sweaty. Keep the damp shirt on while setting up camp; if you're chilled, layer the wet shirt over your long-sleeved midlayer. Either way, body heat will quickly dry the fabric.

2. Add layers (even a puffy down jacket), a hat, and gloves if you feel cold in a light sleeping bag. Some ultralighters even plan on getting up in the coldest hours of the morning and hiking to warm up, stopping later for breakfast.

3. Carefully scout a sheltered campsite when using a tarp. Look for natural windbreaks behind trees, bushes, and rocks, and avoid any places where water will pool. In windy conditions, pitch tarps low to the ground on the windward side.
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Silva Map Measurer

I have just bought myself a Silva map measurer. I will now be able to measure distances on my map accurately. The measurer measures in a range of different scales, eight in fact. 1:750k, 1:500K, 1:400K, 1:200K, 1:100K, 1:50K, 1:25K, 1:15K.

I would normally use a 1:25K so this should work out just fine.

How to make a cozy?

I wanted to make a cozy out of an old car sun screen that wrapped around a plastic container that I can eat from. The idea of a cozy is that it insulates and keeps the heat in. So to use one and say I was having a packet of noodles that night for dinner. I would at home take the noodles of of the packet, and put into a zip lock bag, add the spices and flavour pouches to that and any other ingredients I want.
Then in camp I would place the zip lock bag into the plastic container and open it up. Then boil some water and pour into the bag. Stir a little and close the bag making sure to expel some air. Fold the bag down a little and put the lid of the container on.
After a few minutes the noodles will be cooked and ready to eat. Now while I was waiting I could be doing other camp chores or using my pot to cook another dish to go with the noodles.
The noodles will stay very hot for at least 20 minutes inside and sealed up so plenty of time to do other things and I would also use less fuel by not boiling the noodles for the three to five minutes.

Here is a photo of one I made last week. It is made from a car sun screen and is wrapped around a plastic container I will eat out of.
I just wrapped the screen around the container and cut where needed and I used some aluminum foil to hold it together.

Team Gunn Parker - News: New article, weight convertor

Team Gunn Parker - News: New article: "New article
The weight convertor will convert, kilos to pounds and grams to ounces.
Enjoy"

Questoutfitters Order

I have placed an order with questoutfitters for the following items.
Order details for order ref: RC5640560

Item Name : #1201 POLYMESH , (Black)Quantity : 1Price Each : $9.25Total Price : $9.25

Item Name : #68284 REMNANT 1.1 OZ C RIP NAVYQuantity : 2Price Each : $4.35Total Price : $8.70

Item Name : #3029 MITTEN/GLOVE HOOKS - longQuantity : 4Price Each : $0.30Total Price : $1.20

Item Name : #3056 ZIPPER CORDQuantity : 5Price Each : $0.19Total Price : $0.95

Item Name : #3080A TENT CLIP - for shockcordQuantity : 2Price Each : $0.39Total Price : $0.78
_______
Subtotal : $20.88

Team Gunn Parker - Articles: Perth Weather

I have just added a weather gadget to my website.
Team Gunn Parker - Articles: Perth Weather: "Perth Weather
For current and forecast weather for Perth, Western Australia, click here"

mesh fabrics

I am looking into buying some mesh from Questoutfitters to modify my Golit Ion pack.
This fabric below looks to be the one I will use.

mesh fabrics: "POLYMESH
WT/SQ YD=8.0 oz. 100% polyester, medium weight, durable, machine washable. Uses: ventilated storage bags, swim suit bags, ventilated linings, pack pockets. Wash Code =3 ROLL SIZE = 100 YDS

1-15 YDS 15 YDS-ROLL SZ ROLL SZ
#1201 B 59' $9.25 yd $8.25 yd $6.49 yd

Colors:black

You-Tube Videos

I have just added a new side gadget that displays my you-tube videos, looks very nice.

Team Gunn Parker - Downloads: Diet and Lifestyle

I have just added a new download, Enjoy
Team Gunn Parker - Downloads: Diet and Lifestyle: "Downloads: Diet and Lifestyle
Weight Loss Chart [NEW]
With this excel sheet you can add your daily weight on one tab and view a chart of your weight loss on another tab.
The data tab comes with some example data, just delete it and enter your own data.
Data can be added in Kg or Pounds and needs to be unziped before use.
License: freeO/S: Version: 97-2003 excel
Added: 23/07/2009 13:55Downloads: 2Download ()"

Team Gunn Parker - Articles: Hiking

Team Gunn Parker - Articles: Hiking: "Articles: Hiking
Bibblumun Track Distances [NEW]
These are distances along the Bibbulmun track heading South from Kalamunda to Albany. The distances are not between each hut walking one to the next, but miss some huts altogether and head to the next.
The average distance covered each day is 19.5 km and about 4.9 hours based on walking 4 km/hour."

Click this link to see the distances involved
Track Distances

Team Gunn Parker - Articles: DIY Gear

Team Gunn Parker - Articles: DIY Gear: "Articles: DIY Gear
Beer can pot

Last night I made a cooking pot from a one litre beer can."



I cut the top off with a saftey can opener and filled it with two cups of cold water.
My vargo alcohol stove brought the water to a boil in 9:06 min. Not very quick at all and the can felt a little soft to pick up.

I may not use it while camping but it was a little fun.

Andrew

Leave No Trace Australia

Leave No Trace Australia is a national non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor travel and recreation through education.
Leave No Trace Australia

Leave No Trace

Leave No Trace Australia is a national non-profit organisation dedicated to promoting and inspiring responsible outdoor travel and recreation through education, research and partnerships. Leave No Trace builds awareness, appreciation and respect for our natural and cultural heritage.

We are dedicated to promoting attitudinal change and the empowerment of individuals, companies and communities to accept responsibility for the conservation of their natural environment. This is achieved by forming partnerships to foster the development of Leave No Trace minimal impact skills and ethics.

Support Now | Partner Now | Donate Now

Please support our loyal Partners & Supporters

Pictures of LNT products are now up in the Store.
More great resources, merchandise and equipment that helps you Leave No Trace are coming soon.

Team Gunn Parker - Articles: Helena Hut-Trip report

Last Saturday My good friend and hiking buddy, Mark and I met at the Coles car park in Kalamunda and headed out to the Hills Forest Discovery Centre to park the car and start our hike. The plan the night before was to hike to Helena and stop for lunch then continue on to Waleegh hut, there we would make camp and stay the night.
The weather during that week had become worse and worse. Thursday, Mundaring had 24 mm (1 in) of rain and 35 mm (1.38 in) on Friday. We decided to call off the camping part of our trip and just spend the day hiking and if we became soaked it would not matter.
The morning started out cold with me wearing two fleece tops and a beanie and carrying my brand new Golite Ion.

My pack at the hut


We take the road out of The Discovery centre and head out to the bibbulmun track and on the way we stop to admire the start of a nice water fall at one of the creeks we cross, we have not had a lot of rain and so this water fall should be very good in a couple of weeks or so (if the rain keeps up) we continued along Allan road until we picked up the track where we have to turn off to the East. At this point I have warmed up enough to take off one layer of fleece and my beanie.
After a nice two hour walk we make our way to the Helena hut. This hut is really in a nice spot but it is a pain to get to. We have to turn off the track and walk downhill past the drop box toilet and eventually to the hut. But the thing is if you stay the night here or stop for a break you have to turn around and head straight back up the hill just to get to the track.
We arrived at the hut at about ten am only to find five other people there. four of them, two dads and two kids out for a few days hiking were just leaving. They had hiked in the day before and walked for two hours in the downpour and decided to quit and head home. The other guy who was there was like us and was on a training hike before heading off the next day to fly to the Kokoda Trail in Papua New Guinea. The families left and we were able to get some space in the hut to have our lunch. Today I was testing the AntiGravityGear Cozy for the Trail Designs Caldera Caddy Container, This is a part of my long term test for backpackgeartest.org.

We arrived at about ten am I as mentioned and across the valley was quite a lot of low cloud to be seen.

I started to prepare my meal using my MSR Pocket Rocket, I was having noodles and a vegetable curry mix. The noodles were heated then poured into the caddy to keep warm while I heated the curry.



After we had a chat to the other guy and ate our lunches we packed up and headed off to walk back to the car. So first thing we had to do was hike back up the hill to reach the track, then head off to work our way back. On the way back we decided to stop at two of the creeks to try to catch some tadpoles for our kids, so we stopped at one and left the track to follow the creek to see what we could find. Mark found that if you are not carefully on the slippery rocks you can slip into the water and get soaked, which he did.
He slipped right in with one leg up to his knee, I had to hold back my laughter while he put on a brave face. We caught a few and then left to get to the other creek we had seen. Here we caught a few more for the kids.
After another hour or so of walking we made it back to the car and guess what? Not a sign of getting wet, sure there were a lot of very black clouds but it did not even sprinkle. On this trip I had brought along my slightly modified umbrella and did not get to use it at all.
We walked about four and a half hours and travelled 22 km (13 m) this morning and had a good time shaking out the cobwebs.
We finished the day off with two very welcome cold beers at the Mundaring Weir Hotel and the promise to get back out as soon as the weather broke to camp at Waleegh hut.