A Tent Away from Home

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Clean-up becomes a snap, literally. Biodegradable detergent? Who needs it? If you use what we have discovered to be the laziest and quickest way to clean dishes, you, will save time, money and soap. Immediately after eating: spoon food remains into the fireplace. Dash boiling water into the bowl or cup. Snap the lid into place. Take care to hold the lidded bowl with both hands at arm's length. Keep your wrists together. Shake vigorously for a minute. Unhand part of the rim if the lid vents so the hot rinse will spurt away from you. Do the same with cups. Dump. Repeat as often as you feel the need to. Your sparkling utensils will air dry in less than thirty seconds. With practice, your mess kits will look like they just came out of dishwasher. Now sharpen your Pen cil. Let's see: two days times three meals times four people equals...

Quenching Your Thirst

Water is the most basic menu item, and words you should always remamber are: purity it. Potable water call no longer be taken for granted just because you are in the wilds. State parks have been deluged by campers, many of whom don't know about or don't respect proper water treatment. Gardia and other microbes, dirty water from upstream, and unburied human Waste call cause unpleasant intestinal surprises for those further down stream.

In the past, the rule might have been: the higher up and farther out you go, the cleaner and safer the drinking water will be. But now, safeguard you health by purifying all the water you drink. Though ex pensive, bulky but excellent and highly effective lactic water filtration devices are on the market. Carry one if you like but in most instances, iodine tablets will suffice Cheap, compact, and effective staples in most camp stores, one tablet per quart is all you need. Ten minutes later, quench your thirst. One terrible tasting sip will tell you why you brought along packets of Wyler's , lemonade or Crystal Light! Other "iodine masks" of choice might include instant ice tea or even kool And (if the kids want to pack in the extra sugar).

One trip to the river with a collapsible two-gallon water container and a couple of canteens should do for your cooking and washing needs for the evening. Take water as far from the shore as you can, where it is most active and roiled. Add the requisite number of iodine pellets. More serious water contamination will require boiling iodized water. Check with the park ranger for information on local water quality. As the grunge-factor grows you may want to soap down or shampoo your hair. Respect the water supply. Rinse off on land, away from the water source. Give those detergents time and distance to break down and disseminate before they filter back into the stream and are used by some downstream camper to brew his morning coffee.

Home Away From Home

Choosing your menu will be easier than setting up camp. The perfect camp compliments nature by its economy and sufficiency. Regardless of where or how frequently you rest and refresh yourself, whether your tent is a poly pup or the last word in alpine design, your appreciation of great campsites evolves as you grow in experience. They come to symbolize all that works well, all that is really needed and right with the world and with you.

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