djb

when I was a teenager, we had an Inuit girl stay with us as a boarder, and at least once her brother mailed her a cardboard box with frozen seal, fish and bird meat that he had hunted.
so I've had the opportunity to eat raw seal meat etc, which was a neat experience, so I guess you aren't that far off.

Leebo

Trangia stove, small container of fuel, small Ti pot. Good stuff. Lots of time i'm way out in the woods bikepacking.

Miele Man

Seal meat is good tasting and very dark in colour. A lot of Newfoundland stores sell it even if the store is in Ontario, Canada.

Cheers

djb

listen, this was 40 years ago, but I remember it tasting rather fishy ish....she just cut slices off it partially frozen. Like i said, raw.

veloz

Seriously? MSR Pocket Rocket & butane are tiny & comparable weight to a hydro flask. A foil heat shield cuts boil time in half and a butane can lasts us a week in seasonal temps. Go stoveless if you want but we eat oats & make GOOD coffee anywhere, usually hours from a store.

Miele Man

I cooked my seal meat. No telling what was in it so I'd not eat it raw.

Cheers

Mark Hoaglund

While pedaling I placed my sealed can in a clear bag set on a dark shirt in my basket to warm. I don't know way I didn't try a dark bag. The empty bread bags where readily available.

Set my grocery store can goods in the touring sunlight dug in with my can opener & spork with a loaf of bread for days at a time. Preferred baked beans & stew then placed empty cans in trash receptacles in towns I passed thru while stocking up for the trip.

PedalingWalrus

To the OP in regards to real oats I sometimes prepare my breakfast before I go to my sleeping bag using coldsoaking method: a spoon of honey, dice dried peaches, a few almondsand oats. I then make powder milk with water, put the ingredients in, close the lid tight and put it in my sleeping bag and leave soaking overnight. Just re-mix in the morning and it ia good to eat

djb

Walrus and others, we have done the same thing. Crossing France a few summers ago, we got into the habit of buying yogurt, fruit etc the night before, and mix in a good amount of oats the evening before and by morning you have a nice cool breakfast, adding in whatever you have with you fruit wise. This was in the summer, so I didnt mind it cool vs hot, and also liked not having to wash up more than a bowl or tupperware container.
Still always had my small Trangia to make coffee, as mentioned, I really like a hot beverage to start the day.

staehpj1

It is certainly possible to go without a stove and a reasonable choice for some, but almost no one goes light enough that weight is a good reason for doing so.

Even if I pare down to a total base gear weight of 8 pounds my list still includes a minimal stove and cooking gear. I have a range of different choices I use for bike touring, backpacking, and other lightweight outdoor travel. Depending on the situation I might go with a pop can stove, home made pot stand, and windscreen, and ti cup and spork. The whole deal may come in at 6 or 7 ounces depending on exact choices. Add 6 or 7 ounces of fuel (yellow Heet) and you are still well under a pound.

So yes you can trim a little weight by eliminating some of that, but it isn't much and almost everyone is carrying other stuff that I'd would get rid of first. Also the the ti cup and spork are actually over half of the gear weight in my lightest kitchen setup and you might want them even if you don't cook. The burner, stand, and windscreen, are under and ounce and a half. Carrying 1.4 ounces that and a few ounces of alcohol isn't much penalty for a hot beverage and some hot oatmeal before rolling out in the AM.

Even my "heavy" setup with an MSR multi fuel stove, some more amenities, and a large-ish pot is still pretty light and folks still think I am pretty excessive in my efforts to keep the load light.

My canister stove sits somewhere in between.

I guess I might consider going stove-less if I did really short tours, like over night, just to keep it simple. I am not inclined to go much less than 10 days or so at a time though and the notion of going stove-less for a week or more doesn't appeal to me.

staehpj1

I just realized the topic was "cooking without a stove" I had read it as "touring without a stove" which I assumed meant going cook-less. Just in case the op actually meant cooking without a stove, like cooking over an open fire, I'll add a quick comment or two on that. I have done a good bit of that way back in a previous life, and even now and then just for fun on bike tours. It can be done and may be fun once in a while, but I certainly wouldn't rely on it for day to day cooking on tour. It would be inconvenient and probably not be legal most places I camp. Unless I was going to limit myself to cooking items skewered on a stick I doubt it would even save me any weight carried and might even be heavier than carrying a stove since I'd carry a small grate and a heavier pot, longer handled utensils, aluminum foil, and likely at least a tiny bit of dry tinder/kindling in case of rain.

Carbonfiberboy 

Me too. Back before I got lazy, I never carried a stove. Just camp somewhere that there are some small rocks. Look around on the ground for pencil size sticks. Build a little hollow tower, maybe 6" high from the rocks, poke the sticks down into the hollow, start fire, put pan on top. That's all you need. Really quick to get hot, so easy to destroy when you're done. You need matches, a bit of paper, and a pot. Won't work in prairie country though. Camp fires are stupid, IMO.

Miele Man

The thing is that nowadays there are so many places that have total open flame fire bans. For many people, a campfire and camping are the main reasons to be out touring in the first place.

I wonder how long it'll be before someone invents an inexpensive compact portable solar powered electric stove?

Cheers

JayKay3000

I'm not sure it's cooking, but I love a hot cup of coffee in the morning so even if not cooking with the stove. Certainly boiling water with the stove is the main reason I carry one.

alan s 

I love a good campfire. Here’s one from a trip in December on the beach in the Florida Keys. 15 mph winds made it extremely hot.

indyfabz

I also love a good fire. Have I ever shown you my video of the fire I enjoyed at Rockwood along the GAP?

alan s 

The one with the crickets chirping in the background?

staehpj1

Me too. There is a big difference between enjoying a nice fire once in a while and maybe even cooking on it and relying on one to cook on every day of a long trip though.

indyfabz

That is the one.

indyfabz

Yeah. Have no interest in doing that. During last year’s trip out west it rained many nights, there was no cut firewood available and/or all the dead and down wood was soaked. Even if that had not been the case, my liquid fuel stove is much more convenient and perfect for my style of cooking.

PedalingWalrus

it all depends, really...

If You tour point to point then You really don't know what location, conditions adn your mental state will be at the end of the day to decide whether you will make a fire or not. Same with stove cooking or not. You may just chew on a power bar and say you will bike through a village next morning to get some fresh bakery item and coffee. I think it is good to be prepared without excessive penalty. I do carry a stove even though sometimes i do not use it. I also carry a small piece of firestarter to aid in starting a campfire for pleasuer or in case of hypothermic emergency.

Boatdriver

To be honest, I was afraid of what I might see if I searched for crotch pot....

alan s 

What are you waiting for? You know you want to post it.

alan s 

Crotch pot for personal use is now legal in many states.

Tourist in MSN

On my canoe trips on the Minnesota Ontario border (Boundary Waters Canoe Area) we only had barbecue for the first couple nights on each trip, with no refrigeration we were limited.




The baked potatoes were in the Aluminum foil in the fire in the photo.