Field Test of the Stainless Cooking Kit. | SouthernPaddler.com

Field Test of the Stainless Cooking Kit.

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Today is a Blue Bird day , Clear blue skies , no wind and about 82 degrees so there is no reason to sit around the house , a good day to try out the cook kit and enjoy some free time.

Jumped in the Jeep with the Duluth messenger bag which has the cook kit , a pistol , toilet paper and paper towels and a bottle of cold water in it and I'm off to the Seminole Ranch and camp. After a 30 minute ride I was at the dirt road to the camp. 6 Miles later I am there , unlock the gate and go down to the river after locking the gate. I parked the Jeep in the shade under the trees behind the camping shelter.

The sun is shinning with blue skies , very little breeze and in fact the river looks like is is a sheet of glass it is that smooth. Up by the bushes and trees the shade is so nice even the mosquitoes are out and about , time to move.

Down to the open grassy area where the wooden but well worn picnic table is.
In the distance , off to my left , I can hear some Air Boats running and off to my right someone is shooting a shotgun. It's duck season but there aren't any flying , it's a blue bird day if there ever was a blue bird day and not a duck day.
I call the rainy , windy , overcast , cold and miserable days , duck days , because those are the days when they are flying and not just sitting around on a day like today.

Siting there I unpack the kit and set the stove up , put the alcohol burner in it and add about 1 ounce of alcohol to the burner. Got the cup out and put almost two cups of water in it. Used the fero rod to create some sparks and I have a flame in the burner.
Put the cup on the stove and soon I have some boiling water that I dropped a Constant Comment tea bag in. I let it steep for a few minutes and then sat back enjoying the scenery and a hot cup of good spicy tea. It's sort of a tradition for me when I'm there to have that Tea since that is my morning drink when I am camping there.

Not much going on , just a quiet , lazy day and a good time to do nothing but enjoy the surroundings.
Finished the tea and cleaned the cup then repacked everything and walked around checking the area to make sure everything was OK. Even the old pitcher pump produced cold , clear , water with the first pump of the lever.
I did see hoof prints from some cows down by the river , in the sand , where they came to drink. Even some Racoon prints were there from there nightly scouting trip for anything edible by the waters edge.

All in all it was a nice quiet time and I am really pleased on how well the modified cooking kit works. I did have a plastic bottle of bottled water with me. To correct that I will have to add one of the little Sawyer personal water filters and squeeze bag to the kit. Then it will be a self sufficient cooking kit.
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michstripcanoe

Well-Known Member
Sep 10, 2003
86
0
Oscoda, michigan
Chuck: Great post. I drive down Hat Bill road quite often. All the way to the end where the road hits the water. I look back to my right and can see the edge of the campground you described, the Seminole Ranch campground where the geezers have met and camped together a few times. That's the last place I had a chance to sit and talk to Joe Fennell before he passed on. My son Mike (who lives at Edgewater) and I go to the gun range on the North end of Hat Bill road once in a while. They are open every week day from about 9AM to noon, and open all day long every Wednesday. It's run by a nice bunch of guys and a good club to belong to. I think Mike is going to apply for membership in their club.

The weather has been fantastic so far this winter. Sure is nice to go to the ocean, toss out a couple of lines, catch a few whiting, an occasional blue fish or pompano, and talk on the cell phone to one of my kids that take a break from shoveling snow to talk to me. IT IS A GREAT COUNTRY. AND, WE CAN START WISHING EACH OTHER A MERRY CHRISTMAS AGAIN. Dapper Al.
 

oldsparkey

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2003
10,479
123
Central , Florida
www.southernpaddler.com
Al...

Merry Christmas is back and Happy Holiday is a memory. :D

Yep , I really enjoy going to the Seminole Ranch and this last visit was a good chance to remember all the good times and friends who have been there and enjoyed the ranch as much as I do. Heck I could even point out where everyone set up for the night and the arraignment around the campfire.

Not forgetting the folks who stopped by for a visit to spread , inject , embellish , some truth in the conversations. :roll:

The one Racoon who enjoyed getting in the vehicles and eating the donuts must of been sleeping because he never showed up to check out the Jeep. Thinking bout it , he might of looked and realized I was not camping and all the other guys were not there so he just figured there was nothing worth getting out of bed for.

That Gun range is really set up nice and as you said the folks who run it are really some nice folks. When the oldest daughter comes over and wants to do some shooting that is where we go to punch a lot of holes in a target.

You talked about not missing shoveling snow and enjoying the beach while surf fishing. Here inland all a person will hear or see are lawnmowers cutting grass and folks trimming hedges. This morning on my walk I had to dodge a couple lawn mowers and then a guy trimming a hedge and finally some dude with a blower , blowing all the trimmings off the sidewalk. The lawn crews are out in full force. :lol: