Stealth Camping and Eating Out, Alaskan Style

It was cold and rainy on Saturday, so we made the logical choice- we went camping. We needed to check out some gear so we drove out Chena Hot Springs Road looking for the perfect spot. It needed to be not crowded, not flooded and not bare of trees. It needed to be free and have a river view. After a few false turns, we found the right spot with a convenient cluster of trees by the river to hang our hammocks. It was 44 Mile Chena Hot Springs Rd with a gravel turnout, river access, outhouse and a gentle breeze.

Camping in the woods in an undisclosed location is called stealth camping. You can see from the photo that our rainflies blend in nicely to the surroundings. As I was lying in the hammock last night, I thought about moose walking between the trees, not seeing us and running us over. And then I remembered that we've been tent camping for years and it was just as likely to happen in a tent, so .....

It was between 40 and 50 degrees with wind and intermittent rain, so we got a good check on our gear. Hammocks are colder than tents since there is nothing underneath you and you compress all the inside insulation. I cut a few swaths of garage door insulation (silvery with bubble insulation sandwiched in the middle) and connected them with duct tape. It worked pretty well with my Marmot Helium 15 degree bag, a silk liner and my woolies, including socks.

Notes for the future: I needed a hat- that was obvious. We'll try a sling under the bottom of the hammocks which should allow us to put all our extra clothes underneath for insulation while only adding the weight of the sling cord. We also might be looking at a mylar cushion for underneath.

We had Zatarain's red beans and rice and summer sausage, testing out a meal and the cat stove that Paul made. It weighs less than an ounce and uses alcohol for fuel. It's called a cat stove because it's made from a cat food can. Google "cat stove" and you'll find the instructions. There is no burner control, but after the first batch of alcohol burned out, Paul put the rice concoction into a home-made cozy and let it continue to cook while we enjoyed hot chocolate and peppermint tea.

We turned in early and woke up correspondingly early. We saw a morning rabbit and moose on our way into town for Lulu's cinnamon rolls.