Campbell's Backpacking Soup

Before you head out on a backpacking trip you'd better make sure you have all the items below with you. It's always good to be prepared for emergencies.

My Trailstove is so great that I could make a whole web site just about the Trailstove. To be brief; it burns wood, weighs a pound, 8 inches by 5 inches big. It's so much better to pick up the fuel when you get to your destination rather than carrying canisters of compressed gas on my back. (gas containers sometimes blow up by the way).

CAMPING STOVE

Always carry two separate light sources with you. If one lamp goes bad you've still got a good one. You need to see stuff around your camp site at night, and sometimes you need a light to see your way home in the dark.

LIGHT

Always bring about 4 or 5 ounces of high concentration alcohol for treating injuries and as an emergency fuel.

RUBBING ALCOHOL

The most important thing is that you always have the ability to make fire. The best way is to have multiple dependable sources of fire. Don't rely on stone age techniques they take lots of practice to master and even then the condition need to be right.

FIRE

Of you don't have any string with you, you could end up in some trouble. String is good for all sorts of things such as trapping animals, making fish traps, fixing broken gear to name a few.

STRING

HOW TO MAKE AN IGLOO
It's very good to be able to build an igloo when you go out backpacking in the winter time.

PICK A SPOT
You should build your igloo on a level surface where the snow is at least 3 feet deep. There should be enough hard snow for your igloo, if the surface snow is powdery there's probably hard packed snow a bit deeper. Large bumps on the surface of the snow it usually means that there is a large object below the snow such as a boulder or a large stomp, they can get in the way so it's better to pick as flat a spot as possible. Don't make your igloo bigger than it needs to be. Mark out in the snow where you plan to have the wall of your igloo.

CUT BLOCKS
Cut out blocks from the area which will be the inside of the igloo. The lower blocks should be about 1 foot thick, 3 feet long and 1.5 feet high, the higher blocks should be about 6 inches thick, 2 feet long, and 1 foot high. If you size the blocks as I have said above you will need approximately the following number of blocks:

Sleeping 1 person, 6 feet inner diameter: 30 blocks
Sleeping 2 people, 7 feet inner diameter: 40 blocks
Sleeping 3-4 people, 9 feet inner diameter: 60 blocks

Don't worry if you think you'll have trouble fitting, once the igloo is finished you can carve out a bit of space for your feet from the inner wall.
The hole resulting from your cutting will be the floor in the igloo so you want a sleeping area for each person as high up as possible, a general purpose area that should be a bit lower to allow for mobility, and a deep entrance hole that extends outside of the igloo. The entrance hole should be as narrow as possible while still allowing you to get in and out without too much discomfort. The deep entrance hole will absorb the cold air and release it to the outside while the warm air will rise and stay trapped inside the dome.

BUILD A SPIRAL CIRCLE
Place your largest and widest blocks in a circle around the hole where you have been cutting out your blocks, the blocks should be tilted in towards the center. Start with the block that goes on top of the entrance hole, the whole entrance hole must be traversed by one single block with plenty of support on both sides. Cut the blocks so they form a spiral, make sure that the block covering the entrance hole is the largest block.

BUILD WALL
Add blocks to the wall until you only have a small opening in the roof. Before you get to the point that it's hard to get in and out of the dome move any blocks not yet used to the inside of the dome so you can put them all up in one sweep from the inside.

TOP PIECE
When all the blocks are in place cut the final top piece to the right size. If you can wiggle it out from the inside and lower it down into position that's great, but if your hole is very circular this won't be possible, you'll have to put the block on top of the dome from the outside and then lower it down from the inside.

FINISHING
Fill any cracks with snow.
Make a little doorway over the entrance to keep snow out.
You have to make at least one air hole in the roof to ensure proper ventilation. Without good ventilation you could run out of oxygen, very dangerous.
Smoothen the inside of the dome to prevent water dripping.
Your igloo is now ready to be lived in, check your air hole periodically to make sure it's not blocked. If you've done everything right you will be quite comfortable.

Cedar Breaks National Monument

A huge natural amphitheater has been eroded out of the variegated Pink Cliffs (Claron Formation) near Cedar City, Utah. Millions of years of sedimentation, uplift and erosion have created a deep canyon of rock walls, fins, spires and columns, that spans some three miles, and is over 2,000 feet deep. The rim of the canyon is over 10,000 feet above sea level, and is forested with islands of Englemann spruce, subalpine fir and aspen; separated by broad meadows of brilliant summertime wild flowers.

Write to
Cedar Breaks National Monument
2390 West Highway 56, Suite #11
Cedar City, UT 84720-4151

TRAVEL BASICS

Operating Hours, Seasons
From early June to early September, the visitor center is open from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. From Labor Day until mid-October, it is open from 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. All visitor facilities are CLOSED during the winter season (mid-October through late May).

Getting There
CAR - Visitors traveling south on I-15, exit at Parowan, then take Utah Highway 143 east, to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Visitors traveling north, on I-15 exit at Cedar City, then take Utah Highway 14 east for 18 miles, then Utah Highway 148 north, 4 miles to Cedar Breaks National Monument. Visitors traveling north/south on U.S. Highway 89, can take either Utah Highway 143 from Panguitch to Cedar Breaks, or Utah Highway 14 west, to Utah Highway 148, and north to Cedar Breaks National Monument.

Accessibility
The visitor center, comfort stations, overlooks, picnic area and campground are wheelchair accessible.

FEES/PERMITS

Entrance Fee
INDIVIDUAL
$2 for 7 Days

VEHICLE
$4 for 7 Days

My Trailstove is so great that I could make a whole web site just about the Trailstove. To be brief; it burns wood, weighs a pound, 8 inches by 5 inches big. It's so much better to pick up the fuel when you get to your destination rather than carrying canisters of compressed gas on my back. (gas containers sometimes blow up by the way).		*CAMPING STOVE*
Always carry two separate light sources with you. If one lamp goes bad you've still got a good one. You need to see stuff around your camp site at night, and sometimes you need a light to see your way home in the dark.		*LIGHT*
Always bring about 4 or 5 ounces of high concentration alcohol for treating injuries and as an emergency fuel.		*RUBBING ALCOHOL*
The most important thing is that you always have the ability to make fire. The best way is to have multiple dependable sources of fire. Don't rely on stone age techniques they take lots of practice to master and even then the condition need to be right.		*FIRE*
Of you don't have any string with you, you could end up in some trouble. String is good for all sorts of things such as trapping animals, making fish traps, fixing broken gear to name a few.		*STRING*