Thomas' Hiking and Backpacking

CAMP STOVE
The Trailstove is my favorite back packing stove, I have quite a few. If you're only going to own one camp stove then this is the one to have. If you're like me and like to have a set of different stoves for different circumstances then the Trailstove is one of the stoves you need to have. It burns wood and it's very light, it has the lowest pack weight of all my stoves. In some places you may not be allowed to gather fire wood where you are going and then you would use another one of your stoves. The Trailstove actually comes with an optional alcohol burner for those situations if you want to use the Trailstove as your only stove.

TARP
If you don't bring a tarp you'll regret it.

POT
To boil water to keep you warm and to cook rice to eat. If your pot has a lid it will heat water more efficiently.

TOOL
You need to have a very good heavy duty knife. Bringing a Leatherman Tool or a Swiss Army Knife is fine but you have to bring a real knife as well.

Find a flat sheltered spot for your shelter. Don't go too close to trees or big rocks since blowing snow tends to accumulate around them.
Dig a hole in the snow, about a foot longer than your body and about 3 feet wide, use the snow from the dig to build walls around the hole. Try to get one of the short sides downwind.
Keep digging until the hole is 3 ft from floor to upper edge. Keep in mind that the smaller your shelter is the warmer it will be.
Leave a 1.5x1.5 ft opening in the downwind upper short edge with a connecting corridor, this will be your door.
If you plan to use a stove in the shelter you must also make a vent opening in the side opposite to the door. This opening should be about 6x6 inches.
If possible, try to make a block of hard snow 1.5x1.5x0.5 ft to use as a door block, place this block inside the hole when you're done.

Cover half of the floor on the opposite side of the opening with soft branches to provide extra insulation from the cold snow beneath. This will be your sleeping area, you will later cover the branches with your sleeping pad. If you don't have a sleeping pad with you, make a thicker layer of branches. If it is snowing while you are building your shelter, you can do this step later, after the roof has been put up so you won't get snow on your branches.

Place a number of tree branches over the hole. Keep in mind that these branches may have to carry some heavy snow loads. You can use skis and ski poles for this purpose as well but keep in mind that you won't be able to use them again without ruining the shelter.

Cover the hole with your tarp. Attach edges and corners as well as possible with stakes made from tree branches or string to a nearby tree. Don't rely on weights such as rocks or big chunks of wood, they will start sliding. You want to make sure that there's no way that the tarp will start sagging or slip down through the openings in the ceiling.
Cover the tarp with a layer of snow for insulation. If there is powder snow available try to get a coverage of at least 3 inches. If there is no powder use wet snow or hard snow to make blocks 1.5" thick to form a sheet on top of the tarp, try to rest the blocks on the support poles and not on the tarp. If it is snowing heavily you can let nature take care of this step.

Move in to the shelter. Put your sleeping pad on the branches and sleep with your head away from the door. You can block the door opening to keep warm but you must have at least two small air vents on opposite sides of the shelter to ensure an adequate air supply.

SOME THINGS TO KEEP IN MIND
When you're using a stove in the shelter you must open both the door opening and the vent opening. Make sure that the vent opening is kept clear from falling snow on the outside, poke around with a stick periodically if needed.
If you need to urinate during the night, don't go outside in the cold. Just go on the floor inside the shelter. The urine will seep down through the snow, there will be a stained crater left but you can just cover that with some snow.

Oregon National Historic Trail

As the harbinger of America's westward expansion, the Oregon Trail was the pathway to the Pacific for fur traders, gold seekers, missionaries and others. Beginning in 1841 and continuing for more than 20 years, an estimated 300,000 emigrants followed this route from Independence, Missouri to Oregon City, Oregon on a trip that took five months to complete.

The 2,170 mile long trail passes through Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska, Wyoming, Idaho and Oregon.

Write to
Long Distance Trails Office
324 South State St., Suite 250
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0155

TRAVEL BASICS

Weather & Climate
Travel and weather information along the Oregon Trail is best obtained from local offices of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Forest Service, or state tourism.

Accessibility
Information on the accessibility of facilities along the Oregon Trail is best obtained from the National Park Service Long Distance Trails Office, or from local offices of the Bureau of Land Management, the National Forest Service, or state tourism.

CAMP STOVE The Trailstove is my favorite back packing stove, I have quite a few. If you're only going to own one camp stove then this is the one to have. If you're like me and like to have a set of different stoves for different circumstances then the Trailstove is one of the stoves you need to have. It burns wood and it's very light, it has the lowest pack weight of all my stoves. In some places you may not be allowed to gather fire wood where you are going and then you would use another one of your stoves. The Trailstove actually comes with an optional alcohol burner for those situations if you want to use the Trailstove as your only stove.
TARP If you don't bring a tarp you'll regret it.
POT To boil water to keep you warm and to cook rice to eat. If your pot has a lid it will heat water more efficiently.
TOOL You need to have a very good heavy duty knife. Bringing a Leatherman Tool or a Swiss Army Knife is fine but you have to bring a real knife as well.