2012 Meetup Camping Trip PLANNING

[Alan]

Originally Posted by apache_blanca

Friday for you - Saturday for us folks on the other side...

hey Alan & HNM I am one hour ahead of you

Hope to see y'all there but if I don't - don't miss me too much...

Hehehe - 05:00 hey? I get up that time for work. Well I say 'I'. What I really mean is my body gets up at 05:00, but I don't surface until about 07:00 - Hahaha

Well, I guess I will just have to get me a pilot and fire some 'H.E.s' at your bed columns.....

Alan

[apache_blanca]

Originally Posted by Alan

Hehehe - 05:00 hey? ...Well, I guess I will just have to get me a pilot and fire some 'H.E.s' at your bed columns.....
Alan

erm... no, it's 7 am for me - 6 am for you. "Fire some H.E.'s" - give over! I'll set ikrans on you...

Seriously speaking (for a change), my main concern is food. We count that many (?) persons x (breakfast + 2 meals) x 5/6 days*. Food means:
1. Decide what (See No. 4);
2. Buy it,
3. Deliver it,
4. Store it (this is why I would go for dry foods like pasta + rice + canned meat & Maybe some veggies- unless we want to attract all the wildlife of the ONP). Does the clan want a barbeque? If yes (imho) - it could be only the 1st day, i.e. eat it all at once, cos if not, how to store fresh meat? that would mean barbeque sets, too...
5. Cook it! I.e. Big pots & pans - they have to be bought, too! and washed... (after every meal). Once the camping trip is over - what do we do with them?
Cooking will also mean take turns - we wouldn't want anybody to go camping... and to spend all the time cooking! and ooh, and washing the pans later, too!
6. Eat it! (hope nobody is too picky?). Imho, each person should have at least a cup, a bowl & a spoon. Right?

*5/6 days - 6 for backpackers, 5 (coming Sunday - leaving Thursday) for everyone. Do backpackers bring their own food? Or else, someone comes with the backpackers - but doesn't go for the trip cos s/he will have to shoo bears away from our foodstore?

I'll try to speak to some cooks I know in order to calculate the "menu" for one active person for 5/6 days, then we'll just do the maths. But this food question needs some good consideration. Maybe not at this particular time, but it's important.

[Aketuan]

Originally Posted by Helicoradian

I know I haven't been very involved in any part of the meetup or camping trip planning, sorry

yeah, don't worry about it. There will be plenty of future opportunities if you want to help.

Things are kind of hectic right now because i'm in the process of moving to Washington, but I still plan on attending next summer. I'll try my best to be on IRC this friday to see what the plan is and if I can lend help in any way.

Awesome, maybe we'll see you on Friday then.


@EVERYONE: looks like almost everyone can make it, so we should be able to accomplish a lot.

@apache_blanca: I completely agree that the food issue is a large one...

Here is my take on it:

Backpackers will have to figure out food, but I think the easiest way to go is t have everyone pack in their own meals. Freeze-dried is excellent for this...

Campers only have
Monday night (BBQ?)
Tuesday (ALL meals)
Wednesday (ALL meals)
Thursday (just breakfast)

Which isn't too much food...One solution is to have a group pick up all of the food for everyone and we all pitch in...dunno

And the solution to keeping things good is a cooler or two....(or 3) About pans, I have a set of 5 that I use for backpacking...small though. I think if we pool together all of our resources, we should be able to get all of the "community gear" that we need.

[Moco Loco]

I'm good for Friday, I'll definitely be on IRC anyway

[Human No More]

Clan barbecue FTW - if only we had some teylu

[Alan]

Originally Posted by apache_blanca

erm... no, it's 7 am for me - 6 am for you. "Fire some H.E.'s" - give over! I'll set ikrans on you...

Doh! I got 'an hour ahead' all mixed up. Hehehe. Oh no, not Ikrans!

Originally Posted by apache_blanca

Seriously speaking (for a change), my main concern is food.

Yeah foooood...

Well, I guess we need to determine how best to do it. Liiiike, each bring our own - might be difficult if many of us will have just arrived off a plane. What equipment will be required - what do we need to bring and what will 'the chosen ones' need to bring on behalf of the group?

The ideal thing would be if a lot of the cooking and eating equipment could be hired. Do we know if the campsite hires any equipment out? If not are there any other places that do that along the way?

I think MOMS and James of Terra were going to hire a van...or something, so would that be a possibility? I mean there would be tents too, that are required. Perhaps each tent have it's own mini cooking stove?

Oooo...milk. Will we be needing milk for breakfast and drinks? Or fry up everyday. Can this be bought at the campsite or do we have to bring it...and were to we keep it? In the river on a bit of string to keep it cool? (Not being funny there either...or put it in a bucket of water!)

I'm sure there are plenty of ways round this. We just need to find out what they are. For me it boils down to finding out what the campsite has to offer in the way of facilities, equipment hire and food to buy or a place to eat instead? Once that is established, then we can see what we need to bring with us or get some volunteers to bring either bought or hired stuff along for the clan.



Do we have a list of areas we need to chat through..like...err..:

1. How many coming/can be accommodated
2. What equipment needed - group wise and individually
3. What options are their for people - some may love to come, but prefer a lodge rather than camping.
4. Food - bring with us/volunteers to bring for group/buy there?
5. Transport - cars/vans/shuttles.
6. Errr....can't think of anything else at the moment...

Food for thought anyway....HA - Food for thought! Get it? Doh....Ok I'll get mi coat.......

Alan

[Aketuan]

The ideal thing would be if a lot of the cooking and eating equipment could be hired. Do we know if the campsite hires any equipment out? If not are there any other places that do that along the way?

I'm not sure about that. I have a lot of gear, and so does other people that would be willing to share it for the group. The National Park does not hire out stuff. It would have to be done on the way.

Oooo...milk. Will we be needing milk for breakfast and drinks? Or fry up everyday. Can this be bought at the campsite or do we have to bring it...and were to we keep it? In the river on a bit of string to keep it cool? (Not being funny there either...or put it in a bucket of water!)

COOLERS - an insulated container that when packed with lots of ice and refrigerated stuff, will stay cold for up to a week. Again I have a few. The problem is actually "getting" the food.


Also great stuff Alan. Wow.....we have a lot of work to do...

[Human No More]

Well, if anyone is driving, people who get there early can bring the food in then.

[apache_blanca]

Originally Posted by Aketuan

... I have a lot of gear, and so does other people that would be willing to share it for the group. The National Park does not hire out stuff. It would have to be done on the way.

(I am still secretly hoping for some sort of a canteen... or at least a place to buy food in ONP... but if it's not the case...) i guess when we know the exact number of persons we can evaluate just how much gear we need. One pan for 3-4 persons? (depending on the size of the pan & the appetites... )

COOLERS - an insulated container that when packed with lots of ice and refrigerated stuff, will stay cold for up to a week. Again I have a few. The problem is actually "getting" the food.

thank you for reminding me, Aketuan, i forgot COOLERS existed! I guess i got lost in the bush for too long... Getting the food - hopefully people who fly in earlier can volunteer to purchase it (erm... does it include me? ) Imho that van that MOMS Ball Avatar & James of Terra were talking about fits in very nicely as far as bringing & storing food is concerned - but we must ask them of course.

Also great stuff Alan. Wow.....we have a lot of work to do...

hell yeah! good we have time but time has this habit to be going... Loads of stuff to sort out! Hope we make a good progress this time. See y'all there (4 fingers x-ed).

[Alan]

Kaltxi folks,


Well following our IRC meeting I have progressed some of the actions I had so here is a run down on them:


Shuttle:
I have sent an email to Willie asking the following:

-Will the capacity of the bus be reduced by the luggage we bring
-When would be the latest he could leave Sea-Tac airport
-How long is the journey to the camp site and from there to Seattle
-How would we pay for the bus/shuttle
-Is there any information he needs from us.


I'll post the reply once I receive a response from him.


Food:
Following on the discussion to try and determine the cost per person for the food on the camp I have done a bit of internet shopping...as you do, and come up with the following as an initial guestimate to start us off. It is worked out on a per person covering the meals for one day. So if you are sitting comfortable, then I shall begin:


Breakfast:
One peice of fruit (apple) $0.48
Cereal $0.64
Milk $0.48
Toast $0.16
Bacon (2) $2.07
Sausage (2) $1.12
Eggs (2) $0.64
Beans (got to have beans on camp ) $0.64
Total: $6.23 - so say $7

Lunch:
Bread $0.32
Apple $0.48
Banana $0.16
Water $0.96
Sandwich filler $0.40
Cheese $0.32
Tomatoe $0.24
Cereal bar $0.96
Sweets/Candy $0.96
Crisps/Chips $0.96
Mix fruit and nuts $1.12
Total: $6.88 - so say $7

Snacks (2 snacks per day):
Cereal bar $0.96
Sweet/Candy $0.96
Water $0.96
Apple $0.48
Total: $3.36 x 2 = $6.72 - so say $7

Evening Meal:
Potatoes $0.40
Carrots $0.16
Onion $0.16
Mushrooms $0.32
Broccoli $0.48
Pie $0.80
Gravey $0.16
Cake $0.80
Drink $1.60
Total: $4.88 - so say $5

This gives a total of $26 for food per person for each day.
What do people think? Too high? Too low? Might work out cheaper if we buy in bulk. The other way to look at it is to budget for, say, $5 or $6 per meal and then aim to generate a food list based on that. I'm sure we won't run out of food.

Catering materials wise:
If we went the disposable cutlery way, we would be looking at the following for the total camp (assuming 30 for 8 plated meals):
Plates $45
Cultery $48
Cups $30
This works out at $4.10 per person for the whole camp and saves them spending more on buying for the camp and carrying it around. Again what do people thing?

Pots and Pans:
With regard to pots and pans, would someone be able to bring these along? Noting they would have to be all metal if we are cooking on an open fire. One trick we used to do was put washing up liquid on the base to make them easy to clean the soot off, even though we only used to cook on the embers as they are the hotest part of the fire....well that's what I can remember from the candle lit end of my sea scouting memory anyway!

Hope that info helps us on our way a bit.

Alan

[Alan]

Whilst having mi lunch I thought I would look up the Sol Duc camp..lodge...springs place and it sez in the blurb:

"You'll have convenient access to our hot mineral-spring pools, massage therapists, café, restaurant, gift shop and convenience store."

So we might not be so out of the way for food... Here are the links I found:

Washington`s Olympic National Park & Forest - Olympicnationalparks.com
Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort - Sol Duc Cabin Rentals at Olympic National Parks in Washinton State

Looks quite nice there...especially the lodges - hehehe.

Alan

[Alan]

Sorry for the triple post here...

Afraid I just had to ask about bogs...err....sorry toilets - hehehe

Anyway, here is the response I got. I refrained from replying saying "That's some gooood useable intell..."

" Greetings Alan,
Thank you for your interest in Olympic National Park! In response to your question, the Sol Duc campground will have flushing toilets and running water. You can puchase firewood from the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort, or at Fairholme general store in the summer. There are no showers at the campground however for a day-use fee you can access the Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort's facilities, which includes the hot-springs and shower rooms. The closest shop to buy provisions will be at Fairhome general store off the 101 at the far-west end of Lake Crescent (which you will pass on your way on the west-bound Highway 101.) It is advisable to purchase provisions in Port Angeles on your way out to Sol Duc, as the selection at Fairholme is limited. Hope this helps!

Enjoy your visit here to Olympic National Park.

Sincerely, Ranger Sahara S."

So at least we know what facilities there are and where the local shop is. Gradually building up our info for the camp. I've replied asking if they know what the fee is for the hot springs and showers.

Alan

[Alan]

Ooo - four posts in a row....eeek!

Anyway, more info from the Olympic National Park visitor centre person regarding the fees for the hot spring and showers:

"I believe the fee at Sol Duc is around 13 dollars per day per adult, but you might want to double check at the Sol Duc Resort website www.visitsolduc.com"

Toodle pip,

Alan

[Human No More]

Not bad

Sorry I missed the discussion this morning... I will have a read through the logs later, but it might be good to post any points from that here.

If anyone else wants the logs, they are here: http://dl.dropbox.com/u/6036637/%23a...-camping-1.txt

[Sempu]

FYI there's a decent health food store in downtown P.A., "Country Aire". Been there many times myself. Good place to stock up on healthier stuff than most of the supermarkets have.