74 Pocket Rocket stove, and eats from it using a foldable plastic fork, or ‘spork,’ which combines the functions of a spoon and a fork. He lights the stove with a BIC lighter or with a flint lighter. When he is cooking for three or four nights in a row, he brings a 440g gas canister for the stove, but if camping for one or two nights only he will carry a smaller 230g canister. He takes a High 5 Zero Electrolyte drink in the evenings to rehydrate and replace lost electrolytes. He drinks from a titanium mug. He washes the dishes with an ultralight MSR dish brush and scraper. RE-SUPPLYING EN ROUTE It would be inefficient to carry enough fuel and food to last for a week or more, so Aidan posts parcels to the hostels or B&Bs he will be staying in, addressed to himself. These contain food, fuel, a change of clothes, wet shaving kit, maps, etc, as well as padded envelopes with prepaid stamp labels to send back items such as maps that he has finished with, dirty clothes, shaving kit and so on. Aidan phones the B&Bs in advance to let them know of the parcels he’ll be sending them by courier. Frequently, he also saves time and energy by stashing his backpack at a prominent spot where he will be able to find it again before completing an ‘out and back’ to a summit. He carries a special 10-litre trail-running rucksack in his backpack to bring a few essential items to the peak. Pictured this page: Aidan’s entire cooking setup. From top right, a titanium pot and lid, titanium mug, MSR Pocket Rocket stove, foldable spork, which fits neatly into the pot or mug when not in use. Also shown is a JCloth and a 440g gas cylinder. The grey bag is for storing the stove and gas canister. The black bag was for storing the pot and lid, but Aidan now keeps them together with an elastic band and stores the mug, dish scrubber and spork in the pot. In centre of photo is a red-and-black pot scrubber. Photo: Aidan Ennis MOUNTAIN LOG HIKER EXTRAORDINAIRE
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