Availability stove fuel along GDMBR

[BikeliciousBabe]

Thank you all for the replies and the tip for Walmart. I didn't know they have "superstores" selling hardware like gas canisters.

In Whitefish, MT there is an Army Navy store and a Sportsman & Ski Haus. Both are on U.S. 93 south of the center of town.

[TCS]

Alcohol stove sooting is somewhat related to stove design, but is mostly down to what type of alcohol is burned in them.

https://www.99boulders.com/best-alcohol-stove-fuels

Also, the HEET bottle says CAUTION - Vapors are Harmful.

Yeah, as noted in the link above, yellow Heet is methanol. 

Anyway, the label on the isobutane canister I have here says "Inhalation can cause central nervous system effects" and I'm guessing they don't mean in a good trip kind of way.  The smoke from campfires (campfires were recently promoted on the AC blog) is horrible to breathe.  Those little 'Esbit' tabs (hexamine) produce poisonous fumes - you can, under certain circumstances, actually poison your food cooking with them.

Neophites:  Get educated, be thoughtful, but for goodness sakes don't let any of this scare you.  We've been cooking outdoors for ~750,000 years.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         

[TCS]

As I am planning to cycle the GDMBR I am interested in the availability of stove fuel along the route. What is the best to take with me?

If you don't already own a GDMBR-quality stove, the MSR Whisperlite Universal*, Optimus Polaris Optifuel and Primus Omnifuel all can use white gas, gasoline, kerosine, canister isobutane and, with small adapters, aerosol butane and propane.  A feller on the Classic Camp Stoves website even said he'd custom drilled a jet for his MSR Whisperlite and fired it with alcohol ( <- but that's the total extent of my knowledge of that modification).  These would be overkill if all you want is a hot cup of coffee in the morning, but if you're going to fresh ingredient cook the length of the trail, they'd really have you cooking with gas be the cat's pajamas.

Another approach:  a BSR-3000 (canister isobutane) and a Toaks siphon alcohol stove together ->combined!<- weigh under 50 grams.  Take 'em both!


*made in USA, if you care about such things.

[ray b]

[quote author=TCS link=topic=17144.msg91189o:  Get educated, be thoughtful, but for goodness sakes don't let any of this scare you.  We've been cooking outdoors for ~750,000 years.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         
[/quote]
Of course, average life expectancy was less than 20 y, but good point. ( And we may have been cooking much longer, according to Wikipedia..)

"Phylogenetic analysis suggests that human ancestors may have invented cooking as far back as 1.8 million to 2.3 million years ago. Re-analysis of burnt bone fragments and plant ashes from the Wonderwerk Cave in South Africa has provided evidence supporting control of fire by early humans by 1 million years ago."