Bedu: Emergency Shelter in a Barrel
More sci-fi concept than practical idea, I am nonetheless intrigued by the "Bedu" survival-annex-in-a-barrel idea by Toby McInnes, which crams a stove, tents, a radio and generator, medicine, and tools into a 50-gallon drum. Having just recently watched Into the Wild, I have a soft spot for survival and outdoors gear. I really want to go camping.
You know what I should do? Start putting together a camping trip for the spring. But instead of taking a few days off from blogging to do it, I should figure out how to power all my gear off the grid. Solar power would be a good option if I could get one of those roll-out panels. My Macbook Pro is heavier than I'd prefer—especially if I packed a second battery—but I don't think I want to buy a lighter machine just for this purpose. Perhaps I can get some sort of test model from someone.
What do you think I could pull off? I bet I could do a hike in one day, camp for two nights, then hike out the third day. Food would be easy, although water might be a hassle. The last time I hiked in to camp I ended up nearly running out of water on the way in. That would take some doing.
As for connectivity, I'd have to check the coverage maps, but there are several good trails running through the Hudson River valley that have good cell phone coverage. Five bars from the tops of mountains! I wouldn't be surprised if there were an EVDO node on some of those.
This is doable. Probably April at the earliest, depending on weather. I don't want to try to pack in the computer, food, water, and cold weather gear.
Emergency Response Unit [Yanko]
the latest
latest episodes
Sounds like you need an OLPC XO-1 with the hand-charger.
You should check out how Ham Radio operators do what are refered to as DX-peditions. They haul lots of radio equipment into the middle of nowhere then talk on it. I've never done it, but if they can support the power draw for a radio, maybe the same techniques could be used to support a computer?
This spring--starting on March 9--I'm hiking from Iowa City, IA to Key West, FL. I'll be blogging the whole trek at http://jordanwalking.com/ with videos and photos via EVDO. It won't be a whole wilderness thing--I'm sticking to highways and main roads, so I'm foregoing solar cells and the like in favor of extra batteries and fingers crossed for charging opportunities.
If you want to chat about my gadget choices, feel free to drop me a line (I'm assuming the software allows you to see my email address, but I'll keep any eye on this thread anyhow).
Jordan, that sounds like an amazing trip! What does your gear rig look like?
You could get yourself one of those Ultra-Portable Desktop Packages. Probably a bit expensive to buy for a single trip, but maybe they'll send you a test package in return for a review.
(I know I'd love to have one of those... *sigh*)
My father in law was telling me this weekend about a few Appalachian Trail thru-hikers that are blogging their trips. He didn't mention any websites, but I'm sure they're easy enough to find, if you have the right mindset. I bet anyone that has done that would have some useful information.
He mentioned that when he's hiking, he powers off everything, and sometimes even removes batteries when not in use. His cell phone lasted two weeks on his last trip, and he called home almost every day.
Hey Joel,
I've only got a few pieces of the "rig" so far--I'm going to order the rest this week if it kills me. What I've got is a Verizon VX6800 (HTC Titan) phone with Windows Mobile and EVDO. I have a Sanyo VPC-CG65 video camera (pretty middle-of-the-road flash-based camera, but weighs only 6 oz.). I don't have the computer yet, but it looks like I'll be going with a Vye S37--a 7" convertible tablet, around 2.2 lbs.
The phone has built-in GPS but you can only use it by flashing an unofficial ROM (boo), so I'm getting a bluetooth GPS unit--the i-Blue 757, which has a built-in datalogger (up to 50,000 points at 1Hz--slow for driving, but plenty fast for walking) and a solar panel that allows for 100 hours of use.
I'm a little torn about still photos--I think I'm going to take the Nikon D50 I've already got. It's kinda bulky for backpacking, but I'm not sure I'd be satisfied with anything but a real DSLR (if I were made of money I could probably find something newer and lighter that satisfies me, but as you can imagine this trip won't be cheap).
On top of that I'll be packing chargers and lots of spare batteries--maybe two for the Sanyo, two for the phone, one for the D50, one for the UMPC--and of course all the other backpacking gear. I'm frankly not at all the outdoors type, so this is really going to be an adventure for me.
JOEL - Right off the bat - Don't bring your Macbook Pro. Take the time away from your stuff, it is worth it. Also - Backpacker magazine just came out with their latest gear review issue, not too much electronica, but some.
CHUCK - as a former (2003) blogging AT thru-hiker (I snail mailed my posts in! Old School!), you can find THOUSANDS of hikers blogs at trailjournals.com, a wonderful resource. I've even seen hostel users along the trail use it to calculate estimated crowd sizes.
JORDAN - your trip sounds cool and I am looking forward to checking your blog. For cameras - I had a canon digital elph with me for 5 months, survived it well, very light weight, small charger. For power - I used to mooch power off of public buildings and in restaurants. Check the exterior of post offices for outlets. If you want further suggestions, feel free to email me, I've got loads of suggestions.
If anyone has questions about gear, or trips, or whatnot, feel free to email me - kulervo at yahoo
And here I was thinking that camping and outdoorsy stuff was to get away from all the electronics =).
I guess if you're trying to avoid taking vacation days it makes more sense, but I'd do what I can to avoid taking more electronics than you need.
As far as hiking in and all that, make sure you get yourself a good pack (but avoid places like REI who are overpriced). Usually you can carry 1/4 of your body weight. I know that when I last went backpacking, we were able to go a full week with gear, food, and whatnot, so I feel you'd be okay with just a couple of days.
To solve the water problem, get a good filter at the same place you get your pack. Make sure it doesn't leave an aftertaste though, or you won't want to drink (bad!). My friend's filter was horrible on our last trip so I'd recommend testing it out for a day or two before you leave, just to make sure you got the right one.
In the end, I think you'd be okay with a MBP and a cell phone as far as weight is concerned (since you're only going for a couple days). One tip that could help... Find a friend to go with. That way you split the gear weight, you're SAFER, and it's just a lot more fun.
Hope this helps!
Nice concept! I like the idea of being able to pack all these items into a small barrel. I'd like to see one that incorporates the use of a parachute to allow for air-dropping to areas turned remote via mother nature that can't be reached by truck, and would allow for more of a rapid deployment to multiple areas. The parachute could be an extra layer of protection from the ground or an added thermal layer to provide more insulation from the environment and the shelter interior. Cheaper than a FEMA trailer, and less of an incentive to become a permanent domicile, this could be broken down and refurbished for future emergencies post haste.
On the camping note, I'm going to have to co-sign on the other commenter. Going 404 is the whole reason for camping in the first place. That and as some comedian put it "camping is the only time where you pay money to act like you are homeless". Have fun!
I think you guys might be missing my point on this particular trip. While I agree that getting away from it all is the preferred way to camp, I think this would be a fun way to get the best of both worlds without having to take time off. Plus I could liveblog camping gear!
Joel, a number of military surplus catalogs sell flexible solar panels that are weatherproofed for use while camping. You're most likely going to need to figure out how much power all of your desired gadgets are going to draw and size your panel(s) accordingly. I'd also recommend taking along plastic dry-bags for your equipment (above and beyond a ziplock) so that you can be absolutely sure you're not going to fry your stuff. Depending on how much the rest of your gear weighs, you could take a long a sealed cell boat or car battery, and charge it with panels and tap it for juice.
If you don't want to need cold weather gear, think June at the earliest. May if you are really hardy, not just think you are.
Peace
JJS
bear mountain would be a good test destination in NY, good coverage, easy hikes, and a crowd of upwardly-mobile cityfolk hikers who are marginally less likely to be totally offended by your inability to set aside the tech addiction than would real backcountry types.
'course, the way to do this is not to bring a laptop, but a well designed smartphone with a good keyboard and a spare battery or solar charger.
funny thing though, spend enough time living in a tent and you start to gain perspective, all of the tech suddenly seems less important. you might actually find yourself full of a new appreciation for the earth and all the natural things around you, coupled with a realization that you'll never be able to put the experience to text for a bunch of strangers with complete accuracy. might even find yourself closing the laptop voluntarily and just enjoying the pure joy of, say, drinking some cool water or being alone with yourself, distraction-free.
if you want to write a post about camping & geekery, better starting point than overpriced, oversized go-bags might be all the cool hiking geekery itself: poke around the ultralightweight community and you'll find titanium sporks, carbon fiber collapsible hiking poles, at least three flavors of high-tech hammock, homemade tyvek rainwear, all kinds of DIY LED lighting systems, lunatic GPS rigs, and an entire cult of homemade alcohol-fuel jet stoves. that said, be aware that some backpacking purists find even wearing fluorescent colors to be an offensive intrusion of artificiality in their wilderness experience, so tread lightly (in every sense).
I came to read about the barrel and what was in it, instead I get 4 and half paragraphs about your hiking ideas, what laptop to take and connectivity. Maybe you could do a post about "Bedu: Emergency Shelter in a Barrel" and maybe give some details about whats in it.
I'm terribly sorry your expectations were not congruent with reality. Maybe you could start your own blog and write about the Bedu and what it feels like to possess such a fully developed sense of entitlement?
OK; maybe I'm thinking real old school here but when I go into the sticks alone I bring a pad and a couple of good old #2 Ticonderogas. Double ziplock bag them and pull them out when inspiration strikes. Also I'm pretty sure that I have all that barrel contains and then some in my backpack right now, and I can get my shelter out and set up in ten minutes flat. I can filter more water than I could use in just a few minutes and forage or catch extra food when I need to. If a person does not have the proper training and equipment they have absolutely no excuse for venturing any more than 20 yards into the woods. Experience and training are your 2 most valuable tools in the sticks, period. As far as taking a pc to live blog with....give me a break, cut the digital umbilical for a few days for Gods sake!
My preferred method of camping is using a minimum of equipment to do a maximum amount of surviving. I'll keep saying it until you Grizzly Adams get it, though: the point of this specific trip would be to do my regular work but in the woods. Normally I agree with your sentiment, but that's not the point here.
"I'm terribly sorry your expectations were not congruent with reality. Maybe you could start your own blog and write about the Bedu and what it feels like to possess such a fully developed sense of entitlement?"
Dear JOEL JOHNSON, you win one Internet. Please allow 6-8 weeks for delivery. May require some assembly.
For extra blogging-from-the-woods bonus points, do the whole thing in designated wilderness. My favorite wilderness is the Platte River Wilderness. There is a golf course hidden along the Douglas Creek trail. Really.
Post Katrina, I have my camping gear set up for a quick evacuation or a spur of the moment camp
out. It didn't occur to me to have a barrel, I use plastic storage boxes.
The tools are a good idea that I hadn't thought of, either. I could have a shelter up in short order if need be. It might not be pretty and pass covenants, but would pass building code.
I do have ICE documents ready, though. Passport, drivers license, birth records, social security, insurances, etc.
if you are taking your machine with you , well, you are not really camping now, are you?