Camping Gear: It’s not just for camping!

If you live in New Hampshire or Maine then you too were affected by the April Nor’ Easter we just had. Multiple feet of wet snow fell upon the region, weighing down trees and power lines. My electricity provider, Eversource, said that over 83% of their customers lost power, including myself. Our wood stove kept us warm and the contents of our fridge were saved by simply putting them outside but the unlikely hero of this storm was our camping gear. Here’s everything we used to get by in our 30 hours (we were luckier than most!) off grid.

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MSR Camp Stove Setup

The MSR PocketRocket® Stove Kit is a cookware set (pot, bowls, sporks, mugs) plus the stove system which screws into a compatible canister of gas. It all packs into itself and is super lightweight. Additionally, I have the adjustable gas can stand which adds stability to the whole setup. I stood this up on my back deck to make morning coffee and lunch for the day (we made dinner on the grill). I simply took some snow, packed it into the pot, let it boil, and added it to my camp meals or my percolator for a nice hot pick-me-up. (Shout out to my Grandpa for gifting me this setup a few years back! There’s nothing better than a hot meal mid-hike)

Note that in researching links for this article I found that my particular camp stove setup had a recall out due to an issue with the pot handle. I have not experienced any issues thus far but MSR does have a complementary replacement for anyone who applies! Heads up if you have the same setup.

Percolator

Miles better than instant coffee, a percolator brews a pot of coffee over an open flame comparable to that of an electric drip coffee maker. The clear knob at the top of the lid lets you peek inside as it’s brewing and once the water turns coffee colored you know your pot is done! I used the same grounds I would on any normal day but it does use specially shaped coffee filters of which I had plenty in the house. (Shoutout to my Dad for gifting me this percolator and caffeinating my electricity-free morning!)

Alpine Start Dirty Chai

In the absence of creamer, whether you’re in the backcountry or just trying to keep your food as cold as possible cold in the cooler by refraining from opening it, these little Alpine Start packets are great for adding some flavor and sweetness to your coffee. The official instructions say to mix it with hot water which does taste great but despite the “dirty” part of its name implying it contains espresso… it does not. I learned this the hard way, after enduring a few caffeine withdrawal headaches, that this Alpine Start provision does not actually contain any caffeine.

Good to Go Camp Meals

I have a bunch of camp meals at the ready stored along with my backpacking gear. This one from GOOD-TO-GO, a local, Maine-based company, is one of my favorites. To make it I put in half of the water that the instructions suggest, otherwise it turns out more like soup. It also does benefit from some salt and pepper to taste. Admittedly, it tastes better after a strenuous hike but it was a solid lunch regardless. (Shout out to my sis for the perfect stocking stuffer, single serving Mushroom Risotto!)

Black Diamond Lantern

Rechargeable lights (of which we have many in the house) sound great until you realize… you have no power. Our Black Diamond Moji lantern which runs on three triple A batteries threw way more light than you’d think given its size. We used the hook to hang it from our ceiling and it lit up our board games for the night!