Campers' Corner Singapore

It has has been a while since I have posted. Was back in Singapore recently and decided to make a video on my favorite outdoor shop in Singapore. Watch it how this camping store is so different from others.

Calvin has been a great host and one thing I got from him is a Titanium Canteen which I have been thinking for a while to buy one. Now he had sponsor me on and the video will be coming up soon how this setup saves me weight and space.  

The Ultimate Stove

We have owned couple of different types of stove. Recent addition is The Pocket Stove and another Vargo Titanium Wood Stove is on the way. In our honest opinion after using Wood, Alcohol, Butane, Hexamine (solid fuel tablet) and Multi Liquid Fuel Stove we can narrow down which is our ultimate and maintenance free stove.  

Below the post we have rated each stove and came to a conclusion on the Ultimate Stove.

Southern Point 最南點

19 Oct 2009

N21 53.888 E120 51.481

Top Outdoor Android Apps Pick

In our last Backpacking trip, besides Cambodia most of the destinations we did not use any guide book only our Android phones and a 7" Laptop which we brought it along just in case our camera SD cards were full and we could transfer the info to the laptop. At least the laptop screen was much bigger compare to our phones.

However we did not use any 3G network but tapping to surrounding WiFi network. Surprising Cambodia has abundant of WiFi, every hotel we been from Phnom Penh, Siem Reap and Kep all have WiFi. Another option we could buy a local 3G Sim Card but then again if we were out of the city, we might not be able to get a good 3G coverage. One traveller mentioned that in Phnom Penh she paid $5 for a Hello Sim Card and $2/ day for unlimited internet usage and she had the fastest network compared to places like Thailand, New Zealand and Australia.  

Our Ultimate Outdoor Chair

Having owned these few chairs, we were curious to find out which is our ultimate chair for all condition usage, from biking, hiking, travelling etc. All these 4 chairs have different seating profile.  Below is a table created and rated on each condition to pick our top outdoor chair.

Emergency Kit

This kit is basically a First Aid, Repair and Survival Kit that I have put together. Every once in a while this kit will be revamp or improve. Those days I used to have 3 different kits in each pack, now I have all in one. I have used smaller Ziploc bags so that the items can be properly organised. 

Do not under estimate this setup and every outdoor person including parents with kids should have one, a must have item for any trip. Personally this kit have helped us many times, in India during black out, in an off-road training accident when pain killer was useful. Daughter MTB accident and the bandages came in handy. In Thailand when Son had a fever and the kit had assisted and many other more incidents before.

Our Kitchen Kit

During the days of family backpacking, I would have to prepare meals for the family, those days I had purchased an Outdoor Research Backpacker Kitchen Kit. It comes with these following items and I had added extra forks and spoons for family of 4. These had made backpacking easy, everything was stored in a pack. The whole idea is having lesser item, lesser weight, everything in one place and compact size, this had mde camping a whole lot fun and stress free. 

High Calcium in Mountain Water

During the last Morakot Typhoon Disaster which me and my bike group gave a helping hand, I noticed there were handful of Aboriginal evacuees had kidney problems and mostly were related with kidney stones at first especially the elderly. 

First thing came to my mind was the water. Why I said that, years ago I had ordered 30 bottles of 25lts Evian Mineral Water (French) for my vessel and later my Captain complained that it was no good. I investigated and found there was high deposit of calcium on the water dispenser. 

4 years ago while camping in one of Mioali camp ground. The owner had tapped the mountain water to his water dispenser and I saw the same calcium built up on the water dispenser. Mountain water do contain high Calcium especially our mountains in Taiwan. I have seen dried up river with white streak residue left over on the river bed, I tasted and it was salty and sour, my thought they were Calcium Chloride...not a Chemist but that what we learnt in school.   

Our body needs Calcium however excessive intake will cause problems such as Parathyriod Disease. As an outdoor camper who uses water source from the mountain, I decided to do some research on this matter and came up with a stunning information that the government was aware of this problem. Here was the quote 

"The relationship between death from cerebrovascular disease and the levels of magnesium and calcium in drinking water was examined using an ecological design. The study area consisted of 227 municipalities in Taiwan. Data on the levels of magnesium and calcium in drinking water have been collected from the Taiwan Water Supply Corporation (TWSC). These levels of magnesium and calcium were compared using the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for cerebrovascular disease (1981-1990). A statistically significant inverse relationship was present between cerebrovascular mortality and levels of both magnesium and calcium after adjusting for urbanization index. After adjustment for calcium levels in drinking water and urbanization index, the weighted multivariate-adjusted regression coefficient indicated a decrease of 0.248 in the standardized mortality ratios (SMRs) for every 100 mg/L increase in magnesium levels in drinking water. The results from this study strengthen the hypothesis that magnesium in drinking water helps to prevent death from cerebrovascular disease."

Last night I decided to change my shower head as it had some clogs. While replacing the shower head I found the clogs were caused by Calcium deposit. Same thing I found on my running water tap. So my question is there still too much Calcium in our current household water supply. I really do not know but the quantity found last night was not more than the campsite in Miaoli. 

As for drinking water, we have an inbuilt household water filter system which we hope it will reduce the calcium in the water. As for outdoor, we will still stick to water filtration even the water is clean. Our household drinking water is mostly boiled after filtration and as for outdoor, we try to do the same otherwise consume in lesser quantity after filtration. 

Water can be the source of life but also a slow death. This is a science beyond my comprehend to know what water is safe to drink but will do the best to reduce harm later. 

PS if your authority says the water from the tap is safe to drink, do not believe them fully. It might be safe to drink after the treatment plant but when the water have to flow miles and miles of ageing  pipe lines which might have corroded in some areas and comes flowing down your tap....you decide if you need to filter it. 

Outdoor Fireplace

Camping outdoor is fun when you can build your own fireplace however in Taiwan most camp sites do not allow this and all National Parks are prohibited from making a fire. Creating a fireplace do give some senses of outdoor comfort, security and light. When there is no ready available light source, human tends to gather around a fireplace. That makes wild camping fun. 

There are few rules and tricks I would implored when making a fire. Normally I will make a fire pit or create a fire pit wall, this will prevent the fire from spreading to the surrounding and also assist to make the fire burn better. 

These are few things I would carried out when making a fire

• Gather wood of different sizes and sort them out
• Clear all dried leave or grass around the fire pit
• Dig a hole so that you can cover it with soil when it is over. This is a LNT (Leave No Trace) method.
• or create a fire pit wall, this method is the best. It makes the fire burns better and let other campers to reuse the same pit instead of burning elsewhere and everywhere. Best done at river camping so when the tides comes, it will wash off the ashes
• Never use wet rocks to make the wall, the wet rock will explode and hurt someone.
• If all burning is not possible, buy the kind of BBQ set on the pics below. One of the best portable BBQ set design

Hiking Meals Planning

One of the biggest headaches going on a few days hike is preparing meal lists. Have to pack light and carry food that is non-perishable. You can still carry perishable food but best consume on the first day. In high mountain where it is colder, then you can keep this perishable food for 2 or 3 days. Perishable food still takes up space and weight, not an ideal choice. 

If you are going with the local mountaineering club, then you are in luck. Normally these clubs will prepare a minimum 6 course meals. The last time in Syue Shan we saw a 9 course meal plus soup. Always the food was not finished and wasted. Anyway, this is not the subject. 

If you have free time create a spreadsheet and put in the list of meals you like to have. The next time if you go on a hike again, use the same spreadsheet to assist in the planning your meals. You do not have to crack your head one more time. This method is applicable to camping trips or planning a BBQ lists.

Here are some examples of my packing for 2

BeiDaWuShan 北大武山 Guide

photo from Taiwan Recreation Forest

BeiDaWuShan ranked 139 highest mountains in Taiwan is located in Pintung County. Standing at the height of 3092m is one the most hiked mountain in Southern Taiwan. Many locals and foreigners have scaled this mountain and mostly were rewarded with a beautiful Sea of Clouds view. However there are a handful of locals would scale this mountain to GuiYu Cabin  every weekend just to have Chinese tea or lunch and they would hiked back down the same day. 

After the destruction of Marokot Typhoon in 8 Aug 2009, many had wonder if the trail to BeiDaWuShan is still open. The answer is YES. Thanks to a handful of hikers who had explored the trail just after the disaster. One typical hiker is Bruce who had scaled this mountain many times. You can find his Blog Post Here. It was through his blog I soon realised that we would have to do another extra 5km hike to the trail head. The road to the trail head is no longer passable by car but by foot, they have found a detour and currently many hikers use this detour. View trail map below.

Waterproof Compression Backpack Packing

Waterproof Compression Backpack packing requires the use of trash bag, preferable a durable trash bag. Make sure there are no holes in it. This method of packing not only it waterproof all your gears in the backpack, it also creates more storage space in the Backpack. 

Why This Idea

This idea came to me when many years ago, we had a bad experience on Tioman Island, West Malaysia. We had so called rain proof Backpacks. During the off-beaten trail along the coast of the island, we had to back track when the tide came up. Still then, we had to jump into the sea to clear the obstacle. Threw our backpacks into the water and swam with it until we realised the backpacks were taking in water and sunk, nearly drown and it was a close call. We had a hard time pulling up the Backpacks from the cliff's edge as it were all filled with seawater. All our gears were soaking wet including the camera. 

How It Can Be Done

I have seen Taiwanese River Tracers, in their backpack they would purchased another waterproof bag such as Sea-Line and they do not come cheap.

Problem with Hiking Backpacks used for such activity is that they will still take in water as they do not have any drainage holes at the bottom unlike Military Backpacks which comes with drainage holes. I would make a hole to drain the water if I am doing such activity but to make a hole on an expensive Backpack, I rather invest in Military packs. 

Cycling in Taiwan Guide

Cycling in Taiwan can be very awesome. The Authorities here have made much effort in promoting cycling around the island and many bike paths had been laid out and more to come. Alone Kaohsiung City has 230km of bike path and more to come.

In this post, we will cover topics on

• Bikepacking Taiwan Routes
• Must Have Gears
• Road Precaution and Suggestion
• Best Time for Bikepacking
• Giant Bike Rental Programme

Knots and Hitches

You only need to know a few Knots and Hitches and you are good camping. Basic Scout knots and hitches you need to know.

• Reef Knot - for securing rope or object (weak knot but quick to untie)
• Figure 8 Knot - tying to an object
• Half Hitches - tying your tent or tarp
• Clove Hitch -   tying your tent or tarp
• Taut Line Hitches - sliding knot for securing tress (Tarp, cloth line etc)
• Sheet Bend - joining two ropes

Below are some videos taken from YouTube.

Syue Shan 雪山 Guide

April Fool 2012 Adventure

Our recent 3 days 2 nights trip to Syue Shan Summit has been well rewarded. Syue Shan trail is indeed beautiful especially the Black Forest but the ascend can be tedious and painful for many who climb too fast, use the wrong backpack or packed too much. These were some the observations on some climbers I found on this trip.

Below are few tips I have prepared myself and hope to guide amateur on this climb and things to prepare. Do note this is ideal only for non-snowing season.

These Boots are Made for Walking

How we choose our footwear and lacing for comfort.

Got a pair of shoe or boot, tried in the shoe shop it fits just perfect but when hiking uphill and downhill it was not so perfect after all. 

Many failed to realize the comfort of the shoe when walking depends in how we buy the right size shoes / boots and how we lace them. 

Weekend Outdoor Activities

Sometimes we work hard, we also need to play hard. Most of our city friends get tired during weekend because they have to ran errand for family, taking them out shopping, buying new clothes, have dinner with family, taking kids to ballet or other classes and they are simply worn down... End of the weekend. 

Sometimes they just preferred to be at work instead, however life in Taiwan has many options for the weekend and here are the lists of Weekend Outdoor Activities in Taiwan. There are so much to choose.

Snow Mountain from Wuling Farm 武陵農場雪山登山口

Trail info (click here for large view)

Chinese Backpacker forum with photos and info

There are at least 4 trail heads going up Snow Mountain in Shei-Pa National Park however one of the most favourite and shortest trail to Snow Mountain is from Wuling Farm, one can reach the campsite and spend a night before setting off early morning to Snow Mountain Eastern Trail, click HERE, otherwise the Wuling Quadruple Trail going up 4 mountains. Both trails will take 3days 2 nights.

Recently we have oversea fans asking about going up Snow Mountain from Wuling Farm information.

You might be interested in our Syue Shan Guide 

Instant Vegetables

Previously we had a dehydrator but sold it away because we found it was not cost saving. The electricity used to dehydrate those food had eaten into our utility bills. You can read HERE on our Dehydrated Food. 

We found off the shelf dehydrated vegetables, they are cheaper compare we do it ourselves. This will allow us to carry light weight vegetables if we are hiking and they cook pretty  fast. Below are two packs of dehydrated vegetables, high mountain cabbage and seaweed. I can't remember how much the seaweed cost but the high mountain cabbage cost below NT100. 

Toiletry Kit

Many of us over packed our toiletry kit, bring alot of unnecessary stuff and carrying alot of oversize items. 

After investing in many different kind of toiletry bags, our best option is to use a sandwich Ziploc bag. The clear bag helps to see the items clearly  making much easier to remove the content needed. I have decided to repacked my toiletry kit into 3 days and 7 days kit for all kinds of camping.