It has been such a long time since we’ve updated! Emma has grown and developed so much since April. We had the privilege of traveling to Northern Wisconsin this weekend for our annual church retreat. With some free time yesterday, the three of us went out and took some great Fall pictures. Enjoy!

So occasionally I pick up an arcane hobby and run with it. This week: alcohol stoves. I was reading about ultralight backpacking strategies and researching how people eliminate weight from their backpacks and ran across these little gems and an entire subculture of backpackers who build them and use them. So far I’ve built about half a dozen and finally found a design that works consistently.

The beauty of these stoves is how light and simple they are. Most people construct them out of aluminum cans, cut, sanded, and drilled into the correct shape. It only takes me 20 minutes and two pop cans to build a fully functional stove, one that can boil a quart of water. The fuel is simple — alcohols such as methanol or ethanol — and is generally safer than white gas or other fuels.

To be honest, I’ve grown tired of my Optimus stove breaking on trips. I’ve had more problems with that stove than any other, and though it works very well when it’s working, I’m ready for something simple.

For the curious:
The Art of the Alcohol Stove
Penny Alcohol Stove
Pepsi Can Alcohol Stove
Penny Stove Construction