August 2012 Issue - Federated Mountain Clubs of NZ

Uncle Jacko’s Cookery ColumnKindlingOn a recent trip, one of us discovered that Kindlesare only good for kindling if you don’t carefullypack the Kindle using a very rigid backing boardto stop it flexing. We don’t know this for sure,but we do know that a Kindle protected only bypadding may suffer catastrophic failure. A week’sworth of reading material in case you get stuckin the pit is no good if you can’t read it.Enamel mugsWe enjoyed a winter trip at the end of Mayinto the Landsborough, almost 34 years since Iwas last there as a teenager. Packing my packI found I couldn’t find my ice axe, so a quickvisit to my next door neighbour retrieved my35-year-old wooden shaft Grivel ice axe. Mymates didn’t appreciate the ice axe returning tothe location of its first major tramping trip whenit was new, and teased me relentlessly, more sowhen they found out that my one-pint enamelmug was likewise with me back then. The levelof teasing eased when one mate sat on his plasticmug and broke it, shortly followed by the othermate melting his plastic mug by the fire. Savingweight is useful, but lightweight plastic need notoutperform 35-year-old technology.Oringi parkasOn the same trip Geoff Spearpointtried out his new parka: he reckonsthat the cheapest Oringi parkas– not the one advertised in thisBulletin, but the entry level shortermodel, the Cambridge at half the price – isperfectly adequate. On the second day, he burnta decent hole in it by sitting too close to thecamp fire, so more testing is required, thoughpreliminary results look promising.More on extended cellphone livesBill Stephenson and I have been exchangingemails over additional battery reserve forcellphones. External powering of cellphones isnot quite as straightforward as it should be, butBill confirms that with four AA NiCd cells (notstandard cells, which would provide too manyvolts) in a battery holder, things work well.To date, fancier prototypes have not been sosuccessful. A USB 4xAA battery case box chargerand 10-in-1 charging cable ordered over theInternet will make sure that your cellphone canbe connected, no matter what its pedigree.Hakili matagi, Robin McNeillr.mcneill@ieee.org44 Duke Street, Invercargill 9810Steve Baker and Jenny Christie beside the Landsborough River, West Coast Photo: Shaun Barnett/Black Robin Photography48FMC Bulletin • August 2012