[pct-l] Where do you put it?

[Timothy Nye]

I place my food bag just outside my tent, either under the vestibule or by
the mosquito netting and about 4" of space.  Half the time I have my coffee
rig set up independent of the bag; this consists of a liter bottle of water,
2 servings of Swiss Miss, 1 cups worth of instant milk and either 2-3
packets of Starbuck's instant coffee or a small mesh bag full of Peet's
coffee.  This allows me to roll over and get coffee going without getting
out of my bag.  I can then follow that with 2 packets of oatmeal. Newly
energized I can then break camp and hit the trail.

The worse thing that happened to me was in 2009, when a mouse hit the food
bag in the boulder field just before Chihuahua Valley road in the only flat
spot for about 5 miles.  The mouse clearly had his opportunites dialed in.

When cowboy camping (condensation issues and bad weather chances minimal)
the pack goes under your feet, assuming that you have a short sleeping pad.
My NeoAir was punctured by an overlooked pinecone in SoCal this year and my
wife was upsold a 6 1/2' one at REI, 7 more ounces than the 10 for the short
one, but once I slept on it I was a convert. The pack went to one side.

I should point out, however, that my base pack weight went from 10 1/2
pounds to 14 1/2 pounds by the time I settled on my ideal rig.