Shelter, Check!

I just purchased a tent- a solo Six Moons design. Now all that is left to do is to dress my feet and pick which towns to ship my mail drops to.

Food For Thought

Let’s say I had to be ready to step into the wilderness in one month and I was going to start on Springer Mountain…this would mean downgrading my future fancy feast delicacies to B-grade trail grub. This would require that I dehydrate jerky, fruit leathers and veggie chips, stat. I will have to buy grains like rice and oatmeal in bulk as well as trail mix components.

Below is the food list I configured:

1. Breakfast
1. Oatmeal
2. Pamela’s Pancake mix
2. Snacks
1. Nut and Raisin Gorp
2. Veggie Gorp
3. Lunch
1. Jerky
2. Cheese
3. Fruit Leather
4. Dinner
1. Ramen
2. Rice
3. Beans
4. Instant Potatoes
5. Dessert
1. Hot Coca
2. M&Ms
3. Fruit Leather
6. Seasoning
1. Cinnamon
2. Mrs. Dash
3. Brown Sugar
4. Vanilla

Given the list of goods, I created a trail menu:

Breakfast

Savory Breakfast

1. Pancake mix
2. Instant potato
3. Dehydrated veggies
4. Jerky bits
5. Mrs. Dash

Sweet Breakfast

1. Pancake mix
2. Fruit leather
3. brown sugar
4. vanilla
5. cinnamon

Oatmeal with dried fruit

Snacks

Savory Snacks

            Veggie Gorp- dried onions, carrots, tomatoes and potatoes

Sweet Snacks

            Rasins, dried fruit, almonds, m&ms

Lunch

1. Jerky
2. Cheese
3. Fruit Leather
4. Veggie chips
5. Bagel Chips

Dinner

Stir Fry

1. Jerky
2. dehydrated veggies
3. Rice

Potato Casserole

1. Instant potatoes
2. cheese
3. Jerky bits

Pasta

1. Ramen
2. Dehydrated veggies
3. Jerky bits

Rice and Beans

1. Rice
2. Beans
3. Veggies
4. jerky bits

Sugar Plumpettes and Onion Chips

There are two types of backpackers: survivor and gourmet. You will see the former downing gorp and granola bars while the latter savors tofu tetrazzini and linguini with mushroom sauce. Six months ago I thought for sure I would fall under the survivor category, Jill versus the wild, I thought, I won't even need a stove! "When it's raining all day and you're stuck in your tent...you're going to want to enjoy a nice hot meal," coaxed my previous boyfriend. "I love Ramen, I could totally eat it for every day for 180 days!" I reassured him. 

The reality is, I enjoy preparing meals. I make top of the line salads, which are like cold soups. I put everything ab ovo usque ad mala in them. I have also been known to get particularly moody if a meal is skipped. My dear friends know to keep snacks in the car. 

Then there was the Super Cat. My homemade stove which I crafted out of a Fancy Feast can—an all but 0.3ounce purring machine. This meant I was going to heat food. 

Next there was the desire for a full supply of jerky on the trail. However, if I ate one package of jerky, $5, for 180 days, this would add up to 900 dollars!!! Thus began my interest in dehydrators. 

I am hooked! My drying machine came in the mail a little over a week ago. The weekend passed and on Monday my friend asked why I hadn't dehydrated anything over the weekend, "you weren't curious to at least try some tomatoes," he inquired with raised eyebrows. "Mary Bell recommends that I know the answers to 36 questions before I get going," I replied. 

"What are you doing today?"

"Working..."

"What time is it?"

"8:30."

"What color is that car?"

"Green…"

"There, that's three down!"

He is a jokester, I wish it was that easy.

Bell, suggests that before purchasing a dehydrator you know how it works, its components, the constituents of the warranty, how much it costs to operate etc., etc. I bought my merchandise before I received Mary Bell's cook book in the mail, so with 25 out of the 36 questions to go I realized I had to get the heat on, stat. 

So far I have dried a can of diced tomatoes, a sliced baked potato, some grilled carrots and onions, which turned out to be a fabulous veggie gorp, and, as I type, 5 farm fresh nectarine fruit leathers  are drying. I canned the sugary plumpettes this fall and broke open the cans today. I strained them from their syrupy bath, pureed them, and poured them onto the drying sheets. They should take anywhere from 8-20 hours to lose all their moisture. 

"Backpacking Gourmet," by Linda Frederick Yaffe came in the mail and I have been ogling  some of the recipes. I plan on trying her Celebration Brunch tomorrow- an onion, potato, tofu, egg and cheese medley.

Harried Men

Yesterday my sister called me and asked if I was going to bring a razor on the trail. I told her I wasn’t. “Well, are you planning on shaving at all?” she asked. “No,” I said, “I’m going to let my hair do its thing. I’m really curious to see what the consistency of my armpit hair will be.” “Haha, you should blog about this,” she laughed. This is why I am relaying this hairy topic. “It’s actually a great way to detour guys” I exclaimed. Since I will most likely be hiking the trail alone, anything I can do to protect myself will add to a more positive experience.

Thru-Hiker, Morning Glory, explained that her long golden locks invited a lot of attention while her shaved head kept guys at a distance. So what is it about the locations of our hair and how much of it that determines our level of perceived attractiveness?

Thru-hiker, Fox, explained that he would think that a girl was cute until, she raised her arms and exposed her unkempt armpits. “It’s a little scary when they are hairier than you!” He laughed. Another one of my friends told me that while hiking the presidential range he came across a very attractive AT thru-hiker. His interest stopped at about 20ft from her when her stench became too over bearing. “It was a shame” he lamented, “she was really hot!”

I am blonde so that hair that will accumulate on my legs will go unnoticed; as for armpit hair I have a theory. Comparing the places men and women have hair: legs, pubic area, chest, back, armpits and face versus legs, pubic, armpit, and head, respectively, the only places that are different are chest, back and facial hair. Therefore, both men and women were meant to have leg and armpit hair. If it was an issue of hygiene then why are men still harried (pun intended)?

I was discussing this very topic with a past boyfriend and we discovered that women began shaving their legs and armpits in response to fashion—sleeveless T’s and short dresses back in the 1900’s. It does not have to do with comfort. I have never grown my armpit hair out long enough to determine whether or not this is true for me but I am proposing that armpit hair reduces the friction produced by the skin of your under arm rubbing your side as your arms swing. Doesn’t that make sense?

If you are concerned about odor, try mixing equal parts of baking soda and cornstarch. Lightly wet your pits and pat the powder on. You will not stink! It’s natural, safe, inexpensive, and works better (in my opinion) than commercial products.  

Funny side note. There was an ad on the radio for hair implants. My friend who is concerned about his hair thinning said that he was going to call the number. I always reassure him that he would look great with any amount of hair. Then I laughed and said “While you are loosing your hair, I am growing a moustache.” Damn hormones. They begin to deminish as we get older. Maybe this is why old couples look so much alike.

Not shaving has nothing to do with making a statement and everything to do with letting nature do its thing; a retreat from conventionalism. 

Down Time

Jackets insulated with down feathers are light weight and keep you extremely warm but need to be kept dry and are extremely expensive. I was going to get the cotopaxi down jacket from EMS which I saw online and instantly fell in love with, however, when I tried it on in the store I felt like a human meatball.

"Can I help you?" asked the store clerk as he passed by holding some North Face fleeces to hang on the racks. "No, just participating in my own little fashion show," I said as I frowned at my super-sized reflection. "Need an audience," he joked. "Actually," I changed my mind, "I need your help." I told him I was looking for a down jacket that kept me warm but didn't turn me into Humpty Dumpty. He winked and guided me to the women's glacier down which was 50% off. So far, so good. 

"Yes, the Cotopaxi will keep you a bit warmer, but the Glacier is way less bulky. I have used it for backpacking for the past two years and I have been completely satisfied and it is only 60 bucks."

Sold to the lady in hikers!

I will have the jacket sent to me when the temperature begins to dip at night beginning September. I've heard once you go down you never go back.

Rock Climbing

Today I met up with my climbing chica to do some top roping. We hang out about once a week. After ice climbing, I really appreciate scaling up the wall in shorts and a T instead of  layers of polyester and down which turns me into a human meatball.

Painter Abs

For the past two weeks I have been working for my dad painting the interior of a house he is building on Martha's Vineyard. I did not realize how much of a workout it is to do so. Rolling on the latex paint required me to do stairs in order to cut in and do touch ups and continual abdominals contractions as I rolled the ceilings and walls. My abdominals were engaged unless I was sleeping or eating.

My dad's foreman introduced me to the Ab Wheel (not recommended for individuals with weak backs). Let's just say it has been three days since my last role and it hurts to cough, sneeze and laugh.

The Ab Wheel

So, although I was stranded on the vineyard for the past two weeks with limited communication sources and no hiking trails I was on a role loosing rolls as I rolled.

Ice Climbing

The group



Coming down the wall of ice




I have a foot fetish.

 Yesterday I took an Ice climbing class with a few of my friends up in North Conway. It was awesome! Our guide Keith's favorite phrase was "I like it," which he said after pretty much everything we did. After tying a figure-eight or clove-hitch, "I like it," taking up 8 inches of slack while belaying, "I like it," and coming down softly, "I like it!"

I was pretty clumsy and had slippery feet several times throughout the day which provided some entertainment. My friend got one of my episodes on candid camera. I tie in, slip on my gloves and pick up my ice picks only to step back and go down after the spikes of my crampons catch my pant leg. I will try and upload the video soon.

Ice climbing was a full body workout. How's that for training?

Trail Blazing

Molly elbow deep in snow

I dusted off the cross country skis and took Molly through Town Forest. It was 4 miles of blazing after the 15 inches of snow from Wednesday. Molly was a trooper. My goal is to do the entire 6.4mile loop, maybe 5th time's a charm.

Blazing with cross country skis 

Orange Orb

From the left to right: Butter, mom, Choc, Little Bob and me (as represented by my hair). 

I took my 31.5lb orange orb through Town Forest along with Choc and Butter and my mom. The five of us were able to stuff ourselves into my Geo Tracker along with a baby backpack and a car seat...I thought it was pretty impressive. Little Bob was layered in insulation and, as you can see, it was difficult for him to put his arms down, like Randy in the movie, A Christmas Story.

Robert sporting my gloves

Carry on Package

Silhouette of shoulder ride  

Shoulder Ride

Our shoulder ride shadow 

Today I had the privilege of watching my passenger, nephew Robert. My carry on package was 31.5lbs and takeoff was at 9:30am. The two of us along with Chocolate and Peanut Butter headed outside to explore the woods abutting the back yard. We walked to "The Tree of Life" as referred to by my sister and hubby. It was definitely a good workout!

The Tree of Life

Dehydrator and Mary Bell

The cost of food will be my biggest expense on the Appalachian Trail, however, there are several things I can do to save money. Buying foods in bulk and divvying them up is cheaper than buying several smaller packages. Also, dehydrating fruits, vegetables and meals will cut down the cost and eliminate excessive packaging.

 

Thru-hiker, Moss suggested using a dehydrator over an oven since it makes life easier. “Ask your parents if they have any hippie friends you can borrow one from…” she says. However, I want to have my own since I will be dehydrating a ton of food.

 

Therefore, today I purchased a dehydrator on Amazon: the Excalibur 3500 Deluxe Series 5 Tray Food Dehydrator. Also, Mary Bell’s complete dehydrator cookbook “everything you need to know to make delicious dried snacks, jerkies, fruit leathers, nutritious meals, and even potpourri!” came in the mail today!! 

 

In retrospect Moss would have started dehydrating 3-4 months prior to her departure and only would have made her personal favorites. I have five months till I head out so once my machine comes in the mail I’ll have a month of practice. “My friends on the trail had a really amazing/enabling mother and she dehydrated stuff for them as they hiked - now THAT is the ideal way to travel!” Moss exclaims.

 

Below are a few sites geared toward dehydrated food recipes:

http://www.wildernesscooking.com/fork/samplerecipes.htm

http://www.trailcooking.com/

http://www.onepanwonders.com/

 

Finding Balance Between Man and Nature

Man versus Nature

Today my mom, Molly and I explored the trails in our community. They were icy so I lent my mom one of my hiking polls. However, I have been accustomed to both arms oscillating, blood churning, and polls planting that one arm pumping and the other hanging limp was as sad as a bum knee. My mom and I found two adequate hiking sticks for her to use. My shiny, complex, brand-name and adjustable polls against her simple sturdy sticks made me want to make my own polls.

My mom using her hiking polls to balance her attitude.

Chicken John

Today I took my furry companion for a stroll through Willard Brook. I’ve always preferred loop trails because they are more interesting in my opinion, however, I realized today that hiking from point A to B and then from B to A is like two different paths if you put it out of your head that you hiked all this way to do a 180 and retrace your steps. In fact the woodland corridor was so different on the way back that I strayed from the trail and didn’t realize it until I came to an unfamiliar dirt road. I doubled back until I spotted the yellow blazes of the trail I was supposed to be on and my heart rate slowed. I told myself I was going to be the next, Chicken John, a character Bill Bryson encountered when he hiked the AT, who constantly got lost, and who occasionally hiked 30 miles off course. According to section hiker, Red, “you are dumber than a bag of rocks” if you can’t follow the trail, and he believes the maps are unnecessary because the trail is so well marked. In fact, every hiker I have interview has agreed on this point. However, although I'd like to say otherwise, the trail was very well marked today.

Bag Liner

My silk mummy bag liner came in the mail from REI. A liner collects the grime and grease from your body while extending the life of your bag. It will add 4.7 ounces to my pack but it will definitely be worth it because it will be much easier to wash the liner in town than my bag. On hot nights I can sleep in the liner on top of my mummy bag and on cooler nights it will provide a few extra degrees of warmth in my cocoon. 

Passenger, Bob

Yesterday I hiked with a passenger. My nephew weighs in at 31.5 lbs and I am not supposed to carry any more than 25% of my body weight, so carrying this little man around on my back is good practice for my hike!