Wide Sleeping Pad Comparison Chart

Outdoor air, beautiful scenery, and sitting around the fire at night sipping some whiskey. What is not to love about backpacking? I mean, why would I want to spend my weekend at some cushy hotel when I can be schlepping a 25 pound pack up and down mountains in inclement weather?!  Choosing between relaxing in a hotel spa or splashing in a 40° waterfall is easy; I pick the waterfall :-)

My camp in March on the Black Forest Trail, 35°F

Any pending trip makes me giddy with excitement (or maybe trepidation!), but there is one area of camping that causes me distress: sleep! Most backpackers are so exhausted by their daytime wanderings that they easily fall into blissful slumber.  Nooo, not me :(  This chickie has a long standing issue with sleep, even at home in my own bed.  Deep, peaceful sleep is an oxymoron for me.  Tossing and turning is compounded when I add in strange animal noises, not to mention the snores, midnight leaf waterings, and wind breaking of my camping companions.

Where the Wild Ponies Roam; Chincoteague, VA, the jewel of the Eastern Shore and the Mid-Atlantic

The Mid-Atlantic region of the United States is a blessing for those who like to experience a great amount of diversity without having to travel very far. For example, living between Baltimore, Maryland and Norfolk, Virginia, one can be in New York City, Baltimore, Washington D.C., or Virginia Beach in a matter of hours. One of the jewels of the Mid-Atlantic is a sleepy stretch of beach-bordered barrier island in Virginia, called Chincoteague.

The Old Chincoteague Drawbridge entering the Town from the Mainland

Mexi-Cali Beef & Bean Quinoa : Instant Backpacking / Survival Food FBC

Something I love about "ethnic" foods on the trail is that the spices and herbs that make up the flavor profile allow the food to taste the same on the trail as it does at home. On a winter backpacking trip last week I tucked into this comfort food with finesse. Spork-licking good stuff.

Keep in mind that you don't have to follow the ingredients exactly. Mix and match your favorite ingredients to your taste. Don't feel like drying tomato sauce and chilis? Just dry some salsa or add packets of salsa available from McDonalds or Taco Bell. Don't have freeze-dried corn? No sweat: just skip it.

Watching your carbs? Simply reduce the amount of quinoa and add extra meat!

Dried Beef, Beans, and Quinoa with Veggies and Spices. Yum!

Keep reading for the recipe!

Quinoa Pilaf Adapted for the Trail

Quinoa Pilaf with Spinach, Toasted Pine Nuts, and Feta Cheese

Avoiding dishes containing pasta, rice, and high-carb grains can be tricky when eating out or especially when dining with friends.  The "I have celiac disease" tends to work better than "I don't eat grains because cavemen didn't eat them."  Regardless, you're not likely to be invited back if your Standard American Diet (SAD) hosts believe you are a dinnertime pain in the @$$.

Hammock-filled woods at MAHHA Hang

Pot luck dinners can be challenging in a SAD crowd, but gatherings can also be a great way to find some new dishes to add to your recipe book.  Take our regional hammock hangs, for example.   Last year we had hand-tossed pizza over a fire, roasted whole pig, and steamed ramps, just to name a few dishes. I contributed some sautéed wild mushrooms after finding a beautiful chicken of the woods mushroom near camp.  Definitely not your usual pot luck food.

So it was at one such hang that I  found this fabulous new quinoa dish to add to my repertoire thanks to HF hanger Dylan.  Quinoa (pronounced "keen-wah") is the seed of Chenopodium quinoa, a close relative to one of my favorite wild edible foods Chenopodium album aka goosefoot. Quinoa is considered a "pseudo cereal," even though it is a seed and not technically a cereal grain, because it has a high glycemic load similar to other grains.  However, quinoa is tasty and versatile, and a great addition to my backpacking staples.

See the recipe by clicking the "read more" button below...

Spaghetti Squash: Cooking, Preparing, and Dehydrating

Americans are the superheroes of mindless eating. So it's no surprise that Supermarkets spend millions of dollars on marketing stratagems to help consumers part ways with hard-earned dollars. I am a fairly educated consumer, BUT, I am a self-admitted sucker for grocery store marketing gimmicks. 

For instance, you know that elevator music playing in the store?  The tempo is designed to lull you senseless; making you feel relaxed and spend more time in the store, thus spending about 29% more than planned. 

Soft, focused lighting and handwritten signs in the produce section also sells more - about 30% more!  The first thing consumers see is a dazzling array of colors. Fresh food that says "eat me!"  And I hear what that food is saying, and I buy everything in sight. 

I can't even imagine how much money I have spent over the years on produce, only to throw it later in the compost pile rotten because I never got around to doing anything with the stuff!  Fortunately, one vegetable "experiment" that I learned to use successfully is spaghetti squash. 

Spaghetti Squash

Trail Baking with a Foster's Pot, Caldera Cone, and Starlyte Stove

Demeter at the Halfway Point of the Appalachian Trail

Backpacking is a lot of different things to different people. Ask a dozen backpackers what makes them love the sport, and you will probably get a dozen vapid stares.  Maybe you will get a couple coherent answers :-)

To me, backpacking combines several of my favorite things.  Foremost is celebrating nature.  There is no problem that can't be solved after pounding the trail for an hour or two. Why does this happen? Who knows, but my theory: when you are on the trail, away from people and external stressors, you focus on simply living.

Another reason I love to backpack is how it strips away creature comforts, allowing me to live like a cavegirl (with the best down quilts and cuben fiber stuff money can buy). Hmmm, okay, a modern cavegirl with a few creature creature comforts :-) 

Trail Days: A Celebration of Appalachian Trail Hikers in Damascus, Virginia *with Video*

Annually, millions of people head to the woods to walk a portion of the Appalachian Trail, a 2,180 mile path winding its way through 14 states, from Georgia to Maine. Most visitors to the trail engage in day hiking or  multi-day backpacking trips. However, some people decide to hike the whole trail at one time, embarking on a feat called a "thru hike." (no, not a misspelling, as this is how many AT enthusiasts spell "through").

A Typical Appalachian Trail Road-Crossing Sign

Last year in 2013, three thousand hikers started either northbound from Springer Mountain, Georgia, or southbound from Mt. Katahdin, Maine. The hikers hope to reach the opposite end of the trail in 6 or 7 months, although a fraction of the hikers actually complete the entire trail in one try. This year about 600 hikers are expected to complete the trail in one calendar year.