I mentioned a lot that nutrition while backpacking is a huge problem. You have to carry your own food and pack it out. That severely limits the protein you can bring, as well as fresh vegetables and fruits. I've come up with a good solution, at least in my opinion. Living where I do, rice is HUGE. I had to buy a rice steamer because the friends I had over all the time complained about the quality of my rice. So, packing rice seems like a wonderful idea. Its small, it fluffs up, and its nutritious. Yay :D But you need more than that, unless you find golden rice :P I also love canned chicken. But it comes in huge containers! Well, pet stores sell covers for cans (made for cat food but it works). But better than that, the canned chicken can be divvied up between my boyfriend and I for dinner, in/with the rice. If we get tired of chicken, there's the old Cuban favorite of black beans and rice. I think its an excellent idea, arguably better than chicken. We still need vegetables and fruit, though. Vegetables, I'm still working on. Ideas are welcome. Fruits, dried fruit is excellent. Wouldn't want to get scurvy :P But that's just dinner (which, btw, you can note that the chicken can double as a cold meal, if you don't have the energy or time for a hot meal).
For lunch, I'm planning on bringing ramen. Maybe putting some of the canned chicken in the ramen. Ramen is a good source of sodium, which makes you retain water (and thirsty) so its very satisfying. Oh, don't eat unboiled ramen noodles. It will make you sick, more than likely. At least, that was my experience. I've read its better to skip lunch and just graze throughout the day, though. I think I might lean towards that.
For breakfast, I'm thinking something like granola bars. Not a hot breakfast, but definitely filling.
For grazing, huge amounts of beef jerky and homemade trail mix. My boyfriend and I have agreed that store bought trail mix is way too salty and isn't as good for you as you'd need on the trail. We're going to talk to his brother (who's into nutrition) about the specific nuts, but we'll be mixing our own. Mine will have M&Ms. I can't not. Oh, but definitely dried fruit in the trail mix! That's where the dried fruit comes in. Beyond raisins, there are tons of deliciously dried fruits (or maybe that's just here lol). My boyfriend is saying a pound of jerky a day but we'll see. And I think I want more to snack but I haven't figured it out yet.I'm going to have to browse the dry goods section of the grocery store.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Bears and Backpacking
My main problem hiking and camping has always been bears. I've always been scared of bears, and I always end up by myself. I'm slow so I hike by myself; because I'm slow, I'm the least sore at lunch and dinner so I go get the water, again by myself; I set up the tent while my dad fires up the Firefly (our camp "stove"), the camp is usually closer to the woods, by a long shot. So, I spend a lot of time alone and my dad and I only have one bear bell between us. I love our bear bell but it ends up on my dad's pack a lot somehow, even though I'm the one that's always alone. It does work. I don't know if it was a bear or what that I scared away, but I have scared away some big stuff with that bell. Plus, it ensures that you don't startle the animal. So, what if I'm sans bear bell or the bear bell pisses the bear (or large cat) off? Like the posts I was reading yesterday, the chances of startling a bear or large cat are really slim but I want to be able to ensure that I can keep myself and my loved ones safe. That said, I'm an average height but slim girl. That means I don't have a lot of strength to defend myself from a bear nor do I have the height to threaten a bear. Last night, I was looking at knives. I'm aiming to get two 4" blades that I can strap to me when I hike. Besides defense, I could use a knife to open stuff and cut stuff off me (what stuff gets on me? Oh, just loose threads, stuff like that). Would a 4" knife do anything to a bear? No, probably not. Just piss it off more. But I'd feel safer with a knife and a bell. My boyfriend and I were discussing getting a gun last night. I'm not old enough to get a concealed license, apparently, but I could get a general carry license so it would be his gun until I'm old enough. I feel like a gun would be much more use in keeping me safe, especially since I'm going to live alone for awhile. Not that our apartment has a history of bad things, but the last thing I would need is for someone to break in and hurt my cats. So, yea, a gun is a good idea, in my opinion but there are huge problems. You have to get the gun (which is really expensive), you have to get the license (making sure you have the proper licenses for each state you're in), and you have to be able to keep up to date. Oh, and you have to be able to shoot. I'm not a bad shot, especially considering how severely astigmatic I am, but I wouldn't feel comfortable shooting if there were other people in range, no matter what.
Backpacking
Again, I'm presented with the opportunity to do a short hike on the Appalachian trail. I'm no thru-hiker but I do my best. My first year was terrible. I was used to seeing those pictures of women wearing tanktops and hiking so I packed only tanktops. At the the end of the first day, my shoulders were bloody. I had just gotten to the top of Spring Mtn, the southern terminus. I had to wear my dad's shirt for the rest of the trip, the shirt he had worn the first day that had his sweat on it. Gross! Here's what I learned the first year:
a) Wear t-shirts. Tanktops don't do it. Your pack straps will rub your shoulders raw. (oh, btw, I still have scars on my shoulders and its been 3 or 4 years)
b) Count your calories! Huh? Translation, pack only the amount of food you'll need and no junk food. (I didn't buy the junk food, not my fault)
c) If you go with a group, do make sure you have food to trade. If you know someone doesn't like M&Ms and you notice their trail mix has a lot of M&Ms, bring a little extra beef jerky for trading.
d) Being a girl on the trail is difficult but do-able. Birdbathing works, a razor doesn't take up that much space, and only use the woods in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening, if you're with a group.
e) If the guide says "there's a water source here!" Don't take its word for it. You should never be 100% out of water. Never.
f) I almost forgot. Before you leave on your trip, make sure your raingear is, in fact, waterproof x.x If its not, they do sell spray to make it so. And yes, its a possibility.
g) Don't ask the Army Rangers for directions. In the southern part of the Appalachian Trail, you can run into them. They're wonderful guys, they're trying to be helpful, but they're needs for a campsite are very different than yours.
Second year was better. I wore my own t-shirts etc. but I had a new problem. I had just gotten a tattoo and, while my boots covered it, my pajama shorts didn't. Every evening, I'd wait for the tent to be put up and then change into long pants. That worked until I found a tick in my pants and accidentally flashed the tattoo at my dad. Uhoh lol So here's what I learned that year:
a) Make sure you have enough snack. You will graze. This is good. Oh, and make sure its accessible. Your snack won't do you any good if its in the bottom of your pack.
b) If you're in better shape, you'll probably need less to eat. Again, watch how much food you pack!
c) If you wear long pants, you'll probably get ticks.
d) Don't swing your food over a limb so high that you can't get it back down, k?
e) Bringing a weapon is comforting. There was one day, during lunch, we heard a wildcat kill something on the next hill. I can't tell you how scary those bloodcurdling screams were... Oh, and guess where we camped that night x.x In our defense, it was dark. We noticed in the morning and got the hell out of there. Also, I walked by a 500 lb black bear. I'd like to meet the jerk that let me do that. I've never met a jerk on the trail before but this guy was up there. We were walking in opposite directions (he was coming from the direction with the bear). He sees me, stops, opens his mouth like a fish, and keeps going. At lunch, I hear from the person in my group who was behind me that they had seen a 500 lb black bear off the trail. That person was only 5 minutes behind me, if that. I'll talk about bringing a weapon later.
f) Tea might not be a bad thing to bring. And hot chocolate is to die for. Literally. My dad and I were fighting over my last hot chocolate packets (I gave in. I'm such a good daughter. He pulled the whole "awww, my back hurts :("). soooo goood. Hot chocolate provides a little nutrition but tea provides some nutrition and some health benefits. For example, chamomile is excellent for pretty much everything. Plus, its nice to have a hot drink with a hot meal, that's not just water.
a) Wear t-shirts. Tanktops don't do it. Your pack straps will rub your shoulders raw. (oh, btw, I still have scars on my shoulders and its been 3 or 4 years)
b) Count your calories! Huh? Translation, pack only the amount of food you'll need and no junk food. (I didn't buy the junk food, not my fault)
c) If you go with a group, do make sure you have food to trade. If you know someone doesn't like M&Ms and you notice their trail mix has a lot of M&Ms, bring a little extra beef jerky for trading.
d) Being a girl on the trail is difficult but do-able. Birdbathing works, a razor doesn't take up that much space, and only use the woods in the morning, at lunch, and in the evening, if you're with a group.
e) If the guide says "there's a water source here!" Don't take its word for it. You should never be 100% out of water. Never.
f) I almost forgot. Before you leave on your trip, make sure your raingear is, in fact, waterproof x.x If its not, they do sell spray to make it so. And yes, its a possibility.
g) Don't ask the Army Rangers for directions. In the southern part of the Appalachian Trail, you can run into them. They're wonderful guys, they're trying to be helpful, but they're needs for a campsite are very different than yours.
Second year was better. I wore my own t-shirts etc. but I had a new problem. I had just gotten a tattoo and, while my boots covered it, my pajama shorts didn't. Every evening, I'd wait for the tent to be put up and then change into long pants. That worked until I found a tick in my pants and accidentally flashed the tattoo at my dad. Uhoh lol So here's what I learned that year:
a) Make sure you have enough snack. You will graze. This is good. Oh, and make sure its accessible. Your snack won't do you any good if its in the bottom of your pack.
b) If you're in better shape, you'll probably need less to eat. Again, watch how much food you pack!
c) If you wear long pants, you'll probably get ticks.
d) Don't swing your food over a limb so high that you can't get it back down, k?
e) Bringing a weapon is comforting. There was one day, during lunch, we heard a wildcat kill something on the next hill. I can't tell you how scary those bloodcurdling screams were... Oh, and guess where we camped that night x.x In our defense, it was dark. We noticed in the morning and got the hell out of there. Also, I walked by a 500 lb black bear. I'd like to meet the jerk that let me do that. I've never met a jerk on the trail before but this guy was up there. We were walking in opposite directions (he was coming from the direction with the bear). He sees me, stops, opens his mouth like a fish, and keeps going. At lunch, I hear from the person in my group who was behind me that they had seen a 500 lb black bear off the trail. That person was only 5 minutes behind me, if that. I'll talk about bringing a weapon later.
f) Tea might not be a bad thing to bring. And hot chocolate is to die for. Literally. My dad and I were fighting over my last hot chocolate packets (I gave in. I'm such a good daughter. He pulled the whole "awww, my back hurts :("). soooo goood. Hot chocolate provides a little nutrition but tea provides some nutrition and some health benefits. For example, chamomile is excellent for pretty much everything. Plus, its nice to have a hot drink with a hot meal, that's not just water.
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