Some helpful links

Looking for recipes for hiking/camping/backpacking?

http://www.trailcooking.com/ has some awesome tips and recipes for cooking on the trail. Because it is geared towards backpackers, most of these recipes have dehydrated ingredients that need to be reconstituted. In order to keep weight down, dry goods are usually recommended. I really worried about what I was going to eat on the trail ( I LOVE FOOD), and the thought of buying a whole bunch of pre-made dehydrated meals seemed expensive and limiting. I love cooking an coming up with new recipes. Not only does this site give some great ideas that are much less expensive than freeze dried, pre-made meals. Portioning meals into individual servings means that each person can pick what they want to eat, what they want to bring, and can be responsible for their own food on the trail.

http://hikinghq.net/ is a great website with tons of information from a seasoned thru-hiker. He makes a lot of gear, camps in a hammock, and does thorough tests of gear he takes on the trail. He has hiked with his family, his friends, and solo. He has hiked all seasons. Sgt. Rock (his awesome trail name) knows what he is talking about. I love to read his tips and blogs, and his instructions helped me build my first camp stove. Very cool site.

http://www.dressedindirt.com/ is another backpacking blog. This one is by Adelaide, trail name D.I.D. or Dressed in Dirt. Adelaide writes on being a female thru-hiker on the Appalachian trail (and others). She suggests hiking in a skirt, wearing dirty clothes, and taking "days off" on the trail. She has lots of helpful how-to's, great photos from her trips, and hilarious anecdotes about her trips on the trail.

Those are my favorite links (so far). I find myself going back to them over and over again, and learning something new each time!

Mess Kits

Something told me to go to Goodwill today. I'm so glad I did! I got three Coleman mess kits for $1.78 each! The lady at the counter said she wasn't even sure what they were, and she had certainly never seen them at the store before. I really lucked out. I went ahead and got all three because I figured I can give each of the kids one and hey, you just can't beat that price! I had dad over for a little while this afternoon and showed him some of the links I found for making a stove from V8 cans. I also showed him pictures of the beta test one I made. He was pretty impressed, despite his initial misgivings. He seems to like the direction I am going with my pack as well. I don;t think he has totally bought the idea of hammock camping. Honestly, I don't know how sure I am about it right now either. I don't want to buy a hammock, and it just so happens I have a bulk supply of Ripstop Nylon and pretty decent sewing skills. I am going to try and make one and see how that goes. I'll post more on it as it happens; right now I am just in planning stages .

The whole idea of backpacking in the wilderness is so exciting! I am really eager to pick up or make the supplies I need and set out on my first weekend trip. I need to slow down and just get some stuff made, see if it works... then get out there. Still very excited!

My Pack

So, I have been cruising the interwebs, looking for a pack to bring with me. I wasn't totally surprised by the cost, but I was a little disheartened. Then I went to http://hikinghq.net/ and read some of Sgt. Rock's tips for getting started. He suggested rummaging through the closet and seeing what there might be in the way of an old backpack. Turns out I have one of those old rolling backpacks from my college days that I wasn't doing anything with!

It's a pretty good size and all nylon, but it needs a little work. First of all, The extending handle that you pull it around with... I don't need that, and it's just extra weight, so out it goes!

Well, now I have this empty space, where I think I am going to put a water bladder. If I can carry 3L in my pack, I can eliminate some of the steel water

bottles I had planned to bring. As a side note, I am going to try to boil water directly in

the steel bottle before I go, just to see if I can do it without damaging the bottle. Maybe I can forgo a cooking pot if I just boil water in the container and pour that into my freezer bag meals. More on that later. For now, let's get back to the pack.

This is where the water bladder will go.

I plan to make a cover to go over most of that gaping hole, but it does give me a place to run the hose out, and there is a nylon wall between where the bladder will be and the rest of my supplies. The pack is pretty roomy and has a few dividers, which means I can separate my gear if I need to. I tried to take the wheels off, but I stripped the screws. Those wheels are coming off, I just haven't figured out HOW yet. The other modification I made was adding a waist strap. There wasn't anything to it, really, but I felt like a genius anyway. All I did was clip on a long strap from another bag to the same place where the shoulder straps clip on. That's all I've done to the pack so far, but I am pretty excited about it. As I make new things and figure stuff out, I will keep posting!

Getting on the Trail

I went to Grandfather Mountain on a camping trip with some of my very dear friends and my youngest son this summer. Out there, in the majesty of the Great Smokies, I wanted to go for a walk. I thought about my Pop John, my departed grandad who once walked the Appalachian Trail. He didn't finish it, he only walked a week. Ha! Only! I admire him for doing that, and I want to follow in his footsteps. I have decided that I am going to become a backpacker, and this blog is how I will share my thoughts about my journey with whoever is willing to listen.

I've done a little research, trying to get myself ready to go out on the trail. I've window shopped on the web, looking for the gear I'm going to need, learning the lingo, and finding out that backpacking isn't quite what I thought it was! I have learned that it isn't all about lugging all the creature comforts of home and all the best and newest equipment. I'm going to post links that have been helpful to me. I'll also put up pics of progress I am making on my gear, as well as pics from the trails I hit. I am so stoked!