Backwoods Spaghetti

As we gear up for our summer trip, I've been practicing trail cooking at home. That way, we can try out the recipes before we're miles away from a kitchen. I try to do a full practice with the stove we have to make sure the recipe will work with our limited gear. Today I made spaghetti!

I LOVED this meal! It was easy and delicious! For the noodles, I broke them in half to fit in a snack ziplock. For the sauce, I went with a tomato paste base. 

Tomato Sauce:

- 2 tablespoon of tomato paste

Buy a can and divide the paste into an ice tray.  Freeze it and have paste for a long time. I would then use one cube for this recipe

- 1 teaspoon garlic powder

- 1 teaspoon dried basil

- 1 teaspoon dried oregano

- 1 vegetable bouillon cube

- pinch of red pepper flakes

As with any recipe, play with your seasoning and seasoning amounts to fit your taste. I wanted a simple recipe so I did all "1" measurements. 

Our cooking tools are really simple when we're on the trail. From left to right we have our stove with snowpeak pot, an xmug to eat it in, noodles in the ziploc bag, sauce in the tupperware, and the lid/sauce pan.  I grabbed all of the tools and ingredients and proceed to my front porch to cook. I like to worry the neighbors. 

Fill the pot with water and bring to a boil. Then drop in your noodles, lower your pot to a simmer (if you can, otherwise just take the pot off the flame for a bit), and throw a lid on it. Remember, noodles like a lot of water to move around in.

My cat was suspicious of the gas stove sounds...

Be sure to stir and check on your noodles on occasion. My lid kept coming off so I had to leave uncovered towards the end.

Drain what you can without losing the noodles and keep 1 cup of extra pasta water in the your mug. That way, you can add in water as you need to your sauce. Drop in the whole set of sauce seasonings and stir. Add water as needed to reach your desired consistency.

Enjoy!

Summer Hiking - Water Filtration with the MSR Sweetwater

Down in Georgia, summer is creeping up on us.  That means hot and humid days that can turn easy day-hikes into a challenge if you don't prep properly. The most important prep item is enough water.

The one piece of equipment that drastically changed how I hike was a water filtration system. Before, my husband and I would fill our camelbacks to brim and pack an extra bottle or two in our backpacks (i.e. extra weight). Multiple day hikes were not an option and even some day-hikes would have to be adjusted depending on the temperatures outside.  It was a real limiting factor.

I went with the MSR Sweetwater Purifier for the right balance of ease, weight and cost. It's not the lightest system and tablets would certainly be cheaper, but I wanted something a step above entry level that wouldn't break the bank. What sold me on it was this video of the equipment in action:


After a year of use, I still love it. As long as we know we are crossing a river (which we will seek out on summer hikes), we can carry less water in our packs. No ice needed either thanks to cold river water. I was able to score this on ebay for about $70.

We still keep extra waters in the car for our return though! What water filtration systems have worked well for you?


** Don't forget! National Trails Day is June 1, 2013. Find a trail or event near you at American Hiking Society. **

Georgia Dayhiking - Blood Mountain

My latest hiking adventure was Blood Mountain. Plenty of people have written something about this trail (this person wrote a novel or you can just read this general overview). The original goal was to hike around 8 miles the first day and then finish the downhill the next day. Unfortunately the 10% chance of rain that day turned into a 200% chance of thunderstorms. Not to mention, this trail turned out to be much more strenuous than we thought.

My husband and I have done plenty of difficult trails, but this one got the best of us. Between the elevation and the rain, we made the decision 5.5 miles in to turn back and make camp at the creek. I do not regret the choice, especially when the next round of thunder and lighting started moving in. Yet even as the skies roared, I hesitated make the decision because I would not admit defeat. What won me over was my gut.

It's been said before and I'll chime in to the chorus: the best thing you can do is follow your gut. If something does not feel right or safe, in hiking or in life in general, stop and listen to your instincts. You've gotten this far, so maybe that gut is good for more than drinking beer.

Enough talk! Onto the pictures taken before the rain, that is.