On the JMT to Devils Postpile

August 20, 2011

So far my experience with bears in the last few days has proven to me the Bearikade was a great idea. It fits great sideways in my Osprey Aura 65 and has proven itself to withstand the efforts of two sets of bears.  It also made a great seat while cooking.  I was more thrilled with the can than my pack.  By this point I have discovered the limitations of this light backpack’s shoulder straps and was cursing their stiffness.  Lucky for me I found a pair of brand new thick synthetic backpacking socks in my camp left there by the previous camper.  After short consideration I chose to cut the bottoms off and use the tubes to pad my shoulder straps.  It paid off, my comfort was greatly increased.  Other than that the pack had so far proven itself to be easy to organize and fit my gear perfectly.  I have also discovered I love the Honeyville powdered eggs. 

Due to the mystery illness I have been suffering from for the last two years, I was determined never to get stuck hiking in the heat. If I could avoid this, I could complete the trip without numb feet and dizziness. After a breakfast at 4:30 am of powdered eggs, grits and coffee I hit the trail about 5:15. I already discovered if you want to have some alone time on the trail the best time to hike was early in the AM, most didn’t seem to leave their camps until about 9 or 10. Sometimes adversity turns into a blessing, it forces you to do things differently.

It was on to Devils Postpile to meet up with Irene who was resupplying me and actually going to hike the next leg to Eddison Lake VVR with me as her first backpacking trip.

Making Your Own Trail Food

It’s snowing again here.  Probably won’t get plowed again.  I’ve been experimenting with dehydrating various vegetarian foods.  30 days on the JMT is just too long to pay the high cost of those prepackaged backpacking meals and quite frankly there isn’t much variation for those of us who don’t eat meat.

 Last weekend I played around with mini Matzo Balls made from a mix.  They work great.  I boiled them first and then dehydrated overnight.  Put them in a cup of soup and let them sit in the hot water about 2 minutes.  You couldn’t tell they were once dehydrated.

Today I dehydrated meatless meatballs and they worked equally great.  First I pan fried them (not sure if that is necessary but seemed like a good idea), then placed them overnight in the dehydrator.  To rehydrate, I merely let them sit in hot water much like I would on the trail. 

These could be rehydrated with either ramen noodles or a flat fettuccini type noodle we found at an Asian Market.  For $1.29 you can get a package of 15 rounds of noodles which when placed in water that has reached a boil will rehydrate in 3 minutes in a closed container.  I like these noodles better, the texture is nice and they don’t taste as starchy as ramen.  They are great in soup or in a spaghetti/fettuccini type recipe.

Next week, Lentil soup.