A Change In Plans

On Sunday, B and I headed out to South Tahoe to try and get in one last snowshoe trip of the season. We had been sick with the flu and colds for most of February and were really feeling very angsty about the need to get out. We planned on hiking up Pyramid Peak - but the route turned out to be too melted out already. We drove back and forth along Highway 50 looking for a spot with enough snow to begin. All we found was dense brush and light snow. Finally, we headed down in to Tahoe proper as it began to rain. We sat in a parking lot and tried to think of an alternative. With the cold raid beating down on the car, it seemed like maybe we would have to turn back.



I sat in the car as B looked at maps on his iPhone and researched alternate trails. It seemed like such a waste to drive all the way out from the East Bay and then just turn around again and go back. It also seemed like a bad idea to do something that was unfun and unsafe just because I was too pig headed to accept my circumstances.

As I learn more about mountaineering and alpine climbing, I realize that I need to learn when to change my plans. I need to learn when to turn back, go a different way, admit defeat, evaluate, and let go of my expectations. I thought about the quote I read from a guide who had just led a team of Everest, "going up is optional, coming down is mandatory."

As the wind blew outside the car, I thought about the day when I would face having to turn around - possibly after flying half way across the world and climbing 2/3 of a mountain. I would have to be OK with it. Maybe today could be a day I practiced that skill?

"I found a hike we can try," B said.
"Where is it?"
"Mount Tallac. Just a little ways down the road."

It could be more of the same. It was raining. It was windy.

"Ok," I said, "let's go check it out."

As we drove to the new trail-head, I wondered if I was making a mistake. I told myself we should at least check it out, and I promised myself if I felt any twinge of "bad idea" I would tell B we had to turn around. As we pulled in to the snow park lot, the rain stopped. We got out of the car and geared up. We decided to follow one of the cross country ski trails and use the markers would keep us on route.



We got about 15 minutes out and the sun broke through the clouds. I went to put my sunglasses on. I had left them in the car. This sucked. I did not want to have to go back, it looked like we were really going to get a trek in despite our late start, and I really wanted to have a new blog post.

"I don't need them."

"Yes you do. We are going back."

"Uhg. Ok."

We headed back to the car, got my sunglasses and then, as we started off again, noticed a nice snowshoe track heading the opposite direction we had originally chosen. We decided to follow that trail instead. It turned out to be the best change of plans we had made in a long time. We found a new training hike for our summer mountaineering class, a new snowshoe route to share with our friends, and I got to test a new recipe out in the wild.



We ended up hiking the trail to Mt. Tallac. Even though the wind blew, the weather was warm, and we had some beautiful views when the clouds cleared.



The wind blew too hard along the ridge for us to sit and take a break. We ate snacks quickly on our feet and kept moving. I decided we could test the stew recipe on our way back to the car, back down in the aspen groves.

We got back to the groves around 2:30pm. It was the first time we had sat down all day, and it felt good to be out of the wind.

B started up the JetBoil and I took the insulated camp bowl and stew mix out of my pack. B poured the stew in the boiling water.



I stirred it for two minutes while it boiled.



I poured the stew into our insulated camp bowl, then we let it sit for about five minutes.



B took the first bite. "How is it," I said.
"It is a keeper." B said, as he ate a few more bites. I had a few too.



The warm hot stew tasted so good after being in the wind all day. It warmed our hands, and our bellies. We both felt revived, and I felt a little redeemed. For what I am not sure, maybe for staying flexible all day? I had been willing to keep changing my expectations - and somehow it felt like I had been rewarded for the effort. Hopefully you can enjoy this recipe under less trying circumstances.

This recipe was a long time in the making. It requires that you make a leather out of a homemade stew base and dehydrate some vegetables in advance.

Beef and Vegetable Stew - Serves 1

1/4 cup freeze dried roast beef
1/4 cup freeze dried potato dices
1/4 cup dehydrated veggie mix*
1/4 dehydrated Homemade Stew Leather
1/2 Tbsp beef bouillon
1 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 cup boiling water

At home:
Put all ingredients in a Ziploc bag. Write 1 1/2 H2O on the bag with a Sharpie.

On the trail:
Boil 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot or JetBoil. When the water begins to boil, stir in the stew mix. Let the stew boil for two minutes, stirring the entire time. The stew will thicken as it boils. After two minutes, pour the stew into an insulated mug or camp bowl. Cover and let sit for 5 minutes. Check the consistency. If veggies are still a bit stiff, put the lid back on and let sit for another 3 minutes. Add salt & pepper to taste. Enjoy!

*If you don't have time to dehydrate the vegetables, you can buy Just Veggies instead.

From Scratch: Food Dehydration 101

This morning I got up early and put in some time on the Stairmaster. Not my favorite activity, but as the Alpine Class approaches, I am feeling a bit unprepared for the summit. Putting one foot in front of the other, over and over and over and over- a seemingly endless climb. It was only 20 minutes - then on to another 40 on the elliptical for cardio. In addition to getting my training out of the way for the day, I also had time to think about new recipes.

chicken curry - fried rice - breakfast couscous - bean salad - sausage gravy - chipotle lime corn - minestrone soup - - -

I promptly went home from the gym and had breakfast. Then got out my food dehydrator and dried some veggies for my next recipe.

If I had known ten years ago how easy and cheap dehydrating my own food was, I would be an old pro by now. Instead, I am still experimenting with different foods, dehydration times and what I like. Some foods dehydrate better than others, and some change enough that personal preferrence comes in to play. You may like tomatoes - you might not like dehydrated tomatoes.




There are tons of books on food dehydration and you can read about it endlessly on the internet - in fact there is so much out there that it can be overwhelming. Here are a few resources I think are pretty helpful. Choosing a Food Dehydrator Dehydrating Meat And a few tips to get you started.

1. Buy a food dehydrator that comes with screens, fruit roll sheets, and can handle additional trays. The screens make sticky foods easier to remove and also work well for smaller foods like herbs, beans, and ground meat. Don't be fooled by the name - fruit roll sheets can be used to dehydrate spaghetti sauce and salsa!

2. Don't try to dehydrate all the ingredients in your recipe the first time. Pick one or two ingredients to experiment with and buy the rest. This way, if they don't turn out (or you don't like them) you don't have to start from scratch.

3. Rehydrate your experiments before you head out on the trail! Some things rehydrate better in recipes or on their own. Test them out before you get in the woods.




4. Blanch most vegetables before dehydrating. Asparagus, broccoli, carrots, corn, eggplant, potatoes,etc. I cook onions before drying them since raw onions make me a little sick.

5. Start with beans and/or salsa. These two things are super easy, dry fairly fast and can be used together in a recipe. Canned beans and a jar of non-junky salsa can be dried at the same time on the same setting. The beans will finish drying before the salsa - just remove the tray and let the salsa finish.

Off to a Good Start: Bacon & Cheese Grits

I came up with this recipe for our honeymoon trip through the wilderness in Olympic National Park. It was the beginning of August, but spring was just beginning to bloom. We hiked the High Divide trail for five days. Cold nights, lots of bugs, and a little bit of rain. All the flowers bloomed in the five days we were there. We were blessed with a wide variety of wildlife - all coming down from the hills to munch on the spring greens. Elk, goats, bears, and marmots were just a few.

It was definately a memorable trip - and not just because it was our honeymoon. Cold mornings beg for hot breakfast - something warm in your hands and in your belly to make that pack seem less heavy and help you put one foot in front of the other till the sun warms your skin and the blood starts flowing.

If you are on a multi-day trip, I reccomend having these more than one morning - you will be wishing you did.

Bacon & Chedder Grits - Serves 2
2 packages instant grits
4 pieces bacon*, cooked
2 Tbsp chedder cheese powder
2 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 sandwhich size ziplock bags

At home:
Empty packages of instant grits into each ziplock
Dice the cooked bacon and divide among the ziplock bags
Add 1 Tbsp of cheese powder to each bag
Add 1 tsp of onion powder to each bag
Add 1/2 tsp garlic powder to each bag
Add 1/4 tsp black pepper to each bag
Write 1/2 cup H2O on each bag with a Sharpie
Seel bags, compressing as much air out of them as possible.

On the trail:
Boil 1 cup of water
Pour grit mix into insulated mugs with lids
Divide water among mugs, and stir.
Place lids on mugs and let sit for 7 minutes.
Stir again, and enjoy!

*You can use bacon bits instead of fresh bacon in a pinch, but it is not as good.

A Girl and Her Burrito

Last summer my husband and I spent five days in the back-country of Yosemite. We started out in the meadows and hiked down to the fork of the Merced and back. Despite the Big Meadows fire burning the whole time - we ended up with mostly smoke-free days. The fires seemed to keep people away - it felt like we had the national park to ourselves for most of the time.



For this trip I made all of the food from scratch. Many of the recipes were a success, one was a total failure. It is really tough having to eat something that taste gross because you know you need the calories and there is nothing else around. I learned from those mistakes! Test everything before you leave for the woods!

On our first morning at Lake Evelyn I impressed my husband with breakfast burritos. I was going to make up the grits - but it was so cold that morning, I thought something spicy and hearty would do the trick. For these burritos you will need to purchase some freeze-dried scrambled eggs. I found them online at http://www.wildernessdining.com/

Be sure to buy the cooked scrambled eggs and not the egg powder! You can also find the cheese packets there.




Back-Country Breakfast Burritos - Serves 2
1 package freeze-dried cooked scrambled eggs
1 can black beans - dehydrated
1 cup of your favorite salsa - dehydrated
2 whole wheat tortillas
2 chedder cheese packets

2 16oz plastic containers with screw lids
2 sandwhich size zip lock bags

At home:
Divide the dehydrated black beans and salsa between the two zip lock bags. Gently fold each tortilla and place in zip lock bags. Place one cheese packet in each bag. Seal.



On the trail:
Prepare eggs using package directions. While eggs sit, boil 1 1/2 cups of water in a pot. Remove tortillas and cheese packets from zip lock bags, and set aside. Place bean and salsa mixture in plastic containers. Divide boiling water between the two. Screw lids on and let sit for 7-10 minutes. Lay tortillas on a flat surface and spoon dehydrated beans and salsa on to each. Divide the scrambled eggs between each tortilla. Squeeze packet of cheese on each tortilla. Roll up and eat!