Teaser

We had a very nice overnight in the Pisgah National Forest. By the ”stick a mug out the door” method, we had ~3 inches of rain between dinner and bedtime, and were camped on a little island for a while. It was impressive. We cut our second day short.

 Kids were amazing. New food was big success.

Spicy Peanut Butter Soup for Backpacking

Our planned trip got cancelled, but we still cooked like we were on the trail, and tried a new recipe: Spicy Peanut Butter Soup.  Most commercial soup mixes have dairy, msg or both which don't work for us, so I've been experimenting with creating our own.

Soup mix, Pretzel rolls and water.

Combine powder and water

 Stir and wait......

A delicious dinner

Spicy Peanut Butter Soup for Backpacking

inspired by Copperbadge

serves 4

1 large onion grated

3 large cloves of garlic minced 

2 carrots grated

2 potatoes grated or in peeled curls 

1-2 TBS vegetable oil 

1 tsp dried celery leaves

curry powder, ginger, and pepper to taste

 4 cups chicken or vegetable broth (32 oz)

6 TBS powdered peanut butter

* I used 1 sweet potato and 1 regular, I liked it - Birch asked for just normal potatoes next time

In advance at home

Saute the onion and garlic in oil until the onions are translucent.  Stir in the rest of the vegetables and spices, and let cook for a few more minutes.  Add broth, and simmer for about 15 minutes until vegetables are soft. Taste and adjust seasoning as appropriate. DO NOT ADD THE PEANUT BUTTER.

Let soup cool, dehydrate, and break into powder.  Combine soup powder and peanut butter powder in a bag for the trail.

On the Trail:

Combine soup mix and 4c water and heat until it is as hot as you'd like to eat, stirring well.  For a heartier meal you could add some bagged chicken. 

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Saturday Hike

Saturday, May 18, 2013

With Lee out of town, Boo and I took a picnic lunch to the observation deck at the far end of one of our local trails. This has been a favorite destination since she started toddling along for some of our hikes. 

She planned and made our lunches (PB&J, squeezy apple sauce, and a piece of candy) while I had my coffee. 

She has a tiny compass on her pack. It’s more of a toy than anything, but it points north-ish, and is a lot more accurate than I was expecting. She has gotten to the point where she can look at the compass and point north, and then figure out which was the trail is going next, even if it’s not the direction she’s looking. 

The last time we took a longer hike here, there were still several trees down across the trail from the flooding. This trail, however, was clear, which was a disappointment to her. She likes to climb over obstacles. She found a tree very close to the path and climbed over it.

Then we hit the creek.

And the bridge was gone. 

Dried Hummus

Lunch is always tricky. We don’t care to go on snacks evenly spaced throughout the day (though some arguments for that method are tempting).

One day we saw hummus powder at a grocery store and decided to try it. We often eat hummus and stuff in a pita, so it seemed a good choice (we have best luck with food that’s like our at-home food).

The prep work we needed was to find a measuring vessel. The particular hummus we got is 1 part powder to 2 parts water. I had, on a whim, gotten Squishy shot cups, and one of those made a perfect measuring cup. 

So powder. Then water. And… this is like dirty water. As we pondered this, and then realized it just wasn’t done rehydrating. Waited a few minutes and it made an acceptable pita filling. 

It has a lot finer texture than fresh hummus, which is a slight mark against it for both of us. The flavor was fine. We will certainly make it again, though in the future we may dry our own rather than purchasing. 

Have you tried dried hummus? What did you think?

Ultimate Camper

I got Andrew Skurka’s  TheUltimate Hiker’s Gear Guide: Tools & Techniques to Hit the Trail for Christmas. He defines an ultimate hiker as someone who wants to maximize their walking time and minimize their in-camp time. It’s an awesome book. 

 I have not yet hiked with a kid that is an ultimate hiker. 

Bedtime routine is important for most kids, and the less experienced and/or younger they are, the more important that routine is. Changing locations for bed, potty, teeth… Exchanging city and house noises for outdoor sounds… While those are comforting to adults, they are unfamiliar to kids. They may be scary or exciting, but they won’t help your kid get to sleep, or eat enough dinner (distracted!). Younger kids may be clingy and get in the way. 

A kid who needs an hour plus of strict routine at home will likely take a lot more time to settle in camp than a kid who does fine with jumping into bed and going straight to sleep. The younger the kid, the more they’ll need to get used to the campsite to be comfortable. 

Baby Boo staying up Very Late to become comfortable in the tent.

As a toddler, Boo stayed up well past 10, singing to a full car-camping campsite. We hadn't given her enough time to acclimate. At almost 3, she needed well over an hour of running around camp exploring to be able to do anything else. At 4 ½, she “helped” set up and then took half an hour to acclimate before being ready for an exploring hike. 

Running Laps at 3

If you want to shorten the settling in period, make your kids as familiar as possible with the whole thing ahead of time. Set up the tent in the backyard, sleep in it if you can. Hike in the same or a similar area. Carry their favorite book and the blanket they have always slept with (no matter how heavy). Talk about what’s going to happen. Look up trip reports or pictures from your destination with your kid. Going over the map and having the kid discuss what to pack is also good practice. 

As with everything else, know your kid.  Your first outing you should probably give yourself a lot of leeway and time to settle in camp, until you know how much and what kind of things are important for your kid to settle in at camp.

How do your kids get settled in at camp? Have you ever seriously failed?

Black Diamond Wiz Kids Headlamp: Review

I got a headlamp for Christmas. It was a nice Black Diamond with dimmer and red LED (possibly a Storm?). Turns out, headlamps are much more useful than flashlights.

Lee kept borrowing it, and Boo really wanted one. So I got Boo the kid’s Black Diamond. It’s light (2oz according to REI) and has a sweet octopus twisting around the band (looks like new designs this year, also pretty cool). It's distinctly smaller than mine, much better for a kid-sized person.

The battery compartment has a screw, which is nice from a losing batteries and safety perspective. I’m afraid I’m going to lose the tiny screwdriver that came with it….

 It throws a nice bright light. Not a spot, but not totally diffuse, either. She's not confidant enough in the dark to go running in it, but it's plenty for an evening stroll or potty run.


It only has on/off, which I think is best for a 5-year-old. She wants it to dim and have a red light, which I think is more complicated than she needs. Other than not being as complicated as mine, she loves it.

It has the same feel as the adult Black Diamond headlamps I've handled. Same strap type and setup, same general case thickness, same tilt mechanism.

I prefer the headlamp because I'm less likely to get flashed in the face, and it's easier for her to keep track of than a flashlight.

Boo says, "I like it a lot. It's very good. I use it to see when we're going camping in the dark and when I go potty at night.  (Is it comfortable?) Um yeah. (Is it easy to use?) Yeah, all you have to do is put your finger on it and push."

How do your kids see at night?

And Sometimes, there are Grandmas

 My mom and her friend came down for Boo’s tumbling recital. She got a lot of swimming and spoiling in.

Our hike Sunday was limited by lunch reservations, guests from even flatter land than we’re in, and seriously sleeping in.

It didn’t mean we didn’t have fun, find cool things, and flap our wings back to the trailhead.

How was your weekend?