A cozy place to .... in the woods!

Okay, lets get down to the nitty-gritty about backpacking on the Appalachian Trail (A.T.) – doing your “business.” While there are whole books written on how to potty in the woods, the A.T. offers an additional option, the moldering privy. They provide modesty, shelter from rain, and seat positioned over a pile of composting…well you get it… One thing you won’t find is toilet paper, make sure to pack your own or hope you choose the right leaves.

Many shelters along the A.T. have privies to reduce the human impact on the area and some are quite creative. This photo is of a simple model found in North Carolina. For a fun take on A.T. privies, check out these two posts by crafty bloggers: Appalachian Trail Hike: Privy Survival and Appalachian Trail – The Toilets – Trail Privies.

Jambalaya on the FL Trail

Planning food for a backpacking trip can be almost as fun as the trip itself for a wannabe foodie like me.  I challenge myself not to use premade meals, but rather prepare my own lightweight feast.  Using some cookbook recipes and creating a few of my own, not only saves money it also allows me to work around food sensitivities.

My upcoming trip is a four-day section hike on the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. Using The Appalachian Trail Food Planner by Lou Adsmond, and Lipsmackin’ Backpackin’ by Tim & Christine Conners, I am prepping recipes such as Tree Frog Soup with Rattlesnake and Sunrise Spuds.   Before you freak out, the soup is a split pea base with spam – it just has a cool name!

My addition to the menu is a jambalaya with dehydrated sausage and pork sung.  I even carry a 1/8 oz bottle of Tabasco to kick it up a notch. I am also adding Korean instant coffee- complete with cream and sugar – to my pack.  It is less expensive than the name brands and tastes great.

To find ingredients for trail food, I haunt health food stores and Asian markets.  Both have great selections of unique dehydrated and lightweight foods.  Your local supermarket will also have fast prep dried foods you could use.  Beware of some name brands, which have an abundance of MSG.  Read labels of prepared foods if you are sensitive. This is why I look for alternatives in the health food stores.  Amazingly, the Asian markets offer many MSG free choices – just read the label.

I would love to hear what your favorite trailside meals are.  I still have a few days to add to my menu, so please post them in the Comments.  Happy trails!

Black-Necked Stake

Being the atypical gal that I am, all I wanted for Valentine’s Day was to visit Myakka State Park.  For years I had heard of this uniquely beautiful park and the river that gives it its name.  At last I got my wish and wasn’t disappointed.  In fact I was surprised at the seemingly pre-historic beauty of the park and the abundance of wildlife found there.

Located off Highway 72 east of Sarasota, the Myakka River winds through 58 square miles of prairie, wetlands, pineland and hammock.  The diversity of habitat attracts a broad variety of wildlife.  During our visit I had opportunity to photograph birds, wild boar, alligators and even an armadillo.

Chillin' in the Florida Sun

One of my goals during our visit was to find out what activities we could plan during a longer stay.  I learned that the park offers canoeing, kayaking, bicycling, camping, over 39 miles of hiking & horse trails, log cabin rentals, airboat rides, birding, an elevated canopy walkway and observation tower and some really awesome homemade gumbo served at the concession.  Being a bit of a foodie I would visit just for the gumbo.

With 39 miles of trails configured in loops the options for a weekend backpacking trip to any of the six backcountry sites are many. This is my plan for our next visit. During this visit we were warned that recent rains have made the hiking trails extremely wet.  Having hiked the swamped trails in Wekiva State Park recently, I respect the warning and plan to time my return to avoid a swampy trek.   It’s either that or I bring waders!  Before planning to hike here call to check trail conditions.

Look for future posts featuring this dramatic Southwest Florida State Park.

Heron

The Optimus Nova Plus Fits in the Palm of Your Hand (Click for Details)

This is a good article on backpack cooking. I enjoy creating new meals for the trail from what I find and my local supermarket or health food store. The possibilities are endless now that so many instant products are available.

Backpacking Gourmet Cooking, by Jessica Linnell

Like many of you, I have more than one job. I do some corporate flying as a “second job.” Last week we had an assignment to fly to the Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. Soon, we found that this place is a lot of fun. Occasionally this job has some great fringe benefits!

View of Shady Gators from our room.

For those of you not familiar with this lake, it was formed when the Osage River was dammed in 1931. This formed a lake that winds for more than 90 miles and has numerous coves. It is sometimes referred to as the “Dragon Lake” for its unusual appearance from the air. The surrounding area offers several State Parks with hiking, camping and backpacking opportunities. There are even several caves to explore, another favorite hobby of mine.

If a little party action is more your speed, check out Shady Gators or the Horney Toad. Both offer live music, a lake view and very lively crowds! Sadly our flight schedule did not allow us to take in any of the festivities – this trip…

Instead we hit the lake in a boat and headed to the Four Seasons for breakfast. Cool ride. This lake is packed with every kind of water craft you can imagine. In fact we are told that on weekends this lake belongs to the “big boys.” Because of the steep shoreline, wakes reverberate creating a rough ride for a small boat by lunchtime.

We also noticed some VERY nice real estate along the shoreline. One cliff-top home sports two man-made waterfalls spilling over into the lake. Awesome!

It looks like this will be a regular trip for us from now on. Look for pictures, trip reports and more in the future. If your travels take you near The Lake of the Ozarks, take the time to visit. It will be worth your time.

The American Hiking Society has an easy to search listing of events taking place in honor of National Trails Day which is June 6th, 2009.

Click here to search for an event near you.

National Trails Day - June 6th, 2009

As the spring flowers bloom it is time to get out and do some backpacking. This bag by Ledge Sports, is warm enough to keep you comfortable during the still cool nights. Where would you like to hike to this spring? Let us know!

Deep Creek +25 Details

	86″ x 32′ x 22″ Mummy Sleeping Bag. 1.8 lbs featherloft fill. Single layer. 190T Nylon shell and liner. #5 two-way full-length zipper. Comes with stuff sack. Pack weight 3 lbs.
PRICE:	$34.95

Hiker's Hut in the Seminole Foreslt

Both Ron (my husband) and I love to hike. Our favorite destinations include Brevard, North Carolina and Estes Park Colorado. But these are destinations for when we go on vacation. Closer to home we have been making an effort to find the gems in our own backyard.

To begin we started with a favorite haunt of mine for the past decade, Wekiwa Springs State Park. Starting at the parking area near the springs you find the beginning of a 13 mile trail system that leads through forest, past a lake, through low pine scrub and along the river for while. From there it’s back into the scrum and pine. It is great place to hike or trail run. Hike as much or as little of the trail as you like and take a picnic to enjoy next to the lake.

Two weekends ago we poured through 50 Hikes in Central Florida, by Sandra Friend for a new destination. We headed to Eustis to hike in the Hidden Waters Preserve. This trail descends from the parking area into a huge 105 foot deep sink hole with a stream running through the bottom. It is a GREAT place to build endurance thanks to its inclines. If a workout is what you are after you may want to hike it twice using a different trail option the second time around. At only a mile, it left me wanting for more. I do plan to return and run this trail. It is so wide and clear its perfect!

The following day we headed to the Seminole Forest. We were pointed there by a park ranger who we met while checking out Rock Springs Run State Reserve. Parking is next to a large lake where we saw several people hanging poles hoping to catch some fish. I stayed away as I have learned that fish run from me! The trail system is extensive, spanning from the highway 46 entrance to Highway 44. The Florida Trail passes through the park. Along the trail there a couple of shelters built in the style of those you would find on the Appalachian Trail. Three sides and raised off of the ground. Nearby sits a fire ring. The whole setup has us planning a backpacking trip there in the near future. There are so many options I suspect we will be exploring this park for awhile.

So far, Ron and I are very pleased with the results of our quest. We will be busy exploring each of these areas whenever we have some spare time. To see some trip reports please visit my page on EveryTrail.com. This once again reinforces that Central Florida is a great place to live!