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.

Waterfall in the Many Glacier Valley, Glacier National Park

This little waterfall can be found on the Switcurrent Trail in the Many Glacier Valley section of Glacier National Park. As pretty as it is, there were several even prettier waterfalls along the trail.

To learn a little more about this section of the park, read my post: Six Things to See and Do in Eastern Glacier National Park.

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

Alexander Springs Swimming Area

Growing up, I went camping many times with my family all over the country. I was thinking it was finally time to go on one on my own. I’m in college, I have a job, and my boyfriend’s birthday presented the perfect excuse to go on a short trip.

We took a lot of time picking out a campsite – we looked at price, whether pets were allowed, what kind of marine life was available there, and the location of the site. After looking at many, we finally decided on Alexander Springs. It costs $18.67 per night, allowed pets (although in the end we didn’t bring our dog anyways), and they had a wide variety of fish. Being only an hour to an hour and a half from Daytona Beach – our leaving point – it seemed perfect. Alexander Springs – Here we come!

We borrowed a tent (a 17’x8’ Field & Stream monster) and most of the camping and snorkeling gear from my father. That saved us a lot of money. One thing we are very glad we brought – even though it took up a lot of room – is a patio umbrella. The shaded site we were in wasn’t shaded for long, and the umbrella kept the September heat at bay.

After getting a little lost and asking for directions at a cute little country store, we finally made it! It only took us about twenty minutes to set up the tent (with LOTS of help from instructions sewn into the bag) and we were ready to relax. The restrooms and showers (very clean for camp baths) were within a two minute walk along a pretty trail, but they were out of view from the site. The campground is only about a fifteen minute walk or a two minute drive from the springs.

Speaking of the springs – they are gorgeous – crystal clear water with a variety of areas that has a fit for each person. At a constant 72◦F, it is definitely chilly. When you are walking up, you see lush green trees and picnic areas. Closer to the water is a small sandy beach area, and there are stairs down into the water. There is no easy place to just jump in, but for the first part of the swimming area it is all shallow water no higher than your knees and white sand that makes it easy to keep an eye on young children. Further out, you start to see a little vegetation and after that is a drop into a gorgeous underwater ravine perfect for beginning divers.

The fish in there are unbelievable – orange, green, silver, and rainbow fish are everywhere. Catch the springs close to closing time and you might get to see this huge turtle that is the size of a spare tire and with a tail a foot and a half long and as thick as a human arm. Josh and I spotted it around that time coming up from the ravine and it was an amazing sight. We snorkeled around several times, and we saw a school of rainbow trout (or so we think), and hundreds of fish just floating around you. It truly is a breathtaking view. Don’t forget to bring an underwater camera!

Back at the campsite, we were neighboring with two interesting groups. To our left, we have what I named the Rowdy Drunks who got kicked out their first night there for noise. They were certainly interesting – and loud. On our right we had the “Cheaper by the Dozen” knock-offs, a large, loud, and very rude family of about ten that had five tents total (of course, the middle-school girls set their tent up about ten feet from ours and were singing songs from Shrek all night).

The last night we were there we saw something that I had to share in this article – don’t forget all the poles to your tent. A group of three City Girls came and left not long after realizing they had forgotten the tent poles. They soon showed up with a brand new tent. After setting it up, it appears they had greatly overestimated the size. It was a single person tent, no where near large enough to hold three people. So what did they do? Took their original tent, hung it up on the lantern hook, and used rocks to hold the ends down. Trust me – that was a sight to see. Free entertainment, right?

We had a good time – our grill went out so we cooked on the fire (which tasted better anyways) and a raccoon scared me one night, but it was a perfect. We are already planning our next trip – and this time, we’ll bring and underwater camera.

- Leanne M. Wiggins

PS – We did bring the hammer my mother mentioned, it is very handy.

TRO maintains a stock of local aviation charts.

Exciting news for our local customers – the Trail Ridge Outdoors store is now mobile. We have configured our credit card processing to support sales in the field. After reviewing our customer profiles we discovered that a large percentage of our local customers are based at the Orlando/Apopka Airport so we now offer free delivery to the airport. Customers may now call or email us and pay by check or credit card on delivery.

Another new feature we have added is standing order service on aviation charts. Customers will automatically receive the most current editions of charts as soon as they are published.

Until now there has not been a local supplier for the airport. Additional items will be added to the mobile inventory as we receive feedback from our customers.

The next phase of our mobile unit is to bring outdoor adventure gear to local events and festivals in the Central Florida Area.

Kayaking one of Florida's spring fed rivers.

Fall is knocking on our door at last. In Florida fall arrives later than for most of the country, but I think we appreciate it more. After a summer of hot humid days spent cooped up inside an air-conditioned house, the first cold front to arrive is a relief.

You see, we don’t do spring cleaning, we do fall cleaning. This is the first time in months we get to throw open the windows and air out the house, inspiring a major cleaning spree in my house. It’s also time to sweep the cobwebs from the soffits, clean off the patio and get ready to resume outdoor living.

This is when I start to plan family campouts and backpacking trips. By November the weather will be ideal for Florida adventures. The Florida Trail stretches for more than fifteen hundred miles passing through temperate and subtropical ecosystems. Florida also has a multitude of fresh water springs providing swimming, canoeing and kayaking opportunities. Campgrounds such as Juniper Springs also offer shady campsites and easy access to trails.

Of course I’ll miss the sleepy days of summer. The quiet waterways and beaches were a real pleasure. So were the summer deals many hotels and restaurants offered. But those days will be back, and for now it’s time to get outside and enjoy the first breaths of cool air in months.

This article offers a few more ideas to keep your next camping trip eco-friendly so that we may all continue to enjoy what is left of our wilderness.

Eco Friendly Eco Wise ~ From TotalEscape.com

“Seems you can’t go deep enough. The further into the forest you go, you still seem to see it – evidence of neglect for our land. In every outting these days, we constantly notice tons of litter & graffiti. Deliberate disrespect for the open spaces & valued wilderness lands. What is going on here?” Click to Read: Eco Friendly Eco Wise

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