Packing Is Almost Complete

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I didn’t quite succeed in my goal to be completely packed tonight but I’m not far. I really just have little odds and ends. I do have a tiny load of laundry to do and that’s about it.

I feel a lot better now that our transportation is confirmed. It really couldn’t have worked out better. Another hiker contacted me and he’s hiking the very same section starting the Friday we end. He’s also hiking on to Fontana and putting a re-supply box at the Nantahala Outdoor Center so he’ll be there anyway. So we’ll drive to Deep Gap, hike a short mile to Standing Indian Shelter, and start the hike to NOC on Monday as scheduled. When we meet him at NOC he’ll take us back to Deep Gap and start his own hike.

So all of the pieces are falling into place and things are looking up. Well, except for the weather. I was really hoping for some cooler weather than we’ve been having in Florida. Right now the forecast in Franklin is for high 80s/low 90s and lows in the high 50s/low 60s. There’s also at least a 20% chance of rain and/or thunderstorms all next week. Oh well, it’ll just make it interesting. 😛

Lost Another 6 Ounces!

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Well, almost. Ok, so it’s starting to get really bad. The slightest drop in weight is making me all giddy. Now I’ve managed to do it again.

You may remember that the Targhee II shoes I got because I liked the boot model so much haven’t been quite as nice for me. I can’t seem to finish a hike without having a blister on the left heel bone. So it was back to the store to find something else.

I really wish that I could say I walked out with the Columbia shoes I found. OMG! Pure gram weenie heaven! Each shoe weighs a mere 10.8 ounces! Alas, it wasn’t meant to be. They just didn’t seem to have the support I need.

Instead, I’m now the proud owner of the Teva Verdon. From the moment I tried them on they felt like a good match. I’ve been wearing them to the office and spent all day Friday walking around Disney’s Animal Kingdom. Today, though, was the first chance I’ve had to put them on the trail.

I hit the old standby Timucuan Preserve for today’s utility hike. It was in the middle of the day and I wasn’t too thrilled but it turned out to be nearly perfect. There was enough cloud and tree cover to keep things relatively cool. The shoes worked out great and I didn’t have any hotspots. Towards the end (I think I did close to 6 miles but it’s a guess since the GPS batteries died…I know, the story of my life) I got a little discomfort in the right foot. I stopped and loosened it a bit and that seemed to clear things up. I’ll have to figure out a way to get another run at the trail before we leave to see if it’s a problem to be concerned about.

So how does this help me stay true to my title? Well, the Targhee II boot is 18.6 oz. The shoe model is 16.5. The Teva weighed in at 15.8. So that’s a savings of 2.8 oz per shoe for a total savings of 5.6 oz. It really is the little things. 🙂

Sucking Isn’t Always Bad

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Several months ago (too many to accurately remember) my mom gave me her FoodSaver Vac550 vacuum sealer. I really wasn’t sure what I’d do with it but took it anyway. I don’t know why but I never really thought about vacuum packing my dehydrated meals.

Tonight I decided to break it out and see how well it worked and I was pleasantly surprised. She provided me with both rolls and bags. I decided to go with the quart-sized bags which are actually larger to account for what will be “wasted” once you seal it.

The bags are suitable for freezing, boiling, etc and are even reusable. However, I don’t know what I want to try cooking in one and then have to worry about cleaning it. I decided to carry a little extra weight by first putting my red beans and rice from the other night into quart-sized freezer bags which were left unsealed. Then I placed that bag inside the FoodSaver bag and sealed it all at once. This worked very well.

The entire process took about 15 seconds or less to suck all the air out and seal the bag. The unit instructs the user to wait 20 seconds between seals. That’s easy to do. I filled the time with measuring out my instant rice and labeling the inner bags. Now that everything is sealed I can’t wait to crack them open and rehydrate them.

Vacuum Sealed Red Beans

Red Beans & Rice

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Last night I embarked upon a journey to fix some red beans and rice for our Memorial Day hike. I have to give thanks to Babelfish5 over at hammockforums.net for the recipe. I’ll lay out the ingredients for you and then guide you through the process. I’m confident that by the time you reach the end you’ll be salivating and ready to fire up the burner.

Ingredients
1 lb polska kielbasa
1 lb red beans
1 can diced tomatoes
1 lg onion chopped
1 green bell pepper chopped
3 stalks celery chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 bay leaves
1/2 tspn cayenne pepper
1/4 tspn sage
1 tspn dry parsley
1 tbsp cajun seasoning
1 tspn thyme
4 cups beef broth
2 cups water
3 cups instant rice

Note: Use kielbasa instead of andouille sausage since the latter has a higher fat content making it less suitable for dehydrating.

Soak beans overnight with water covering completely. Drain thoroughly right before you begin to cook. Cut the kielbasa into halved slices. Put olive oil in pan and stir together onion, green pepper, and celery. Cook for about 5 min on medium.

The Trinity

Add broth and water, red beans, tomatoes, garlic, spices, bay leaves and stir. Bring to boil and cover for 90 min on medium.

Broth, Spices, Beans Added

Add kielbasa and let cook uncovered for an additional 30 min on medium.

Sausage Added

Remove bay leaves and 20% of the beans. Use blender to turn beans into a thick paste. Put paste back into pot and stir in. Cook for additional 15 min.

Beans Paste

Part dish into desired serving sizes and place on dehydrator tray. Put serving size into ziploc bag and add 1/4 cup of instant rice. Seal and be happy.

Finished Dish

Watch The Widowmakers!

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When I put the hammock up I’m usually pretty good about looking up to see if there are any limbs that look like they could come down and skewer me. For about a year now there’s been a large limb left over from one of our storms that’s been snagged in the tree near where I hang. A few weeks ago as I was trying out the Light Hiker it was very windy and I couldn’t help but wonder how safe I was. Fortunately nothing happened.

I haven’t been around the house much this weekend since I spent over 20 hours stripping the roof off a building and putting down everything but the shingles for a new roof. When I got home tonight I learned that another large limb (that I’d never noticed) had barely missed the tarp and hammock. Two positive things happened. First, I wasn’t in the hammock and didn’t get killed. Second, it fell near my tree hugger and the only casualty was the line to my tarp.

I learned a valuable lesson: look, then look again. I have no idea where this limb came from but had it fallen a few feet the other direction during the night while I was sleeping I’d be dead or severely injured. One interesting thing is that there was very little wind today so I’m not sure what caused it to fall.

Stay safe out there fellow hangers!

Gram Crackers Anyone?

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I seriously never thought this would happen. I swear! I certainly never intended for it to. Unfortunately this afternoon it did. It’s true. I have become…a gram weenie.

Well, I think I’ve gone crackers. That’s right, folks. You heard it hear first. In my now never-ending quest to shave every ounce I can I’ve gone to the extreme of measuring in grams. I received an order from Arrowhead Equipment this afternoon that contained some micro cord locks. These puppies are so small they didn’t even register on the scale when I set it to ounces.

I had picked up some very small (3/16″?) round shock cord from Jo-Ann’s last weekend but didn’t really think I’d have a use for it. That was until I discovered that the netting ties on my Light Hiker were too large for the micro locks. Of course the smaller cord was perfect!

The original ties that I was replacing weigh in at 9 grams (.3 oz). My new and improved ties weigh in at a mere 2 grams (.07 oz). I can’t believe I’m down to worrying about tenths of an ounce now. What’s happened to me? What have I become? Somebody please help me!

Oh phooey! Enough of that. What else can I cut/trim/replace? 😉

Waiting Is The Hardest Part

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As I continue my quest for a lighter pack I decided to drop a little over a pound (18 ounces to be exact) by leaving the sleeping bag behind. Yesterday I got notice that my new Light Hiker Bedroll is on its way! At 14 oz I can’t wait to take it out and see how well it keeps me warm. New gear is always exciting and I think this will be a great addition.

More gear is potentially on the horizon but more on that later. 😉