Archive | November, 2009
Sesame Soba Noodles
It’s a good sign if you make a dinner at home that you’ve made while camping. This one’s basically noodles and peanut butter, but much better and just as easy.
1 bunch of Soba Noodles (I usually shop for food at the nearest grocery store to the trail, and I know most of those grocery stores don’t stock soba noodles, so try to think of going to your local Asian market to buy them before you leave. They’re what makes this meal good.)
2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil (put it in emptied out hotel shampoo bottle)
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce (If you ever order Chinese or Japanese, save the soy sauce packets)
Spoonful or two (or three) of Chili Sauce (can also use hotel shampoo bottles)
2 Spoonfuls of Peanut Butter (I would assume you’ll have peanut butter if you’re camping.)
Handful of Sesame Seeds (Also rather imperative. They weight nothing, no excuse.)
Directions: Boil water. Drop the noodles in. While the noodles are cooking, mix the oil, soy sauce, chili paste and peanut butter. When the noodles are done, drain a small amount of the hot water into the sauce mix. Stir up until the peanut butter is smooth and dump it back into the pot with the drained noodles. Throw on the sesame seeds.
Or you can just stick to the peanut butter and spaghetti. That ain’t half bad either.
Grand Canyon Permit System
Every year, 23,000 people apply for the 11,500 permits that allow overnight backpacking in the Grand Canyon. The only way to get one of those permits is to line up at the Grand Canyon office the day they become available or mail/fax in a request. National Park Service administrators at the Grand Canyon have decided the system is unfair because it favors those who live near the canyon or have the time and resources to fly there just to get a permit. The agency is proposing to end the current system in February, making everyone in the world compete for advanced reservations by fax and mail only. (via The Goat)
Not good for a business that takes people on guided tours of the area.
Bird
Sangre de Cristos
Truchas Peak in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, Santa Fe National Forest, New Mexico
Fjällräven NYC
Fjällräven opened up their first American store today at 262 Mott Street in New York City. I stopped by last night’s pre-opening celebration to stare at all the pretty Swedish girls and drink a few beers. If you have any affinity for vintage camping gear, and I would assume you might if you’re reading this, then get on the subway or hop on the plane and go check it out. You might know Fjällräven from the mini-backpacks you see around town (and in my apartment) but they started out as, and still are, a technical outdoor gear company, something that they want you to know as soon as you walk down the steps into the store. Filled with axes, tents, sleeping bags, boots from yesteryear and new alpine coats that you clearly don’t need for urban life, people who complain that “outdoor gear just isn’t stylish” will complain no longer.
More photos of the new store can be found at Paul + Williams Flickr.
George Shiras 3D
In 1935, George Shiras 3D published Hunting Wild Life with Camera and Flashlight: A Record of Sixty Five years’ Visits to the Woods and Waters of North America, a two volume set of over 960 of his wildlife photographs that included some of the earliest ‘flash’ photography.
Allegheny National Forest
Allegheny National Forest covers 512,998 acres of Northwest Pennsylvania. Two hundred years ago the forest was mostly Eastern Hemlock and American Beech, but today the area is comprised mostly of black cherry, maple and other hardwoods. The disappearance of hemlock began in the 1850s when tanneries started using hemlock bark as their source for curing leather. The industry received a great boost by the Civil War demand for harness, military equipment and industrial belting. By the end of the century, the tanning industry was a major forest industry in Pennsylvania. Goodbye Hemlock.
That sure is one green forest.
Adobe Bricks
The following is from New Mexico State University’s “ABCs of Making Adobe Bricks.”
Select a site that is near a suitable soil and has a large level area for drying and curing the bricks. Dig a pit about 2 feet deep and of any convenient size for mixing. Before you start mixing, soak the pit thoroughly for at least 12 hours to saturate the retaining perimeter.
When you are ready to start, put some soil in your pit and add just enough water, mixing as you add, to make a stiff mix. You may wish to add straw or dried manure to your mix. Although this may be the local customs, it is not structurally necessary.
Transport the mix to the drying area. The drying area should be sprinkled with dry sand or straw to prevent the wet blocks from binding to the surface of the drying area. Fill the forms with the mix and compact the corners thoroughly. With a straight edge, strike off the form and “gently” remove it, leaving the wet adobe bricks to dry for several days (at least three) before handling. Wash and reuse the forms immediately, but do not disturb the bricks. After several days, the bricks should be strong enough to be turned so that drying can continue. But they will not be strong enough to be handled roughly for three or four weeks, depending on weather conditions during the drying time. However, if showers are prevalent during the brick-making season, you should stack the partially cured adobe in loose ricks and protect them as much as possible from moisture.
Adobe bricks gain strength with drying time, provided they are not exposed to rain or other moisture. Protect your work, but remember that the wind and the sun are you drying agents, and use judgment, too.
Don’t build with adobe unless labor is cheap or free. Adobe bricks are cheap only when labor is cheap.
Read the rest here.
