Ultralight Hiker: Lint

My friend Lint, was just featured on Oregon Public Broadcasting's "Field Guide," where he proudly (and humorously) demonstrates the joys of ultralight backpacking.  For those of you who do not know Lint, the guy is an ultralight hiking stud, who is one of the most genuine, humble  guys I know.  He has hiked the Appalachian and Pacific Crest Trails twice, and he is hiking the Continental Divide Trail for a second time this coming summer, yep, he will be a Double-Triple Crowner come next September.  Enjoy the video below! Skip ahead to the 8:50 mark.

Watch Season 23, Episode 12 on PBS. See more from Oregon Field Guide.

Triple Crown Recipient Video

Prodeal put together this video for ALDHA-West, and it features all those who received their Triple Crown Award for 2009.  He did a wonderful job with putting this together.  Check it out.

2009 Triple Crown Video from Bristlecone Media on Vimeo

I am myself hoping to be in the next video for 2010. I've got 30-miles to hike on the PCT, so I cannot be a Triple Crowner until I get those last miles done. Yes, I am a stickler for details!

NIDO is the Way to Go!

After hiking the Continental Divide Trail, I am convinced that Nido powdered milk, which is made by Nestle, is the preferred powdered milk to buy. I first heard about Nido from Dicentra, who is a trail food guru, but I had trouble finding it. I was reminded that Nido is usually buried in the Mexican foods aisle in the grocery store, and it is nowhere near the baked goods aisle, where one will find the usual Carnation or store brand powdered milk. Although I am not a big fan of Wal-Mart, I did find it there for about $5.00 for a 14 ounce can.

Nido tastes like real milk. Forget Carnation or the store brand version of powdered milk. Even the now defunct Milkman Instant Lowfat Dry Milk (with "the kiss of cream"), which I used to enjoy on the trail, does not hold a candle to this stuff. Nido is dry whole milk, which has real milk fat in it. Apparently, one has to be conscious about keeping the stuff really dry, because if Nido get damp or wet, it can get rancid in storage. Yes, that's how true and awesome the stuff is, so keep it dry hikers, and enjoy Nido for your powdered milk on your next long-distance hike!

On the Continental Divide Trail

I am hiking the Continental Divide Trail! I am publishing posts at my CDT blog at hikethecdt.blogspot.com. I will resume publishing posts at this site when i am finished in November.

Freefall

Fruit Leathers!!

In preparation of my CDT hike, I am making fruit leathers. Tonight, I found raspberries for $1.00 for a 6 oz. container and strawberries for $1.89/pound at the Haight Street Market.  I also had cranberries in my freezer, and an apple and a lime in my fruit basket.  Making fruit leathers is easy, so I am providing instructions for the raspberry fruit leather:

(2) 6 oz. containers of raspberries

1/3 cup of sugar

1/2 lime juice

1/3 cup of water

Combine ingredients in 1-quart saucepan.  Bring to a boil and simmer for about 10-minutes - stir occasionally.  Pour mixture in a blender and blend.  Pour mixture on parchment paper or plastic insert that came with your food dehydrator, and dehydrate for 7-8 hours or until it has a "leathery" texture.  Place leather on pizza pan and cut with pizza wheel.  Roll pieces in saran wrap and store in freezer until ready to use.

You can cook up any number of berries in the same manner.  I also added a half of an apple to my strawberries when I cooked them up, and in the past, I have added bananas, oranges, and pomegranates in other mixtures.

Try out fruit leathers for your next hike.  They really go a long way in making your hike a more enjoyable experience.

Back on Track!

I went hiking up to Point Reyes this past weekend with Stormy (PCT 2003), and it was perfect. What a relief it was to get out of San Francisco to be out in the wilderness! We were not hiking big miles, and some of our hiking was on the beach (California Coastal Trail in the future???), which was such a refreshing change from being on a narrow, undulating trail.

I had been in a dispute with my roommate for the last few weeks, since he owes me back rent. However, tonight we were able to come to an agreement and work out our differences. He paid me half of the rent for this month, and he has promised to pay the rest of what me owes me little by little. He says that he will have the rent for January for sure.

What a relief it is to get things resolved, because if I had tried to get into a legal battle with him, it would have cost both of us a lot of money, and perhaps jeopardized my plans to hike the CDT. So after tonight, I think I am back on track to hike for sure.

I have noticed that there are a few others who are committed to doing the CDT in 2009. It seems like most people are going northbound. Is there anything I can do to convince them to go southbound? Northbounders, if you are reading this, CHANGE YOUR MINDS!!! Well, I guess we all have to hike our own hike, and pursue our own journeys, but it would sure be nice to have a little company!

I am so dreaming about the trail, and getting out of the "real world" for a while. All the complexities of this "real world" are just too... complex! I yearn for the different complexities: weather, maildrops, distances between water, whether to hike up that ridge or not, etc. These complexities are really home for me.

I purchased a really nice Mountain Hardwear Cohesion rain jacket at REI for only $59! It used to be priced at $150, but somehow made its way to the clearance rack. I've never really had a good rain jacket, since I believe in wearing one only when I stop for a break to retain warmth. However, after reading Yogi's book on the CDT, I thought it might be a good idea to add a quality rain jacket to my arsenal. I also picked up some liner gloves and a few pairs of Smartwool socks. Shoe purchases are next.