Winter fire starting

Starting a fire in deep snow can be an intimidating chore, but it doesn't need to be. This past weekend, at a scouting event, I kept myself busy while the scouts were doing activities by building this fire. 

First I put a layer of 4" wood on the bottom, tightly placed. This layer acts as as a retention layer for the heat and coals until the fire is going well. Eventually it will burn through but at that point you will have a good layer of coals and ash that will keep the fire lit. 

Second, I added a top border of 2" wood around the edge of the fire. This helps to keep the fire in place and retains the coals a little better. 

Last I built the fire using "old man's beard" as a tinder, followed by progressively bigger twigs and then branches. The twigs and branches were from a nice and dry standing dead spruce. 

The fire will continue to melt down until it his the ground, it took approximately 4 hours for the fire to make it's way to the ground in this case. There was approximately 1m of snow. 

Dehydrated Spaghetti Sauce

Dehydrated spaghetti sauce is super easy to make and is great for backpacking trips or any situations where space and weight are a concern. 

This works best if you use less chunky sauces since the chunks are more difficult to dehydrate thoroughly. I used Catelli Sauce this time. Of course homemade sauce would be great, if you are into that, but I usually think of preparing this stuff the night before I'm leaving. 

Dehydration

1 jar of sauce on 4 trays

•  Cover your dehydrator with parchment paper. Make sure there is still airflow.
• Spread an even amount of spaghetti sauce around the tray. It should be less 5mm thick.
• Dehydrate for 7 - 10 hours. You will know that it is done when it is completely dry and the consistency of a fruit roll-up. 
• Peel the sauce off the tray and let cool
• Pack in an air tight bag

Spaghetti Frisbee 

Use

To use the spaghetti sauce simply add a bit of water and heat. Add water a bit at a time until it is the proper consistency. 

For backpacking, where fuel is a concern, I find that capellini (angel hair) pasta works best since it cooks quickly.

Creating Adventure Race maps with Trimble Outdoors

I have recently finished creating my first race course, and map, for a 5 hour adventure race (Nine Toe Winter Run). When I set out to complete the map I thought it would be reasonably straight forward process. I thought I would simply hike the course, import the GPX into some magical app and, voila, it would spit out a course.

The reality was quite different. I came to discover that there is no magic course building app. There really isn't any app that is well suited for creating Adventure Racing maps at all (if you do know of one, please comment below, I'd love to know about it). I tried several apps by Garmin, Google Maps, GPX Editor and several others with no great amount of success. 

The basic problem to be solved is, combining many different GPX trails (but not necessarily joining them), many checkpoints and presenting them with numbered pins on a detailed topo map.

My final solution ended up relying on (surprisingly) an online map editor available at Trimble Outdoors. Their application isn't perfect (more on that below) but it did get the job done. I came across their application because I use their iPhone app AllSport GPS  to track my own training.

First of all, here is the basic process that I used to create my maps:

• Capture GPX files

I used a combination of AllSport GPS (on IPhone) and a Garmin handheld GPS. I captured each trail section as a separate GPX file so that I could choose which final trails to include on the route map.

• Create a new map in TrimbleOutdoors

• Upload each GPX file into the Trimble map   

The little camera button allows for file uploads, including GPX.

• Correct the trails

I found that most of the routes that I imported had stray points that created extra pieces on trails that don't really exist. Each of these had to be individually corrected. This is the most tedious part of the process in Trimble.

First, select the trail in the right hand list of trails. You, unfortunately, can't just click on the trail in the map. Once you have selected the right trail name you will be able to mouse-over the trail and it will give you a little square that you can click on to edit an individual point.

I found the easiest way to remove large sections of tracks (for example, if you had overlapping tracks) is to first "Split Track" and then to delete the newly created section. This is, by far, the most tedious part of the map editing process. Hopefully they will improve this.

• Name your points 

When you go to print your map, you have the option of choosing to display your checkpoint names, if you name them properly, they will print nicely on the map.

• Save and print your map 

Ideally you can now print your map with the "Print MyTopo" feature. This would allow you to have a nice waterproof map delivered to your house. 

Unfortunately I had issues getting the map to display properly when I went to buy it. After several attempts with their support (and long wait times) I gave up. 

[Note to Trimble: That was a lost sale that could have been avoided]

Instead, I had to print the maps myself. I found that the map labeling wasn't working properly when I did the printing from the site. So instead, I did a print preview using the MyTopo printing feature, did a screen capture using  Screenpresso and added the checkpoint names manually.

I printed my maps on Rite-in-the-Rain waterproof paper.

Things that should be improved in the Trimble Outdoors map program:

1. The map editor should have an option for importing existing routes that are in the database. I had to export GPX files from the Trimble app and then turn around and re-import them into the race map. 
2. Make it easier to select tracks. When there are a large number of tracks on a map it is difficult to figure out which one is which.
3. Make it easier to delete multiple track points at once.
4. Make the MyTopo print integration work!
5. Enable version control. People make mistakes, let them save versions so they can correct mistakes easier.
6. Allow track coloring
7. 
   

Vibram FiveFingers - A nice idea but...

I saw a review on Michael Hyatt's site of his experiences with Vibram FiveFingers. I thought this would be a good opportunity to update my own review.

I have had my FiveFingers for almost 2 years now. Initially I was using them as my exclusive running/training shoe. I bought them in January and ran in them exclusively until April when I experience some foot problems. This actually turned out to be a fracture caused by repetitive stressing of my foot bones.  This was a prime example of training in them too hard to quickly. While I thought I was easing my way slowly enough into longer distances, the break tells a different story.

Once I recovered from my break (8 weeks later) I took a hiatus from my Vibrams. I was a little gun shy. Eventually I pulled them on again a couple of months later and remembered why I loved running in them. However, I have kept them as a secondary part of my training. I run in them on a semi-regular basis as a supplement to my training rather than a primary trainer.

There is no doubt that barefoot running is a fabulous way to work muscles that you forgot you had and it has help modify my stride so that I no longer have knee issues. However, I am not convinced that it is the best option for long distance or technical running. I do multi-day adventure racing,  I need a rock solid shoe that I can forget about.

I have since settled on Solomon XT Wings 2 as my primary shoe. They are a stellar trail running shoe and are almost bomb proof for long hard races. I will continue to use my Vibrams but probably not frequently.

36 hr adventure race meal planning - vegetarian

This spreadsheet is the calorie counter I made up to help plan for the Race the Phantom adventure race. It is based on an estimation of burning 250 calories per hour. If that estimation is high I'll be carrying extra weight, if it's low I'll be a little hungry at the end...

Fruit (flavoured) Smoothy

I tried to make the Groovie Smoothie from Lip Smackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' but the orange crystals that I bought had an ass factor of about 13. The stuff tasted horrible.

Anyways, I modified the recipe to use juice crystals (kool-aid stuff). It tastes pretty good now.

0.4 cups of Vanilla pudding powder
1/2 cup soy milk powder
1 pouch (75 ml) juice crystals (peach is good)

Mix together.

Use 3 tbsp per 1 cup water. Shake and drink.

Calorie count: Approx. 150

Homemade Energy Gel

I found a great recipe for homemade energy gel. I was looking for an energy gel recipe because the stuff is pretty expensive and generally tastes terrible. There really isn't much to them either. So, I figure, with my own recipe I can tweak it to my liking, save some money and even buy organic ingredients!

The original recipe was for a 5 ounce batch. Since I'll need a whole lot more for Race the Phantom I quadrupled the recipe. Luckily I liked the taste! Actually, it really tastes VERY good. Also, I do like the taste of molasses so I added more molasses.

Here is the 20 serving recipe:

12 oz brown rice syrup
6 oz honey
6 oz blackstrap molasses
1 teaspoon sea salt

Just mix all of the ingredients together until smooth. It doesn't get much easier. Place the finished product in a squeeze bottle appropriately sized for the activity. I'm using 250ml bottles for the adventure race.

I am going to experiment with a couple of variations as well this weekend. My plan is to add 1/2 of instant cafe mocha to half of the batch. That will give a bit of a caffeine boost in the middle of the night to keep me awake.

VFF: Stress fracture

So, since my pain this morning was still pretty bad in my foot I decided to go to the hospital. An x-ray showed an obvious fracture. The doctor described it as a fracture common in soldiers called a "March Fracture".

I found a good post that described:

"Stress fractures often are the result of overuse or repeated impacts on a hard surface. Increasing the amount or intensity of an activity too rapidly is a common cause of a stress fracture, as is using improper equipment. Fatigue of the foot bone(s) caused by repeated overload, as with marching, walking, running or jogging."

This definitely sounds like something that has been caused by over doing it with my FiveFingers. I'm now forced to take 4 to 6 weeks off of training. 

I've decided that my training for the race this summer will have to continue sans VFF. I'll need to pick up a new pair of trail shoes. I'm torn because I am no longer having knee problems but this is obviously a show stopper for the VFFs.

VFF: Top of foot pain

I've had my first real problem from barefoot running (in my Vibram Fivefingers). I noticed the other night after a 14k trail run that I had some considerable foot pain on the top of my right foot. I assumed that I had twisted my foot on the run.

After a week of rest I decided to have a go at the Lincoln 5k Road Race. I wore my Fivefingers. I had a good race and felt good about my performance but soon had an even worse onset of pain on the top of my foot.

After a bit of research I have found that top of foot pain is fairly common in barefoot running. I have a feeling that I've gone a little too hard with my VFFs and I'm now paying the price.

I'm going to take a couple of weeks rest and then start back very slowly on short runs. I'll probably stick with my regular shoes for now on longer runs until I feel more confident in my foot strength.

Here are a couple of good links about this problem:
http://therunningbarefoot.com/?p=1186
http://barefootjason.blogspot.com/2010/02/vibram-top-of-foot-pain-connection.html
http://www.runnersworld.com/community/forums/runner-communities/barefoot-running/top-of-foot-pain-warning-newbies

Vibram FiveFinger Shoes

I finally bought myself a pair of  Vibram FiveFinger Flow's last month. I was originally going to get a pair of KSO's but changed my mind because I thought the Flows would be better for cold weather running. I am in Canada afterall! I bought them while on a trip to Florida at Fit2Run in Tampa. The sales guy really gave me confidence in the purchase. He's been wearing a pair for 6 months and raved about them.

I've been running for the last few months as training for the upcoming Race the Phantom adventure race.

I don't really expect that I'll be able to run a 36hr adventure race in my FiveFingers but I do hope that they strengthen my feet and calves.  Since the race also has a kayaking section they should come in handy for that section of the race though.

I have a couple of shorter events that are coming up that will be a good test for the shoes. A 5k race in April, a 5 hour adventure race later in April, an 8 hour adventure race in June and a 58k run of the Dobson Trail in June. I'll test them at progressively longer distances and see which of these I actually end up wearing them in. 

I've done a few runs in the FiveFingers. All of the posts that I've read say that you should take it easy for a while until your muscles build up. I'm having a hard time with this. Every time that I go out they feel so good that I just want to keep running! I haven't done anything too far with them yet but last time out I did 7k and could hardly walk the next day because my calves were so sore! I really need to pace myself or carry another pair of shoes to throw on after the first 4 or 5 km. I think I should be up to 10k in them by the end of the month and my calves should be able to stop a bullet!

I've had the shoes in a pretty good variety of conditions already. My first run was in Florida on Cocoa beach. The Flows did a good job keeping the sand out. My last run was back in Canada and had a mixture of snow and mud (Oh Canada!). Again, the Flows kept my feet clean and also surprisingly warm. The temperature that night was around 2C. I think I'd be comfortable trying them at -5C for at least a short run.

I'll post more comments as a get more miles on these.

Book Review: Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin'

I bought my copy of Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' a couple of months ago in the Fundy National Park bookstore. I'm REALLY liking it! Great recipes and the format of the book is perfect. If you are a backpacker, whether of not vegetarian, you need this book.

All of the recipes are broken into the steps that are required beforehand and then the steps that are required on the trail.

Many of the recipes use dehydrated ingredients or your own dehydrator.

So far I've tried:
Spaghetti sauce - Loved it
Brunswick Stew - Loved it
Coleslaw - I'm not sure if something went wrong but it tasted terrible
Tofu jerky - Loved it
Chili - Made it with the scouts and they loved it

Tofu Jerky

So, I tried dehydrating tofu to make tofu jerky. I used this recipe, which is supposed to be THE original tofu jerky recipe.

Making the jerky was pretty straight forward. Just throw all of the ingredients together and marinade for a few hours and then stick it into the dehydrator. It took approximately 8 hours to complete. In the end the stuff was more the consistency of fruit leather than jerky.

I sampled a little bit before running out the door for my sailing adventure. It tasted pretty good! It's been around 18 years since I last ate meat jerky so I'm not sure if it tastes the same or not. I think so...

As I mentioned in my trip blog post, I had a bit of a stomach issue on board that prevented me from trying more of the jerky (or even thinking too much about it!) but I finally dug it out again today and tried it while on solid ground. I really like it. It's very salty and strong tasting but I guess that's part of the appeal of jerky.

I'll definitely do it again. There are a few other jerky recipes in Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' that I'm going to try for comparison. Stay tuned.

Food Dehydrator

After buying a copy of Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' on my last hiking trip to Fundy, I have been inspired to buy a dehydrator. I finally found one the other day on Kijiji ($25) and picked it up.

As the book says, they are big, they are ugly and yes they do take up a lot of counter space...but I'm pretty excited to try it out.

Tonight we try Tofu Jerky, Brunswick Stew and South Sister Stroganoff. Our pending trip to PEI will serve as a test bed for these meals in the rough.

Stay tuned for pictures and reviews!

A great canoe trip

Here's an account of my canoe trip with the scouts this weekend:

http://scouts.afloat.ca/2009/06/scout-canoe-trip-redux.html

It was a great trip.

Cool scout project

This weekend our scout troup did a "little" project. Ok, it actually took around 6 hours to build. This platform is over 20' high! It is a copy of one that was built by the same troup over 30 years ago.

Scouts: Winter fire challenge activity

This is a description of an activity that we did with our scouts this winter during a winter camp. It takes at least a couple of hours but can easily take half a day. It encourages team work, fire lighting skills, lashing skills and basic problem solving.


Winter Camp Activity (3 hours)

1. Divide the group into 3 or 4 patrols. (mixing both Troops)

2. Each group with a leader(s) will head off to a predetermined location.

3. Each group will need the following supplies:

• Rope
• Matches
• Enough poles to build an A-frame (any device to boil water) and a stretcher
• A can to melt snow
• Snow shoes
• Buck saw
• Hatchet

4. Each group must complete the following tasks prior to leaving site:

• Build and A-frame with supporting posts
• Build stretcher for carrying water can
• Build two fires (Fire A for boiling water, Fire B maintain to stay in game)
• Snow must be all melted in can prior to leaving

5. Once all tasks at site the group is required to do the following

• Using the stretcher to carry the water the group must attempt to put out the fire of the other group
• Maintain Fire B, making it more difficult to be put out
• Refill bucket as many time as possible to put out as many fires as they can
• Groups can break up how they see fit to both put out other fires, as well as maintain their own
• Leaders at each site will keep track of how many successful fires were extinguished

Things to suggest or encourage:

1. Work together as a team
2. Come up with a plan first
3. Decide on rolls for each person
4. Make sure to have lots of wood