one match fire, of course

Okay. So I'm not usually a procrastinator. Not usually. But in this case...I did kind of put off my fire making until pretty late in the semester. I managed to screw myself over by waiting until it snowed; although luckily we don't have more than several inches at this point.

So Naudline and I made our one-match fire today in snowy woods by the Pathfinder Building. We were actually surprised at our success, expecting everything to be wet and hard to light. Here are pictures to document the event:

building the teepee

matches and...magical birch bark!

poser

ready to light up (fingers crossed)

small success!

larger success!

good for cold fingers on a chilly day

dog tired

Back in the Springs. Exhaustion has hit. That long hot shower felt amazing. Glad to be back in the world - sort of. I turned my phone off after three days away from it and had all sorts of missed text messages and voicemails. This was gratifying, but also a bit overwhelming. I haven't replied to half of the messages yet. I laid my tent out to dry, hung my sleeping bag up, and now...for a well-deserved rest.

I must get some vibram fivefingers; my feet are totally sore after hiking in those big mountain clod-hoppers. they always are sore; I thought that was part of backpacking. but maybe not...

more random trail thoughts and ideas

[from trip journal]

WHAT DO THESE LITTLE BUGS EAT WHEN THEY CAN'T GET HUMAN??

Leave no trace:

pack it out
pee on the trail
leave it better than you found it
biodegradable soap

Questions to ponder:
What is our connection to the earth?
Is it ours?
What does stewardship mean?
What is your role in nature?

Answers: What is my connection to the earth? Well, I'm sitting on it, right now. I'm probably eating some of it, as bits of leaves or dirt find their way onto my Clif bar on its way to my mouth. If Adventists believe that they were created by God from the earth ("dust to dust"), then what implications does this have for us as backpackers? I don't think the earth is ours. From an evolutionary standpoint, we've been here a tiny fragment of the earth's history; it rightfully belongs to insects, or amoeba. Not humans. But maybe you don't believe in all that millions of years stuff like I do. Even from a creationist standpoint, one could argue that the earth is more God's than humans', since he made it and and it's really only a gift that each of us can walk here for a century or so. What does stewardship mean? To me, it means recycling yogurt containers at home, and cutting down on my electrical use (get an extra blanket, turn down the heat at night). It means re-using paper. Out here in the woods, it means picking up my trash and packing it out, even if it's yucky and gross. It means not burning that trash, because matter doesn't just become nothing when you burn it. What is my role in nature? As a sentient being, I can enjoy it. I can be more aware of the gorgeous spider webs and purple mushrooms than the deer who live here. And what a gift that is, to be conscious and grateful!

wild edibles

[from trip journal]

Wild Edibles:

sassafras - vit C tea
pine needles - tea?
mint - mmm brush your teeth on the trail!

Identification:

sight (recognizable)
location
scent
prior knowledge
use? digestible?

morning dew

[from trip journal]

It's my Dad's birthday. He is fifty-something. He still beats me in half marathons and runs up mountains.

:::

If I could draw, I would draw for you the morning dew on spiderwebs, and a circle of JetBoil worshippers, hunched over steaming mugs of tea and coffee. Everyone is smiling through clenched, shivery teeth. Cold, they're still thrilled to be sleeping and peeing in the woods.

things I've decided

[from trip journal]

Things I've decided while hiking:::

• no complaining
• think of someone besides yourself
• I want to learn how to fence (you know, with the white suit and the mask and the sharp little fencing sword)
• and I need to learn French (then I could write poetry in French and be all awesome and artsy)
  

vignettes

[from trip journal]

On the Manistee side, the soil has changed from sandy to clay, and the woods aren't so clean. More underbrush here and the air feels damp.
Things I've seen:

• purple mushrooms
• lichen shelves
• huge spider in a bag
• river in my tent
• corned beef hash, in a CAN
• river foam
• purple carpet of bugs
• wild mint, sassafras
• morning fog over river valley
• dewy spider webs, backlit by sunrise
• smiling, dirty faces

Some gorgeous pictures by our resident photographer, Mr. Bradley Austin:

rain.

[from trip journal]

Saturday --> It's raining. ugh. glad for my tent/fly! feeling sorry for the guys over there who didn't set their fly up properly...just a little sorry.

(later...)
//waiting for people to catch up...working on my patience.//

I was thinking today while I hiked, and started worrying about the paper I've got to print off when I get back. But it was beautiful because, for almost a day, I had forgotten all about papers and school and work. love it. after all the frenzy of preparing for this trip, and getting ahead in school so I won't die when I get back, the silence and the beauty of this place are more than refreshing. they're life-giving.

thoughts

[from trip journal]

On the bus before we began hiking, the girls were emptying out their pockets and backpacks to cut weight. Someone pulled out a handful of coins and someone else said, "I guess you don't need money in the woods". that sounded so beautiful to me -- all that plagues me at university is money-related: working to pay for school to get a good career to...earn money. So, for a few days, I am going to enjoy the money-free woods.

If You Think You're Lost....

[from trip journal, first night's camp]

Dictionary of Phrases -->

"You don't do this too often, do you?" - Chelsea/Kim

"It wouldn't have been the same without the bubbly." - Mr. Morrow

"If you think you're lost....You are." - random lady on the trail, as re-told by Mr. Morrow

"Push that log in the fire with a stick...or your hand." -Mr. Morrow

"Whooo knew?" (scottish accent) -unknown

"It's the buffffff" -Sara

Learning about Tents

[From my trip journal, written at our first night's campsite on the river]

Learning about Tents

• single wall - one layer, breathes well; condensation can be a problem, very light
• bivvy - Awesome! (I want one) Sleeping bag cover. Breathes well but condensation problem
• tarp tent - !! Even more awesome! Uses trek pole. weight <>

readytogo!

Although I'm no fan of having a camera in my face, there is so much excitement here that I can't help but like the picture a little. Let's GO!

Nietzsche

It is 2:23 am. I have been awake for 23 minutes, struggling with the realities of wakefulness and shaking the heaviness from my limbs. We're going backpacking today! My backpack is snugly packed, and waits in the back seat of the car for our adventure to begin. But I've still got a paper to write (Nietzsche), which is due today. So I'll spend some time with Nietzsche and then forget him as I wander in the big woods.

Packing

Tomorrow we are doing a bag check during class time, so I've got stuff strewn all around the apartment, mad lists of things to pack, things to buy, things to borrow. I just received a replacement hose for my water filter (which was chewed up by an overzealous marmot on my last summer excursion with Dad to Pioneer Peak - goofy rodent barged into the tent while we were summiting and chewed up the water filter hose), but now I don't think I'll even be taking the water filter. I'm trying to cut down on weight, which is always hard for me. But I need deodorant, and face wash, and three changes of clothes! No, you really don't. Well, maybe the deodorant. My pack just keeps getting heavier and heavier; I took everything out and started over, with a minimalist attitude firmly in place. Okay. Out with the polarfleece pants. This will be the first time I've backpacked without them, but this isn't Alaska, this is Michigan. No mountains here. Out with a couple of extra layers. It's hard to believe how stressful packing is, yet how exciting it is. Just think: In 48 hours we'll be out under the trees and the stars with no homework or cell phones. Beautiful.

FOOD

Menu Ideas:

• Friday supper - dehydrated quinoa pilaf with spinach and cheese (my mom is a beast with the dehydrator)
• Saturday breakfast - Mountain House dehydrated scrambled eggs (I hope they're not too weird), Starbucks VIA coffee, trail mix
• Saturday snacks - 2 Nature Valley bars, 2 c. trail mix, 2 Luna bars, 1 cheese stick
• Saturday trail lunch - see snacks
• Saturday Dinner - PASTA PRIMAVERA!
• Sunday breakfast - instant oatmeal with coffee and clif bar
• Sunday trail lunch - same as Saturday
• Sunday dinner - dehydrated spaghetti
  
• Monday breakfast - Instant oatmeal, trail mix, coffee again

P.S. - we're leaving in a little under a week! excitement builds!

And so it begins

First class today, with the incredibly energetic Kim Paulien (who jumped around a lot and probably burned 200 calories while teaching). We are going backpacking!! Sure, we don't know (a) where or (b) when exactly, but we are going! I am already excited. Although I've already got most of the gear I need, I was inspired to surf one of my favorite sites - rei.com - to see if there was anything I might possibly need that I had forgotten. No luck. More to come.