Baking in the Backcountry -- FAIL

Our setup: pot, Trangia burner with Clickstand & Windscreen,
fry pan set on the foil ring to keep it off the bottom of the pan.

Oh yeah, nothing better after supper in the backcountry than warm, fresh-baked muffins.  Steamy hot with melted chocolate chips, satisfying that craving after a strenuous hike.  An awesome baker at home, Tree is the perfect person to create such a delight... or so we thouht.  Having watched a video by Sean (Shug) Emery (Shugemery on YouTube, also at http://www.seanemery.com) about backcountry baking, we were inspired.  We decided to give it a go with a test run of muffing making at home with our backpacking cookset.

Batter ready to bake.

Notice the burned edges

Melted handle of our MSR pot.

We used our stove (Clickstand with Trangia spirit burner), our pot and a fry pan raised off the bottom of the pot with a ring of aluminum foil.  We dutifully filled our muffin papers with the btter, put the lid on and let it go.  Very quickly we smelled something burning.  Too hot!  We closed the simmer ring a bit and checked back ten minutes later.  BURNT!  And the parts of the muffins that weren't burnt tasted charred.  No one was going to want to eat that.  Then, because the simmer ring was too hot to manipulate closed, we were unable to use it to snuff out the flame.  So I put the pot lid over the flame...  and the lid handle melted.  Great.

Our pot in our cozy...  We forgot that when boiling water,
the max temp for the pot is 212 degrees.  With baking it is
more like 350-400 degrees.

Not to be easily defeated, we decided to try again with the simmer ring open only a little.  Well the summer ring has to be open about half way, otherwise it will just snuff out the flame.  It took three times before we could keep the flame going.  Then when we again smelled something burning, we decided to take the pot off the flame and put it in the pot cozy we had fashioned last summer (you can look up how to make a pot cozy on YouTube... they are great).  So the cozy was there for a minute when I smelled something melting.  Melting plastic.  Melting pot cozy.  Melting dreams of warm muffins for breakfast!!!!!!!

May your cook pot NEVER look like this!

Alas, a once-reliable pot sent to the landfill.  In our optimism and hopes for warm baked goods in the backcountry,  we managed to ruin our pot cozy and our pot.  And now, we come to you, older and wiser to the ways of backcountry cooking.  We will keep you posted with recipes that do work.  Until then, we will see you on the trail!

- Mama Bear

Day hike: Red Mountain Trail

Spring has sprung in Southern Colorado.  Warm temperatures in the sixties allow for great day hike weather.  Matt and I took the boys for a day hike in the area.  We headed to Manitou Springs to hike up Red Mountain.  This was a three mile out and back hike, with 800 feet elevation gain.

Our drive to the trailhead was easy, about thirty minutes or so, with paved roads all the way.  The parking at the trailhead was a bit crowded (a Saturday morning in April) because the Manitou Incline and the Pikes Peak Cog Railway were nearby also.  We did, though, find a metered spot near the trailhead, and thus began our hike.

We passed under a gazebo, with a natural spring within.  The boys found its bubbling water quite entertaining.  After the gazebo, we headed left along little Ruxton Creek, then a short jaunt up a dirt road to continue on the trail.  We sauntered up a gentle incline through an open field, passed a small disc golf course, and began a bit of a climb to the point where Red Mountain Trail separates from the Intemann Trail.  At this point we were sheltered from the sun that, though early spring, was blazing boldly.

A Purple Pasque Flower

Now, you might notice one thing.  We haven't had to stop or take a break or have a snack or tend to whining kids.  What a difference a season makes!  Our youngest, Gus, has turned into a fantastic hiker.  He previously required a frequent dosing of sugar to make it up the mountain.  But those days are gone.  He is easily leading the family up and down the mountains now...  HOORAY!

Pike's Peak on the right

Once in the shade of the forest, the slope quickly increased.  The scree-covered trail followed a series of switchbacks up the mountain, frequently teasing us with peeks of the coming view.  As we approached our destination, the pine forest thinned out and the prickly pear cacti started taking hold.  We reached a saddle with a forested peak on our right and a red stone peak on our left.  Clambering leftward along a ridge, a tiny lizard scampered past our feet to the shelter of a nearby scrub oak.  Another fifty feet up the trail and we met our destination, the peak of Red Mountain.  To the east, we could look down on the rooftops of Manitou Springs.  To the northeast, Garden of the Gods reached toward the skies.  And to the west, Pikes Peak ruled over all the views.

Garden of the Gods to the northeast

The summit had been the site of an early twentieth century restaurant, bar, and dance hall.  What remained of its foundation was an easy place to relax, have lunch, and take in the views.

After our lunch, we headed downhill.  The steep terrain and loose scree made for a thrilling descent.  Gus, in his daredevil way, bounded down as a good trail runner should.  His new-found energy and enthusiasm to lead the way up and down the trail make us optimistic for our upcoming backpacking trips!

Post-hike ice cream -- YUM!

We will see you on the trail!

-Mama Bear

Unboxing and first look: Enlightened Equipment Revelation Quilt

Anticipation...

For the Little Backbreakers, Friday marked the end of ski season.  The last run down the slopes in the second-to-none spring skiing of Colorado.  Blue skies.  Warm weather.  Soft, forgiving snow.  A cold beer on the deck at lunch.  And of course with the end of ski season comes the start of backpacking season.  And we have been feeling it.  Over the course of the winter, our "backpacking closet" was converted from a scavenger hunt search for gear, to a well-organized, labeled, sorted, and perfectly hung BACKPACKING CLOSET.  We have checked and reassessed our gear.  Where can we shave pounds?  What can the boys carry on their own?  How can we modify our gear to approach perfection?  Any new backpacking recipes?  We are trying them out.  

We are anticipating a new age of backpacking with the boys.  One where we can take a free-spirited, impromptu, if-the-weather-is-right backpacking attitude.  What a difference a season makes.  The day hikes of the spring, thus far, have not been weighed down by the complaints of "my legs are tired."  Instead we have a strong, energetic four (and a half) year old who can do a three mile hike without batting an eyelash

.  So it starts!  The mountains, the trails, the wildlife, the solitude, and the million stars dancing in the night skies.  It is backpacking season!

We will see you on the trail!
-Mama Bear