Recent content by MichaelMerry

This is how I’ve always handled it and have yet to get sick. On a trip last year, we caught a couple of large fish just after lunch that we’d have for dinner. We did the fillet in zip lock thing. Severe storms delayed our travel and it ended up being about 8 hours before we ate those fish. I...

I’ve probably been through a dozen or so headlamps in my wilderness traveling career. My wife just bought me a petzl lamp for Xmas that I really like. It has a rechargeable battery, but also runs on 3 AAA batteries. I always carry spares anyways, so I’ll just have the rechargeable in there with...

It is indeed. A group of us hiked from Route 30 to the northern terminus. Rhodo tunnel is still there.

A winter weekend backpacking trip on Laurel ridge, PA.

Here is the one I use:https://www.indianhealthyrecipes.com/paneer-pasanda/ You’ll need to find a decent Indian foods store to source some of the ingredients. Once you have the spices, they’ll go a long way. I typically at least double the recipe. We eat some at home and dehydrate the rest on a...

This is a good meal as well! Dehydrated our own paneer pasanda for a 10 day trip. It was popular and will certainly be repeated.

We make all our own. My current favorite is a spaghetti squash bake with tomato sauce, impossible grounds, whatever veggies we have in the house and plenty of cheese. So good out in the wilderness. We dehydrate all of our own food; basically the many of the same things we eat at home. We...

A large group of surfers that I occasionally include myself in surfs Lake Erie this time of year until the lake freezes. We’re in full wetsuits, but hair and beards freeze solid. It’s the best time of year for good swells.

We often use the Merlin app backpacking and rarely have service on those trips. It works great if you’ve downloaded the birds for the region you’re in. We did a long backpack in the Pennsylvania wilds at peak warbler migration and identified about 25 unique calls. Then on a 10 night trip in...

I live in the Midwest and understand this concern. We aren’t fans of the heat and subsequently do our river paddling in the shoulder seasons. The “cold” does a solid job of eliminating the riff raff. We do like to beat the heat by sea kayaking on the Great Lakes at the height of summer...

We tend to prefer traveling light, but my indulgence that might qualify as a pastry is the humble Lorna doone cookie. I can’t have my morning cup of wilderness coffee without finding that packet. As soon as the water is on the stove, I’m off to get the food bags and digging for my cookies.

My wife, father in law, Abby the dog, buddy Patrick and I took a 2 night trip on the Allegheny River in Pennsylvania last weekend.

Thank you. My dad and grandpa took me down to what we called Ohio power when I was very small. It was where I learned to fish and handle the stern. Also where I landed a snapping turtle! We made soup. This will be my first time back in about 40 years. We plan on portaging around into some of...

I really prioritize outdoor time and find that the older I get, the more I require it for mental health. Fortunately, my wife is completely on board with this; perhaps even more than me. We also have a nice group of friends and family often willing to accompany us on backpacking, paddling...

Thanks for sharing. Lovely paddling. For my money, the Adirondacks hold some of the best paddling in the USA.