Recent content by MichaelMerry

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.

As a long distance runner and wilderness traveler, I often end up with some skunked gear. These are a few things that have worked for me. -vinegar soak. As I understand it, the odor is created by a living organism in the fabric. This method (and some of the others) is meant to kill that...

Satellite enabled GPS on a smartphone via Gaia is certainly useful in the wilderness. I’m adept with map and compass, but Gaia saves time, eliminates any doubt when bushwhacking or worrying about choosing the correct bay based on manual navigation. It’s a fantastic tool. I used to be an anti...

I’ve taken trips with groups of 4-5 the last three years over the first 10 days in September. We’ve had no issue with permits or crowds. We do go deep into the park. Over 20 days, we typically portage about 40 times; none longer than 1/2 mile.

Other people here have mentioned dehydrators. Nearly all of our backcountry meals are made at home and dehydrated. In fact, we eat many of the same meals in the backcountry that we eat at home. Often, we dehydrate our leftovers. We double ziplock, label and throw them in the freezer. When we...