Recipe - Dehydrator Jerky

A few weeks ago, we picked up our first dehydrator to make our own backcountry meals. This coming weekend, Alex and I are heading up to Frontenac Park to complete the Slide Lake Loop. We decided to try making our own jerky for the trip. When we bought the dehydrator, we also picked up a mesquite jerky seasoning and cure to try with the meat.

We bought beef rouladen for our first attempt as it seemed to be the least fatty meat at the time. Everything I've read has said that you need the leanest cut of meat as the fat in the meat can turn the jerky rancid. I sliced the rouladen into fairly big strips as I knew it would shrink in the dehydrator. 

The hardest part was ensuring that we had the correct amount of cure and seasoning. I patted the meat dry and then sprinkled half of the cure mix over the meat. Next, I flipped the meat over and sprinkled the remaining cure on. I tossed the meat in a bowl to ensure that cure was evenly spread over all the meat. 

Next I stacked the meat in a tupperware, pressing the meat down to ensure it could cure properly. I saranwrapped the container and then put the lid on top. It cured in the fridge for 24 hours. Everything I have read also mentioned the risk of bacteria becoming heat resistant if raw meat is dehydrated without being pre-cooked. I baked the meat on a cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 215 degrees Farenheit to ensure the meat would be fully cooked .

Once out of the oven, I patted the meat dry and spread it over two trays in the dehydrator. I set the dehydrator at 155 degrees and let it work its magic for 4.5 hours.

The final delicious product! Since we aren't eating it until Saturday, put it in a Ziploc and then stored it in a container in the fridge. Our next dehydrator adventure will be mashed potato flakes and dehydrated chicken. I can't wait!

Have you ever made jerky?

Hiking Bon Echo - Shield Trail

Oh. My. Goodness.

The mosquitoes on this trail were by far the worst I have ever seen, this was most likely due to the fact that this trail runs along a marsh and that it is I guess breeding season for mosquitoes, but holy crap. We had doused ourselves in bug spray but we could still feel them everywhere, I'm covered in bites!

The beginning of the trail

Okay, enough complaining, the trail was gorgeous and I wish we had gone at a slower pace to enjoy it but we simply couldn't slow down without being swarmed by a mob of mosquitoes. We ended up running and walking the trail to get out faster, it was almost 30 degrees Celsius here today and we got to Bon Echo around 2:30 pm so it was quite hot.

This trail is 4.8 km and is listed as moderate, taking about 2 hours on rolling hills. We made it through in just over an hour, mainly because we were walking as fast as we could on the rocks without injuring ourselves.

About halfway we found this gorgeousness and stopped for a snack

We had to pay for a day permit to leave our car in order to hike, which I found a little ridiculous (it was $15!) but I understand why they have daily fees, however I feel like there should be an option for per hour payment as we essentially paid $15 to be there for 1.5 hours.

First attempt with the selfie stick

A large part of the trail was along the Canadian Shield which was pretty cool. This is definitely a trail I'd love to check out again with better weather! 

Have you ever done any of the Bon Echo trails? Also, check me out on instagram @hippyhiker I'll be posting photos daily.

Recipe - Nut Bar

This is our absolute favourite snack, even beating out GORP. We make it once a week to take as a snack for work and typically take it on our hikes. It's not really a set recipe, which I love, because I can just throw whatever nuts and dried fruits and oats we have in the cupboard into it and it's always different.

I've written up a basic recipe, but you can add whatever seeds, nuts, dried fruits and chocolate you prefer. The only downside to this recipe is that because the liquid base is natural nut butter, honey and maple syrup, it doesn't quite harden to create an actual granola bar, it ends up stay in chunks that we eat with a spoon, but it's delicious I promise!

Nut Bar

                         1 c oats                                             1/4 c unsweetened coconut

                         1 c Rice Krispies (optional)             6-8 diced dried apricots

                         1/4 c chopped almonds                    1/4 c chocolate chips

                         1 tbsp ground flax seed                    1/4 c dried cranberries

                         1 tbsp chia seeds                              1/4 c chopped cashews

                         1/2 c sunflower seeds                       3 tbsp honey

                         1/4 c chopped walnuts                      1/4 c nut butter

                         1 tsp cinnamon                                 2 tbsp maple syrup

• Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl.
• Combine honey, syrup and nut butter in saucepan and heat on medium low heat until melted, stirring occasionally.
• Pour melted mixture over dry ingredients and fold in until everything is coated.
• Press into an 9x13" casserole dish using parchment paper and chill for about an hour. 

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do! What's your go to hiking snack?

Camp stoves and a blast from the past

Since this is really our first year doing back country hiking trips (we've typically done canoe trips as a group), we've had to buy a lot of different equipment. My parents had mentioned they had a tiny camp stove we could use for the trip to help us out. We go to pick it up, and it's actually from 1986 and quite big for a back country stove. It has a little base that you fill with fuel and pump to get the fuel up to the burner, super retro, but kind of cool.

Anyways, we decided it'd be too heavy when added with all of our other gear, and that we just wanted a little burner to screw onto a butane/propane canister. We picked one up yesterday at SAIL so we could finally cross camp stove off our list, and as we get in the car to head to my parents to return theirs, we realize that it's the same stove! Just 30 years later. How hilarious is that? It's super cool to see how camping gear has changed over the past 30 years, we've definitely gone minimalist since the 80's.

Hiking Gatineau Park - Luskville Falls

Yesterday was a bit chilly, but we figured Nova Scotia mornings may be equally as chilly and decided to brave the cold and head up to Luskville. It was fairly quiet, but probably because of the weather. This is definitely the toughest trail we've done since we've begun 'training' for Cape Chignecto. It's a 4.5 km (5 km if you hike up to the fire tower and back) and is listed as difficult on the NCC website, the website says it's about  a 2.5 hour hike, but we powered through to improve our cardio and rock climbing skills and finish in just over 1.5 hours.

On our way back down

Part of the falls near the beginning of the trail (after this, the trail gets tough!)

I really enjoyed this trail, it was a lot of climbing, I'm talking about 1 km right off the bat to get up to the lookout, then you continue on up a little more and reach the fire tower before heading back down. You cross the falls at the top and again near the bottom to get back to the parking lot, however both crossings are fairly easy granted you watching your footing on the rocks. The designated crossing spots are in calmer parts of the streams the waterfall flows into so you don't really have to worry about the current. 

One section of the streams

Can you see the trail?

A lot of the trail looked like the photo above, essentially climbing up or down rocks depending on which part of the trail you're on. The trail is fairly easy to follow and as with all NCC trails it's clearly labelled. This is the first NCC trail I've been on that has consistent white arrows spray painted on rocks to ensure you stay on the trails and don't get lost.

I seriously love lookouts

This was absolutely one of our favourite trails, we plan to hike this at least twice more to help us get ready for our Nova Scotia trip, including one time with our full packs on which will definitely be killer on the legs!

Another very rocky section of the trail

Another view of the falls near the beginning of the trail

What's your favourite trail? We're heading to the Toronto area this long weekend and we're planning to stop at Bon Echo on our way home and do the Shield trail. Hopefully we get to see all the rock paintings!

Hiking Ottawa - Pine Grove Forest

We decided to do a quick weeknight hike last week, since we have been swamped on the weekends lately. We headed over to Pine Grove Forest with about an hour and a bit left of daylight. We opted for trail #44 which was 3.1km long, just to be sure we could be back at the car before it was pitch black. The trail was super flat with even ground, making it more of a nature walk I suppose. It took us about 30 minutes to complete it at a casual pace. The sun was setting and it made the trees look gorgeous. We also brought bird seed this time since the map said there was bird feeding, but we didn't see a single bird!

I can't wait for spring to actually be here and for the trees to start budding, right now everything still looks so dead.

Nature Walk - High Park

Last weekend I went to visit a friend in Toronto. Saturday was fairly warm so we decided to go for a stroll around High Park after having brunch at The Swan (on Bloor.) I had never been before and couldn't get over how this gorgeous landscape existed off of Bloor St. in the middle of such urban living! It was amazing, we saw a swan on it's nest and a bunch of other birds. While most of the stroll was on paved ground, we started off with a ton of stairs and a short walk through some brush along the ravine. We walked for about an hour and a half, and I don't know if we covered all of it or not.

Overlooking part of the park and water

The swan kind of hidden in the photo but she's atop her nest

Does anyone know what kind of bird this is? (it's on the stump)

I was so disappointed at how much garbage we saw throughout the park, more so in the wooded areas than the paved 'mainstream' areas, but it made me so sad to see garbage strewn everywhere because people are too lazy to simply hold their coffee cup or food wrapper until they see a garbage can.

As we were leaving, we passed this in the parking lot, and it absolutely made my day.

Where is your favourite nature walk?

Gear Guide: Thermarest Women's Trail lite Sleep Pad

This is the first self inflating pad I've ever owned, the first canoe trip I went on, I slept on a yoga mat. WORST DECISION EVER! My hips and shoulders were so sore from bearing all the weight when I tossed and turned. This pad made things way more comfortable, however I do wish I had gone with one a little thicker. It's super light, weighing about 1lb 12oz, and it fits perfectly into my pack. The pad inflates to 1.5" which prevents you from waking with aches and pains from weight bearing on all your joints. I picked this pad up at MEC for about $70 I believe, however they no longer carry it.

Which sleeping pad do you swear by?

Hiking Ottawa - Mer Bleue Bog #50/51

I have been slacking so hard lately, I'm sorry! A few weeks ago the boy and I went to check out the other side of Mer Bleue Bog. I definitely preferred our first trip, it could have been because it was somewhat gloomy out and the woods looked so ominous, but after about 4 km we were ready to pack it in as we were walking through marsh land and were soaked.

One of many trees full of feeders

The loop we did consisted of 50G, 51A-F and 50H, it was about 6.5 km of quite flat land that took us 50 minutes as we were taking our time. There were a ton of birds, which was my favourite part, we had bought wild bird seed to bring with us, but of course we forgot it on the kitchen table! At one point we had stopped to look at something and turned around to 6 chickadees sitting above our heads in a tree waiting for us to feed them, it was so cool!