101 Crash Courses

• The Art of Tarps • Ultra Lightweight Packing
• Cooking & Menu Planning • Health, Hygiene & Bears • Leave No Trace

Our passion is to help our clients learn the basics of safe, efficient and lightweight backcountry travel. 101 Crash Courses are aimed at making your adjustment to exploring the backcountry an easy one. Most of us need to learn how the hot shots really camp so relax, have fun and forget your worries while we bring you up to speed while out and about enjoying the wilderness environment.

When completed with these courses, you'll know how to travel with less weight over more miles and with more efficiency than ever before. You'll have the gear needed to venture out into the woods whenever your heart or schedule allows for. And best of all, we'll learn these skills in the most beautiful environment imaginable!

The following 101 Crash Courses are designed to be the focal point of or integrated into the itinerary of a Customized Retreat, Wilderness Solo, Backcountry Skiing Adventure or Bicycle Adventure.

The Art of Tarps 101: Learn how to pitch and utilize a tarp that weighs only 14 ounces plus stakes! Inspired by ultralight pioneers Ray & Jenny Jardine, you'll go out into the wilderness with your tarp (either purchased or made at home prior to the trip) and put it to use in different weather conditions and terrains.

Ultra lightweight Packing 101: Tired of carrying 40 plus pound loads? We'll work with you to literally slash up to 20 pounds off of your pack weight and improve your packing systems for greater efficiency. We might even get your pack so light that you no longer need the hip belt. Contact us for details as most of the gear for this 101 course must be acquired prior to going out in the field and putting it to use.

Cooking & Menu Planning 101: Eating well in the outdoors is even more important than at home. Adequate food intake is important so that your body can keep itself warm and your energy levels stay high (CALORIES = WARMTH + ENERGY). Besides, good food is one of the greatest pleasures of an outdoor trip. Because your activity level is high and because your body must keep itself warm, calorie requirements are higher than normal. Every backpacker desires to minimize the weight of food (and everything else too!) that he or she must carry. The goal is to carry only as much food as needed, but not too little. Easier said than done - backpackers spend years fine tuning the amount of food they carry!

We'll work with you in the field so that for the rest of your life you can know how to plan the menu, purchase the highest quality power packed foods, transport them in your pack and prepare them to perfection. Click here for a few sample menu items you might choose to prepare while with us in the wilderness.

Health, Hygiene and Bears
Health and Hygiene are often intimidating subjects when it comes to the backcountry. It is actually fairly simple. In the city, we tend to use soaps and detergents far more than necessary. In the backcountry we rarely ever need soap. If you practice good hygiene your health can only improve by going out into the backcountry away from the city smog. Nonetheless, there are always a few good tips for helping you feel your best and we'll teach you those during the 101 Crash Course!

Bears
Most bears in the Western Mountains and Sierra Nevada are American black bears, Ursus americanus. This name can be misleading, as they may be black, brown, cinnamon, or even blonde in color. The last grizzly bear (Ursus arctos) in California was killed near Sequoia National Park in 1922. By making loud noises and throwing objects you can often scare bears away before they get to your food. Be bold, but keep a safe distance and use good judgment. We'll work with you in the wilderness so that you learn how to safely store your pack and food at night and while on the trail.

Leave no Trace

Minimum impact is such an enormous and important topic, it fills pages upon pages in many respectable books. Here we'll attempt to clear up some possible misconceptions about the backcountry and introduce a topic of conducting ones self in the outdoors referred to as "Leave No Trace", the subject of one of our 101 Crash Courses.

Food is considered by many to always be "biodegradable". Regardless of whether or not your food is biodegradable, the food we eat in the backcountry is not indigenous to the area we are in. Therefore, we must pack out all food, including apple cores, orange peels and even crumbs. In addition to being an eye sore to those who come after us, it also gives animals a source of food they come to depend upon. Over time people stop coming, and the animals die waiting for our food. This becomes especially important in more fragile ecosystems (the desert is one of the most fragile of all).

Toothpaste from tooth-brushing is similar to food. It is best to brush with as little toothpaste as necessary (most people use much more than is actually necessary, friction is key) and then spit it out over a large area so that there is no way for animals to collect any of it. Just like with hand washing, it is the friction of the cleaning that does the most work.

Cooking & Cleaning: Outdoor cooking can be just as easy and creative as it can be at home. The only major difference has to do with the leftovers, cleaning of pots and disposal of cooking wastewater. While there are many different techniques and ideas covering these issues we would like to share our general philosophy and a few practical techniques. As we have mentioned, it is best not to have any leftovers. Leftovers must be packed out with you or eaten. Dumped food has a large impact on the natural environment. For the same reason one must be conscientious of how cookware is cleaned. Cookware can be washed by simply dipping utensils, bowls and cups into boiling water before and after use. Leftover food particles ideally should be eaten. The most effective cleaning technique is to first "lick your bowl clean" and eat every scrap possible. A bagel, tortilla or bread are also great to use to dry wipe your bowl and then eat the bagel, mmmmmmm yummmy! Then use water to rinse it out. The cleaning water can be disposed of by drinking it or adding it to a hot chocolate type drink. As some can't stomach that idea (although really it is not bad) you can filter the cleaning water through a sump screen and pack out the particulate matter. A sump screen is a mesh screen that you can place over a small dug hole. Dirt is a good, natural pot scrubber for large cleaning jobs and can work just as well, if not better than your average supermarket scrubber.

Backcountry Recipes From Our Outdoor Friends and books used in the 101 Crash Course

Omelet/Crepe
Serves 1
• 2 Tbs powdered egg
• 1 Tbs powdered milk
• 1 Tbs baking mix (see below)
• about 1/2 cup water
• 3 Tbs potato pearls
• 1 Tbs dried onions
• 1 tsp soy sauce
• 1/3 cup cheese, cubed or grated
• 1 Tbs margarine

In a bowl mix dry egg, milk and baking mix together. Add water gradually, stirring to keep it from lumping. Pour a small amount of hot water over onions and let rehydrate. Melt 1 Tbs margarine in hot frying pan. Pour in egg mixture and swirl around so it covers the entire bottom of pan. Cover and cook over medium to low heat. It will set quickly. In a bowl mix potato pearls, drained onions, and cheese with enough hot water to make a smooth mixture. Stir in the soy sauce. Spread this over half the omelet. Fold other side over potatoes and cook a minute to heat up. Try this with a few drops of hot sauce or picante.

Poor Excuse for Mexican Burritos
Serves: 2-3
• 1 can straight chicken chili
• 1 can Trader Joe's no fat black beans
• grated cheddar or Monterey Jack (pepper jack if spicy is needed)
• chopped green and red bell peppers
• chopped onion
• whole wheat tortillas as a side,
• 1 package instant Spanish rice

Fettucini Alfredo
Serves 2-3
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 4 tablespoons flour
• 1 1/2 cups half and half
• 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
• 1 tablespoon parsley - if you use fresh parsley use 3 tablespoons
• half package fettucini noodles

Melt butter, stir in flour - gradually add half and half, stir until thickened and bubbly over medium heat. Add cheese, cook until cheese is melted. Toss with noodles, add parsley. You can make the sauce prior to the trip, freeze, toss in a pack (in zip-lock bags!) and mix with pasta for a great dinner.  

Mega-Calorie Pesto, Chicken and Corn
Serves 2-3
• 1 container pesto (or see fresh pesto recipe below)
• 7 oz. can chicken
• 15 oz. can corn
• pepper to taste
• 1/2-3/4 lb. thin spaghetti

Heat the chicken and corn (with or without corn juice) while the spaghetti boils. Add the pesto, chicken, corn, and pepper to the pasta when done and stir it up well. Use some bread to wipe your bowl when you're done - it'll make cleanup much easier. This'll keep you warm through the night on those cold winter trips.  

Pesto Sauce
Serves 2-3
• 1 cup organic, fresh basil
• 1/2 cup organic, fresh parsley
• 1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup pine nuts
• 1 to 2 cloves garlic
• 1/3 cup olive oil

Place basil, parsley, cheese, nuts, garlic and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a blender. Cover and blend until smooth, until it forms a paste. Add oil and blend until the consistency is like soft butter. Toss with pasta and pine nuts. You can refrigerate or freeze pesto sauce.  

Spaghetti and White Clam Sauce
Serves 2
• 6 1/2 oz can minced clams
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 Tbs dried parsley
• 1/2 Tbs flour
• about 1/3 lb. thin pasta
• 2 Tbs margarine

Put into 2 small bags then package with the can of clams and the trail directions: 1. garlic, parsley, and flour; 2. pasta. Carry margarine separately. Trail directions: 1. Open the can of clams. Cut garlic cloves into pieces. 2. Melt 2 Tbs margarine in a pan. Add garlic and cook a few min. over low heat. Add parsley and 1/2 Tbs flour; cook for 3-4 min. but do not brown. 3. Add the clams and juice, increase heat to boil the mixture, then simmer, stirring, a few min until thickened. 4. Set aside while you cook the pasta. Drain pasta and serve with clam sauce, reheated if necessary.  

Chicken a la King
Serves 4-6
• 6 1/2 oz can chicken or 1/2 cup freeze dried chicken
• 1/2 cup dry milk
• 3 Tbs margarine
• 3 Tbs flour
• 2 tsp dried parsley
• small pinch of thyme
• 1/2 cup freeze dried peas
• 2 cups thin noodles

1. Boil 2 1/2 cups water, add the noodles, and cook 5 min or until just done. Stir in chicken with juice; add peas, 1/2 cup dry milk, and a pinch of thyme and parsley. Take off the heat.
2. In another pot, melt 3 Tbs margarine. Add 3 Tbs flour and cook over low heat for a minute. Add contents of first pot and stir vigorously. Cook a few minutes until thick, adding a little water if necessary.  

Sticky Chicken
Serves 2-3
• 2 chicken breasts, boned and cut in 1 in. cubes (or substitute 2 cans chicken, drained)
• 1/4 cup peanut butter
• 1 Tbs honey
• 2 Tbs soy sauce
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1 Tbs ketchup
• salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in pan and cook over medium flame until chicken is cooked.