Podcast: Download (Duration: 26:44 — 27.3MB)

In this episode, we’ll talk about common fears on the trail and how to deal with them. Then we’ll share some high calorie trail snacks from a specialty food store that has been nicknamed “The Backpackers 7-Eleven.” The SUMMIT™ Gear Review will review a trail luxury that will keep you pumped up (without caffeine!). Next, the Backpack Hack of the Week™ will show you a sweet and simple way to add fuel to your internal furnace.

Show Notes: Episode 011

Opening

• Common fears: wild animals, hypothermia, injury, etc
• Know how to deal with fears (knowledge is power)
• Don’t let fear ruin your trip
• Be prepared

Top 5 Trader Joe’s Snacks for Your Next BP Adventure

Roasted Plantain Chips

• 140 calories/oz
• Ingredients: plantains, sunflower oil, salt
• Product of Peru

Coconut Strips

• 146 calories /oz
• Ingredients: coconut, cane sugar, sulfur dioxide
• Product of Thailand

Coconut Cashews

• 160 calories/oz
• Appear to be cashews that have been coated in coconut powder
• Product of Thailand

Vegetable Root Chips

• 160 calories/oz
• Fascinating ingredient list: sweet potato, taro, batata, parsnip, beet juice, oil and salt
• Packaging claims that” these chips will transform any occasion” (and by that they mean backpacking trip) “into a gourmet snacking experience”
• Bulky packaging, unlike the other foods we got

Candied Pecan

• 190 calories/oz
• Ingredients: pecan, sugar, canola oil, salt

SUMMIT Gear Review™: SanDisk Clip Sport MP3 Player

Structure

• Plastic
• Color LCD Display
• Comes with ear buds

Utility

• Comes with a 4GB card (but can also be purchased with an 8GB)
• Lasts 25 hours on a charge
• Charges with a micro-usb connector cable
• 42 inch ear buds that block out nearly all sound—they can double as ear plugs for nighttime
• Clips to clothes or to a pack strap

Mass

• 4 ounces/40 grams
• 2 1/2 x 1 1/2 inches x 1/2 inch

Maintenance

• Keep charged
• Keep dry in a plastic bag

Investment

• $40
• Purchased a cheap “no-brand” mp3at a big box store for $20 and it kept playing all my songs from the beginning from the list each time.

Trial

• Play by artist, album, random
• Listened with one bud in so that I could be aware on trail
• Only used on stretches when I needed extra energy…otherwise I was engaged with the people around me and aware of my surroundings
• Great way to get pumped up and energized on long stretches

Backpack Hack of the Week™: DIY Mint Hot Chocolate Mix

1/4 cup NIDO (160 cal)

6 individual Andes Mints (230 cal)

1 cup of hot water

• 390 calories
• To make the Mint Hot Chocolate on the trail, heat up a cup of water, add NIDO and 6 Andes Choc mints. Stir until smooth.
• Purchase the Andes Mints that come individually wrapped in foil/plastic (often sold in small bags at the dollar store)
• Individually wrapped mints and will be less likely to make a huge mess if they get warm
• Andes Mints have the most calories per ounce compared with other mint chocolates like Junior Mints or York Peppermint Patties
• Andes Mints are 158 calories/ounce

Trail Wisdom

“To find the universal elements enough; to find the air and the water exhilarating; to be refreshed by a morning walk or an evening saunter… to be thrilled by the stars at night; to be elated over a bird’s nest or a wildflower in spring — these are some of the rewards of the simple life.”

-John Burroughs