Author Archives: debbie

Packing for the West Coast Trail

We are within a couple of days of leaving for the coast and the West Coast Trail. Time to pack. We lay out the food for 8 days in our 3D spreadsheet across the floor. Add all the assorted items … Continue reading

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Backpacking Packing List

Our backpacking packing list is now posted under “Packing Lists” and then “Backpacking”. The list includes items that may be taken on some trips but not on others, depending on the destination, weather, terrain and length of trip. Sleeping We … Continue reading

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West Coast Trail Menu Plan

I love Excel. I use it for EVERYTHING! So when I need to layout the menu plan for the West Coast Trail backpack trip, I turn to Excel. I create column headings along the top that say: Sunday July 28 … Continue reading

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What NOT to take backpacking!

We have been practice hiking in Edmonton’s river valley with our backpacks. To make up the appropriate weight in our packs, we throw in an assortment of items. We pack up for our backpack to Glacier Lake without fully unpacking … Continue reading

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Glacier Lake Backpack

We are getting ready to hoist our backpacks in the parking lot at the Glacier Lake trail head and we chat first to a couple from Quebec and then one from Australia. We start down the trail and meet a … Continue reading

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A Waylaid Practice Backpack Trip

This morning we were supposed to wake up in our tent out in the mountains on a practice backpack trip in Banff National Park. Instead we wake up at my cousin’s house in Calgary who has sheltered my sister and … Continue reading

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The Chicken Story Continued

I dehydrate some more chicken. Bake it, cut is in small strips and then dehydrate it. I start it in the morning and watch it carefully. I stop dehydrating  when the chicken is still bendy but looks very dry. (A … Continue reading

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Dehydrator 1, Debbie 3

Fortunately, I do have success with the dehydrator to offset the chicken disaster. Success #1 – Dahl (or Daal) – Murray and I really like Dahl, something we learned to eat while in India. On rice or with naan (Murray) … Continue reading

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Dehydrator 1, Debbie 0

I have learned over the years that my body functions best on meat protein, fruits, veggies and a limited amount of starches. I notice that many recipes for backpacking draw proteins from lentils and beans combined with rice, noodles, milk … Continue reading

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Backpacking Food, The Learning Curve

Now that my hiking boot issue is mostly solved (just dealing with a slight sock issue), I move on to learning about eating while on a long backpack trip. All I can say is that it is complicated and there … Continue reading

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