Island Beach State Park,NJ

I know all the jokes about New Jersey and if you live on the East Coast, you probably do also.  But one thing you may not know about is the treasures that abound.  New Jersey’s second largest industry is tourism and it is not all about the casinos.  Located at Seaside Park, across the bay from Barnegat Lighthouse.

Fees: Weekdays Memorial Day through Labor Day : per vehicle $6.00

Fees: Weekends Memorial Day through Labor Day : per vehicle $10.00

Go early, once at capacity gates shut.

What many people don’t know:

• Open year round, $5.00 per car after Labor Day

• Excellent surf fishing
• Migratory route for waterfowl. Best times October and May
• Scuba diving permitted upon registration
• Drive your four wheel onto the beach to fish, no camping out, but fishing permitted Midnight to 4am
• Cycling is along the main access road, however there are eight trails approximately one mile long apiece, to explore

• 10 miles of beach to explore

• Swimming only in summer along lifeguard protected areas, I believe, about a one mile strip.
  
• That leaves you, the hiker, nine miles of beach to walk.
• Dogs permitted, leashed, except in swimming areas.
• Take a canoe or kayak trip out to the Sedge Islands during the summer
• Facilities for the disabled include specially designed wheel chairs, to get you out to the water to swim or fish, plus a dock to fish from

You may even see a red fox or two, my granddaughter and I did.  There is a little bit of something for everyone.  I enjoy going in the fall, most of all, to beach comb after a storm.  Maybe I will see you there.

Island Beach State Park just one of New Jersey’s treasures.

makes 4- 6X8 inch rolls

Making your own fruit leather saves money and has the added advantage of creating a product to suit your own taste buds.  You can use natural sweeteners or artificial (if you must), add spices, flavorings and/or nuts and seeds.  Fresh, frozen or canned fruit may be used.

Fresh Fruit Leather

• ripe or slightly overripe fruit

1. wash fruit or berries
2. peel, remove seeds and stem
3. cut into into cubes
4. 4 cups fruit
5. 4 tsp lemon juice
6. add sweetener (optional) to your taste: corn syrup, honey,sugar or artificial sweetener( aspartame is not recommended).  Honey and corn syrup store longer than sugar.  1/2 to 1 cup of the sweetener seems about right.  Artificial sweeteners: see package directions for equivalent.
7. *optional ingredients would be added now
8. Puree until smooth

Frozen or Canned Variation

1. drain fruit
2. follow steps 3-8

Note: Applesauce can be added if not enough fruit is available

Oven Drying

1. line  pans with plastic wrap, smoothing out wrinkles
2. spread puree about 1/8 inch thick
3. place in 140° F. oven
4. test for doneness by touching center, no indentation should be evident
5. depending on size 12-18 hours

Dehydrator

1. line trays with plastic wrap as above, or if available use specially designed plastic sheets
2. spread puree 1/8 inch thick
3. place in dehydrator
4. test for doneness as above
5. depending on size and dehydrator 5-8 hours

My personal preference is the Excalibur, but here is a link featuring many brands of dehydrators

Sun Drying

1. line trays, as above
2. spread puree, as above
3. place outside in sun
4. cover with screening (no see um type)  or cheesecloth. Use something so it is elevated above surface of leather
5. Bring in  at night
6. takes 1-2 days

Roll up, wrap tightly in plastic wrap.  Will keep up to 1 month at room temperature, 1 year in freezer.

Optional Ingredients

• allspice, ginger, mace, nutmeg, cardamon, clove, mint  Generally 1/8- 1/2 tsp is sufficient

• lemon, lime, or orange peel: lemon, orange vanilla or almond extract.  Again 1/8-1/4 tsp
• coconut, dates, sesame seeds, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts (any you desire)

Reminder: You cannot make a mistake: at worse you may find your creation is not suitable for backpacking or does not live up to your  flavor expectations.  Just throw it into a pie or cake you are making.  See, no fuss, no muss, no failure.  Experiment:  Every time you do something you only get better at it.  Were you an expert backpacker first try?

Dehydration:

• Increases heart rate
• increases cardiovascular strain
• slows body’s ability to dissipate heat

Requirements are not as complicated as for nutrition, but again needs vary due to several factors:

• temperature and humidity
• sweating
• panting
• activity level

General base requirements:

Formulas abound, I will give you three:

• Weight ÷ 2 = number of ounces you should drink: moderate temp, humidity and activity

example: 140# ÷ 2 = 70 ounces

• For each twenty-five pounds of weight = 8 ounces water :  mild temp, humidity, activity

example: 150# ÷ 25 = 6-8ounce glasses  Please note this covers mild everything, take it into consideration

• old 8X8: 8-8 ounce glasses per day

Also keep in mind the body processes ingested fluids at the rate of 1/2 ounce per minute, that is about 8 ounces per 15 minutes.

These formulas take into account the supposition you will receive 20% of your hydration needs from the food you eat.  If using dehydrated or freeze dried foods needs may increase.

Variables

The variables below are a guideline to help you adjust

• Temperature and humidity

• cold/ dry + +

• cold/ humid +

• hot/ dry + + +

• hot/ humid + +

• Sweating, panting, breathing through the mouth, activity level

• sweating profusely + +
• Panting +

activity level determines sweating and panting

Overhydration

This report would not be complete without a warning about hyponatremia which is low blood sodium levels.  It is possible to overhydrate, especially when sweating is a factor. Your sport drinks should help you here.  Do not take the symptoms lightly as it can lead to death.

Symptoms of hyponatremia:

• Nausea and vomiting
• Headache
• Confusion
• Lethargy
• Fatigue
• Appetite loss
• Restlessness and irritability
• Muscle weakness, spasms or cramps
• Seizures
• Decreased consciousness or coma

The line is not so fine that it is easily crossed over, but please be aware.  It has become a major issue for marathon participants.

A post about securing safe drinking water for backpacking.

Blueberries and Caroline

It is time to start following the blueberries, last week while at Island Beach State Park my  grandaughter and I happened upon ripe blueberries. Her delight at finding such a treasure, more than made up for six dollar (by carload) admission. While not a pure backpacking experience, no overnight stay, we did spend a good part of the day hiking and exploring. My faithful pound pooch, Betsy, was permitted in all areas except lifeguarded beaches. She slept while we swam.

Earlier the same week, we were in the Pine Barrens and though the bushes were full of promise, none were ripe. We did made a complicated map detailing how to return to an abandoned blueberry farm we found. In another couple weeks, we will find out how good was our effort at cartography. She, with the ever present faith of the young, has informed everyone she will bake a blueberry pie. I recently came across a picture of myself standing on a beach not far from Island Beach. I was maybe eight, (she is nine years old) in that picture my chin was high with the self confidence bordering on cockiness that only comes with youth.  How I love every minute I spend on our adventures, just as I did with her mother years ago. Island Beach State Park was a favorite then, somethings do not change.

So though we may not find that same old farm, we will find blueberries and we will bake that pie.

Logan Bread

Definitely a bread, not a trail bar, but can be used like trailbars.

1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

1 ½ c1 1/2 cups  rye flour

1 ½ cups rolled oats, can use quick oats

½ cup wheat germ

¾ cup powered milk

½ cup brown sugar

1 ½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

You can substitute flours, unbleached white flour, rice flour, millet, buckwheat. Just be sure one of the flours is a wheat…unless you are allergic to gluten. If you can’t use wheat the texture will just be different.

• Mix together above ingredients

• In another bowl combine

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees

4 eggs, beaten

½ cup honey

½ cup molasses

1 cup applesauce

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup raisins

½ cup sunflower seeds

Here you can freely make substitutions, try peanut butter, almonds, chocolate chips, dried:cranberries, cherries, pineapple, apricots

• Stir together above ingredients and when mixed well,

• Add to flour mixture

• Grease and flour 2- 9”X9” baking pans.

• Divide mixture evenly between pans

• Place in 275 degree oven approx 90 minutes or until tester comes out clean.

• Let cool in pans 10 minutes. Cut into 3 inch squares. Wrap individually. Can be frozen

Great on the go lunch, especially for the backpacker, hiker or cycler who left his stove at home.  Filling, nutritious I always pack a few extra squares as my emergency meal.

Be sure to look under the category ” Recipes and Menus ” for the most recent entries.

The SteriPEN ® by Hydro-Photon delivers clean  germ free water in seconds with no chemical taste.  It eliminates the need to carry extra fuel for boiling.  It is sort of a no brainer; your  choices are boiling, filtration, chemicals or Ultraviolet .

Boiling takes time, you aren’t going to stop in the middle of the day so you must carry all your water, plus extra fuel with you.

Chemicals make the water taste awful, you can mask it or bring a carbon filter to remove the taste… after you have waited 30 minutes for the iodine or chlorine to work.

Filtration does not remove viruses, so you have to chemically treat the water anyway.

The SteriPEN® takes less than a minute to treat 16 ounces.  Worse case scenario you might want to use a coffee filter or handkerchief, to filter out large particles if the water is not clear.  Great for the lightweight or ultralight backpacker.

You may want to read a previous article I wrote about water treatment.

http://www.eastcoastbackpacking.com/raingear/

Betsy

It is about time you met my pound pooch, Betsy.  Took the picture today on a friend’s camera, then the challenge was uploading it.  She went home, e-mailed it to me and somehow before I had go to sleep, I figured it out.  Sorry not to have pictures of our weekend excursion, just lots of pictures of Betsy’s “adjustment period”.  We won’t discuss here,  how she was run out of Virginia and ended up in a shelter in New Jersey.  No, we wouldn’t want to embarrass her.  She’s a good hiker, with the help of a muzzle she has learned not to put out the call to the pack, but she hasn’t gotten used to her backpack  yet.  My guess is she’s at least part beagle, if not all.  She has been a challenging experience for me, my former hikers had all been lab mixes.

Anyway,  we had a great time in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey over the weekend.  Weird things have been happening with the theme, I am not sure why ” State by State Trailguide” is plastered all over but keep clicking and you will find one that takes you there.  I’ve been trying out individual state subpages to make it easier for you.

Product recommendations are moving slowly along.  That and the trailguide have kept me from the vegetarian recipes I promised.  By the way, my name is Susan and someday I will figure out how the get the posts to reflect that instead of admin.

What is better than cheap?  Free of course.  Check it out, many National Parks do not ever charge a fee, but here’s free weekends at those that do.  Turn off the video games and TV,  pack up those kids.  In case you missed the link: click here.

When?

• June 20-21, 2009 (Father’s Day weekend)
• July 18-19, 2009
• August 15-16, 2009

Fee waiver includes: entrance fees, commercial tour fees, and transportation entrance fees. Other fees such as reservation, camping, tours, concession and fees collected by third parties are not included unless stated otherwise.

For that just in case rain

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