Podcast: Download (Duration: 33:36 — 33.6MB)

Show Notes: Episode 058

 

Today on The First 40 Miles, if eating more bacon is your 2016 New Year’s Resolution, we’re here to support you with five creative ways for you to achieve your goal! Then, if leaving your sleeping bag in the morning is a real challenge, we have a unique solution for you. On the Backpack Hack of the Week, vegan bacon is not as gross as it sounds—we promise! Then we’ll wrap up the show with a little trail wisdom from a guy who enjoys the good life.

Opening

• No School, time off, kids at home, cold, short days
• Get Out! The power of stepping outside.
• What keeps us from getting out?
• Getting used to being cold
• Acclimation/Adaptation vs Thermal Neutrality

5 Ways to Eat More “Bacon”

REAL Bacon Bits (NOT Bacos)

• Cheap, easy to find on the salad dressing aisle at the grocery store

Precooked Bacon Strips

• Requires no refrigeration
• Perfectly portioned on little pieces of wax paper in a zip top pouch
• May SEEM more expensive than uncooked bacon, but if you cook a pound of bacon, you really just end up with a lot of fat and water that you just paid for.
• 140 calories/ounce

Smoked Almonds

• Easy to find at any convenience store
• 170 calories/ounce

Homemade Coconut Bacon

• We’ll share the recipe in the episode
• 180 calories/oz
• Uses only 4 ingredients

Smoked Gouda

• 101 calories/ounce (It makes the cut!)
• Gouda is usually one of the more reasonably priced cheeses

SUMMIT Gear Review™: ExPed DreamWalker

Structure

• Shape Fit: Mantel-Schlafsack (German “Coat Sleep Bag”)
• Goose down
• Shell: 20 D Texped PA35 Ripstop Nylon
• Liner: 30 D Texped PR46 Polyester
• Foot opens up all the way and can be cinched closed
• Pockets on outside, pockets on inside.
• Zipper inside and outside accessible, hood with brim
• Goes right below knees when cinched up
• Can be worn around nightly campfire or morning breakfast

Utility

• Incredibly versatile
• If you use this as a jacket, be sure to have appropriate rain gear to protect the down. You don’t want to be without your insulation!!
• With the ExPed DreamWalker 450: 35-45 degrees F
• With the ExPed DreamWalker 650: 25-35 degrees F
• This will probably be best as a shoulder season or summer bag

Mass

• 450: 30 ounces or 1.89 pounds
• 650: 40 ounces or 2.5 pounds
• Length: 82.7 in
• Shoulder Width: 29.5 in
• Foot Width: 25.6 in
• Slightly narrows at foot, but not much—pretty roomy

Maintenance

• Hand or machine was with gentle cycle. Use lukewarm water and down detergent. Rinse thoroughly.
• Dry extremely thoroughly:
• Lay out to dry or use a large volume tumble dryer at low temperature. When down gets wet it clumps up, so if you do wash your bag, toss in a few balled up pair of socks to knock the filling out of the clumps.
• Store your sleeping bag open or in the included mesh storage bag

Investment

• $349.00-449.00
• 5 year warranty

Trial

• It’s for people who have a hard time with the whole asleep/awake transition thing. This makes it so the transition is just a little bit smoother in the morning, and takes the chill off at night.
• If you want to minimize your gear, this might be a great piece of gear to look into

Backpack Hack of the Week™: DIY Coconut Bacon (a.k.a. “Smokanut”)

3 cups large, unsweetened coconut flakes (not regular shredded coconut)

3 Tbs soy sauce or tamari

2 Tbs REAL maple syrup

1 Tbs liquid smoke

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a half-sheet pan or large rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Put all ingredients into a bowl and stir until all coconut is coated well.
• Bake on the middle rack for 15 minutes, flipping halfway, until flakes are mostly dry and turning golden on the edges.
• Keep an eye on the coconut as it can burn toward the end of the cooking time.
• Let the “bacon” cool.
• Coconut bacon keeps well in the freezer for several months.

Trail Wisdom

“Always in big woods, when you leave familiar ground and step off alone to a new place, there will be, along with feelings of curiosity and excitement, a little nagging of dread. It is the ancient fear of the unknown, and it is your bond with the wilderness you are going into.”

–Wendell Berry