It's a good sign if you make a dinner at home that you've made while camping. This one's basically noodles and peanut butter, but much better and just as easy.1 bunch of Soba Noodles (I usually shop for food at the nearest grocery store to the trail, and I know most of those grocery stores don't stock soba noodles, so try to think of going to your local Asian market to buy them before you leave. They're what makes this meal good.)2 Tablespoons of Sesame Oil (put it in emptied out hotel shampoo bottle)1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce (If you ever order Chinese or Japanese, save the soy sauce packets)Spoonful or two (or three) of Chili Sauce (can also use hotel shampoo bottles)2 Spoonfuls of Peanut Butter (I would assume you'll have peanut butter if you're camping.)Handful of Sesame Seeds (Also rather imperative. They weight nothing, no excuse.)Directions: Boil water. Drop the noodles in. While the noodles are cooking, mix the oil, soy sauce, chili paste and peanut butter. When the noodles are done, drain a small amount of the hot water into the sauce mix. Stir up until the peanut butter is smooth and dump it back into the pot with the drained noodles. Throw on the sesame seeds.Or you can just stick to the peanut butter and spaghetti. That ain't half bad either.
Grand Canyon Permit System
Every year, 23,000 people apply for the 11,500 permits that allow overnight backpacking in the Grand Canyon. The only way to get one of those permits is to line up at the Grand Canyon office the day they become available or mail/fax in a request. National Park Service administrators at the Grand Canyon have decided the system is unfair because it favors those who live near the canyon or have the time and resources to fly there just to get a permit. The agency is proposing to end the current system in February, making everyone in the world compete for advanced reservations by fax and mail only. (via The Goat)Not good for a business that takes people on guided tours of the area.MP3: Nick Lowe - Homewrecker
Allegheny National Forest
Allegheny National Forest covers 512,998 acres of Northwest Pennsylvania. Two hundred years ago the forest was mostly Eastern Hemlock and American Beech, but today the area is comprised mostly of black cherry, maple and other hardwoods. The disappearance of hemlock began in the 1850s when tanneries started using hemlock bark as their source for curing leather. The industry received a great boost by the Civil War demand for harness, military equipment and industrial belting. By the end of the century, the tanning industry was a major forest industry in Pennsylvania. Goodbye Hemlock.That sure is one green forest.MP3: Farm Band - Lord's Work