Let Spring Begin!!

With Spring comes a stronger passion for being outdoors. The first glimps of Spring sunshine is an instant magnet pulling me outside. It's one of my favorite four seasons. Spring, because everything is new and fresh and green...and lets not forget all the baby critters, Summer because I thrive on water sports and hiking, Fall BECAUSE IT's HUNTING SEASON...YAYYY!!!, and Winter, because it's snowsports....and a little hunting.

Spring, however, has it's hunting perks as well. Almost every hunting show on television at the moment seems to focus on turkeys. Pics are popping up across the country on the social networks of gals and their gobblers(and guys too). And though I do enjoy chatting with the Toms of the world (male turkeys, for those who may not know the field names), I am overly infatuated with bears these days, and they happen to be huntable in the spring as well (in some places).

With good reason, bears are known as the 'phantoms of the forrest'. It's rare that you actually see one in the wild, but if you have time to scope the slopes for fuzz balls....now's your chance. As the snowline begins to receid in the high country, bears begin to feed just below it on the dandylions and grasses, so it's a great time of year to spot them.

Spring bear hunts have been banned in some states, but who says you can't scout? The great thing about hunting is that you only need a permit if you plan on harvesting something. Take a camera instead! I ALWAYS have better luck finding critters when I'm not carrying a gun anyway.

Running across a bear is rare, but last year while hunting with my two girls, we managed to push a big black bear over the ridge to the clearing where my son was walking. The bear was running towards him but didn't see him there in the shadows of the pines with his camo(bears really have poor eye sight). He said he thought he was going to be ran over, but started whistling so the bear would see him, and then backed slowly off the trail. The bear stopped when he heard the whistle and turned away at 15 yards. Most bear attacks happen because the bear is caught by surprise, or felt threatened (or because someone smelled like the hotdog they were roasting for lunch), but black bears are not naturally aggressive. They prefer not to be around humans, (hence the reason you never see them....they're hiding) I was glad I had taught my son how to react to encounters with bears in the wild, but I can honestly say I'm not sure I wouldn't have panicked and done the wrong thing. It's good to know that at age 17, he's level headed enough to handle himself in such a situation. (although, he did mention needing to change his undershorts after that)

My experience with bears is minimal, but what little I do know, trust me when I say, You can't out run a bear. I watched one travel 4 large canyons, and roughly12 miles in less than 30 minutes. In the best shape of my life, I would never be able to do that. Amazing animals.

One last note, when scouting for bears in the Spring, remember that they have been asleep for several months and haven't eaten either, so they can be a little grumpy and more aggressive than other times of the year. It's a good idea to take all the usual precautions for wandering in bear country. (You know, try not to smell like the bacon you ate for breakfast. I read somewhere that their noses are 7 times more powerful than a bloodhound that has 220 million little smell receptors...we humans have a measly 5 million ) If you happen to stumble across one, make noise to let them know you're there, keep your distance, back away slowly, and try not to surprise them. It's also best not to make eye contact. If you're NOT looking FOR them, the best way to avoid seeing them at all is to make noise while you're hiking.

Happy hunting!

Camp Cook Made Easy

Spring fever is settling in and it seems everyone wants to be off camping. Venturing into the backwoods armed with bandaids and bugspray seems only right this time of year. Some of us outdoor diehards live for spending time together in the outdoors, sleeping on the ground in a tent, and lets not forget burning dinner over a campfire and then being forced to eat fruit snacks instead.

A little planning ahead can be a life saver for the chef. Let me just be up front and honest when I say that cooking is probably one of the worst of all of my girl-like qualities, (it's why generally my husband does the cooking at home)because unless I can put it in a crock pot and walk away, it takes too long. However, when we go camping, for some odd reason, everyone expects me to cook, so....I've learned a few tricks. Two of my favorite pans in the outdoors are tinfoil and a hot dog roaster.

Just because I have to cook, doesn't mean I must provide a 5 course meal, but if I want to get fancy, I have a plan for that too. You've all heard of dutch oven cooking, well, invest in one. For between $20 to $50 you can have your own outdoor crockpot and I have added a recipes page with pictures and a few dutch oven treats that are a snap. The great thing about the dutch oven is it can be used for any meal of the day, AND dessert.

When headed off camping, it's easy to pack too much, but the last thing you want to have to deal with is washing dishes, so it's nice if you can leave the pots and pans safely at home. It's also easy to pre-mix ingredience before you leave home and put them in zip tight bags that seal and then just reheat when you get ready. (keep in mind....you WILL need a pan to reheat it in.)

Cooking outdoors can be as simple or as extravegant as you wish to make it, but even extravegant doesn't have to leave you with a national clean-up effort. Try these tips:

        1-paper plates, and plastic utensils and cups
                  These can easily be tossed instead of washed.
     
        2-heavy duty tinfoil has more uses than you realize
                   It has the obvious uses, but also can be used as a pan itself, to line one of your own pans for      quick clean up, or as a liner for the grill over the firepit.
                 
        3-plastic seal tight bags are so much easier than bowls and you don't have to wash them.
                   Not only can you pre-mix things in them and use them as a bowl, but they have the obvious storage cababilities.

Here's a couple of things to keep in mind. While I'm expected to cook for everyone when we're camping, I also expect to have fun while I'M camping. I do not want all of my camping memories to be of me choked with campfire smoke, singed hair, and cleaning up dirty dishes. For these reasons I plan ahead, think simple, and in todays world, shop cheap. If you want a big meal, the dutch oven is great, and easier than you might think. If you're into simple, roast a hot dog on a stick with a bag of chips, or make sub sandwhiches before you go. Planning ahead makes outdoor cooking much less stressful.