Homemade Granola Bar recipe!

Alrighty then. The Silver Fox prides himself on being a decent cook and is going to start sharing some of my trail foods and organic/homemade/homegrownish stuff with you guys! First up is a batch of homemade Peanuty Raisiny Chocolatey Granola Bars. We're technically no-bake here as the only oven time required is toasting of the granola.

These are scrumdiddlyumptious, easy (and quick) to make, and infinitely adjustable. If you like coconut, swap in coconut. If you don't like raisins, swap them for dried cranberry or pineapple. If you don't dig peanut butter or peanuts in general, swap for cashews and snozzberries! The overall theme is to keep the ratio of sticky to crunchy close and they'll come out fine every time! Just so everyone knows, I borrowed from a couple different recipes to make my own including Alton Brown (FoodNetwork.Com ) and the wonderful blog over at Joyful Abode.

NC Adopt A Trail program in danger!

Yesterday I received a form email from Kate Dixon, the Executive director of the NC Friends of the Mountains to Sea Trail, or FMST. The jist of the email was that due to budget constraints, the NC Senate had voted to remove AAT funding from the state budget. In the NC House, AAT funding had been retained at it's current year level of  $108,000. As the NC House and Senate go into discussion to make their two budgets match, complete defunding of the Adopt A Trail program is not only a possibility but a likelihood.

Kate Dixon "The biggest problem we face in saving Adopt-A-Trail is that legislators don't know about it. That's why it is so important for you to contact your legislators to let them know what it has done in your community and on trails you love.

If we lose all funding for the program, it will be much harder to resurrect it in the future. If you haven't contacted your legislator before, this really is the time to do it. If you contacted them a couple of weeks ago -- please do it again. They are so busy that they will probably have forgotten your note, and they will appreciate the reminder about a program they know little or nothing about."

Bullfrog's ultralight gear kit

In the interest of complete honesty, I'm a newbie when it comes to backpacking. Bullfrog and I have car-camped a few times and we've decided we'd rather walk in and pack out. Our kits will be a few specific things..

1. Be LIGHT! This is out of necessity as Bullfrog can't carry more than 20% of his weight (And I'm inclined to let him carry less than 10% out of concern for a growing spine and hips. That means he's stuck with no more than 4-5lbs) and I'll have to carry the rest.

2. Be RELIABLE. When backpacking with kids or solo, it's never a good thing when gear fails. This necessitates redundancy, repairability, and most important, gear that I can understand and adapt to our situation.

3. Be CHEAP. Yeah.. We could go to REI or a mailorder outfitter and throw down $2000 on gear, but what's the fun in that when it would have to go on a credit card? The money we save by only purchasing the bare minimum and creating the rest can be used on gas and food for trips. Less investment=More time spent backwoods!

Bullfrog's list after the jump:

Trip Report for Pilot Mountain (01 June 2010)

This was an interesting one; My first time on the trail with Bullfrog where he carried the map! It was an excellent day to get our shoes dirty as there was a light breeze but no rain forecast until after 5PM. We loaded into our trusty Cherokee and made the 18 mile drive down twisting country roads to the trailhead at the northern end of the corridor from the Yadkin River Section of Pilot Mountain State Park to the Mountain Section.

Welcome!

Welcome to Silver Fox and Bullfrog's Blog! I'm the Silver Fox, so named because I'm "smart and have shiny silver hair". My 5 year old is the Bullfrog, because he likes to jump around, splash in any water he can find, and make noise whenever possible. I'll let him start things off with an guided interview!

Silver Fox: Why do you like hiking?
Bullfrog: "Because I find lots of cool stuff like.. frogs that don't go in the water. They're called Toads! We see pretty mushrooms and other wild animals. We heard a deer and saw a red headed lizard!"