Backpacking Food - What To Bring

Weight is always a concern with backpacking food you'll be carrying everything on your back. Some will tell you to find your weight savings in other areas, and argue for the necessity of healthy, meaning heavy, food. My experience, however, tells me that we can enjoy lighter loads and worry less about healthy food on short trips.

In the Sierra nevada I ate more than 60 granola bars in five days with no ill effects. No stove meant a lighter pack, and it was very convenient to not cook. Of course, I usually supplement my backpacking diet with berries and other wild foods, so it probably wasn't all that unhealthy.

Different Foods for Different Backpackers

Each of us is unique. I don't suffer when I have no cooked meals, but you may. There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution to the backpacking food question. You have to balance the weight/health/taste/cost issues in your own way. Consider the following points, though, in making your choices.

The lightest food is that which has the most calories per ounce. Pure fat wins the contest (oils), followed by high-fat foods (nuts), low moisture carbohydrates (granola bars), proteins (beef jerky), and then bread, fruit, veggies, etc. Nuts, for example, because of their fat content, have 50% more calories per pound than pure sugar.

Look at the lables. Choose foods you like, but choose the ones that are higher in calories for their weight. In that way, you get what you want, what your body needs for energy, and you keep it light. I usually plan for about 3000 calories a day. This isn't quite enough (I'm 6'3", 160 pounds), so I'll lose a pound or two on a weekend trip.

Bringing high-calorie foods like mixed nuts (2700/pound) and tortilla chips (2100/pound), I can get by with about 20 ounces of food per day. For a four day trip I'll carry around 5 pounds. Eat a big meal before you go, and you can carry less food (although you'll carry it inside you anyhow). You can cut weight if you know which berries to eat along the trail. I've eaten an entire meal of rasberries during one break while hiking in Colorado.

Healthy Backpacking Food

For a healthier trip, try this: Eat a large salad right before you leave, and right after you get back. If you also eat berries and herbs along the way, you can concentrate on bringing only light backpacking food, and your health won't suffer.

A more obvious alternative is to spend some money. Enough money, and you can feast on nutrition-packed, calorie-rich foods the whole time you are hiking. Try bee pollen, spirolina, raw nuts and seeds, molasses, dried papaya - I could go on, but you get the idea.

Finally, don't forget the freeze-dried meals and other traditional backpacking foods. They are not necessasrily healthy, and can be very expensive, but they sure are convenient and tasty. You can always pack ramen noodles if you want cheap food.

Steve Gillman is a long-time backpacker, and advocate of lightweight backpacking. His advice and stories, and a backpacking food calorie counter, can be found at http://www.TheUltralightBackpackingSite.com

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Have Fun With Nature: How To Play Conkers

In an age where children spend a huge percentage of their free time playing with expensive computer games, it's nice to know that some old-fashioned games are still being played outdoors and cost absolutely nothing.

During the fall, wherever you find horse chestnut trees you'll find children playing conkers. It's a game that was enjoyed by their parents, their grandparents, and even their great grandparents and, hopefully, their own children will one day enjoy it, too.

What is A Conker?

A conker is a hard brown nut that's encapsulated in a green, prickly case produced by the Horse Chestnut tree. The cases fall from trees when they're ripe and can easily be collected from the ground.

In contrast to the nuts produced by the Sweet Chestnut tree, conkers are NOT to be eaten by humans.

Choosing A Conker

If you're serious about your game, choose your conkers carefully. The best ones are symmetrical in form, firm to the touch and should be uncracked.

use the water test. If a conker is damaged inside it will float in water so this is a good way of testing the density of your nut. Floaters should be discarded while those that sink to the bottom will be the hardest and the best.

Preparing A Conker for Play

Make a hole through the middle of your conker, going from the dull area at the top and down through the bottom. A thin skewer or hand-drill is useful for this.

Choose string that doesn't break easily and thread a length about 12 inches long through the hole and tie a knot at one end to stop it from pulling through.

There are several ways to make your conkers harder, including:

Bake the conker in the oven on a low heat for 30 minutes

Soak the conker in vinegar overnight

Put conkers away to use the following year (they harden with age).

How To Play Conkers

Two players are needed, each with a conker of his own. Each player holds his conker from the string and attempts to hit the opposing conker.

If your conker is the one being hit, you should let it hang down with the string wrapped around two or three fingers to secure it - you don't want your conker flying off when it's hit! It's up to your opponent to decide how high your conker should be held and it's important it's held still.

If you're the striker, you should wrap the string around your hand in the same way as you would if your conker was being hit. You should then take the conker in your other hand and draw it back, ready to strike. As you release the conker, you should swing it down and try to hit your opponent's conker. If you're successful, this is called a strike. If you miss, you're allowed two more goes before swapping positions.

If, when making a shot, the strings tangle together, the first player to call "strings" is awarded an extra shot.

If a player drops his conker or has it knocked out of his hand, the opposing player can call "stamps" and jump on it. End of one conker! However, if the owner calls "no stamps" first, the conker is safe (unless it smashed when it hit the ground, of course).

The game continues until one conker is completely destroyed; the one with the remaining conker is the winner.

Good luck!

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Signs And Symptoms Of Mesothelioma (AKA Asbestos Cancer)

There are a couple of issues that confuse, delay or make the diagnosis of mesothelioma more difficult. First, this cancer (commonly occurring from asbestos exposure) typically takes many years to develop (spanning as much as 20 to 50 years). Second, the symptoms are often similar to common respiratory complaints and illnesses like the cold or flu.

There are three types of mesothelioma (pleural, peritoneal, and pericardial). Each type has different symptoms, as follows:

The first type of mesothelioma (pleural) shows itself in symptoms ranging from breathing difficulties, trouble swallowing, a shortness of breath, a cough that is persistent and doesn't go away, rapid or severe weight loss, persistent fever, coughing up blood, or a persistent pain or tightness in the chest.

The second type of mesothelioma (peritoneal) exhibits itself in abdominal symptoms since this cancer attacks the abdominal cavity. Signs and symptoms include rapid and noticeable weight loss, abdominal pain and swelling because of fluid building up in the belly, severe constipation, bowel obstructions, weakness, fainting or anemia and persistent fever.

The third type of mesothelioma (pericardial) is the rarest form. Signs and symptoms include persistent and severe chest pain, shortness of or gasping for breath, heart palpitations or feeling like your heart is racing, a persistent cough that doesn't go away, and severe fatigue that is new to the patient.

If you suspect mesothelioma or have had exposure to asbestos, ask your doctor to perform an x-ray or ultrasound to evaluate your symptoms. Yes, the signs and symptoms overlap with over common illness but it's important for image diagnostics to rule any cancers out.

Although there is no current definitive cure for any of the types of mesothelioma, research and trials are underway and show some promise.

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Florida Golf Vacations

Many vacationers come to experience the unrivaled Florida golf vacations on the manicured greens of some of Florida's leading courses. There is a blend of over 1100 public and private membership golf courses throughout Florida. Given the massive recognition of golf throughout the state, it comes as no surprise to find that golf vacation packages are available to suit all tastes and budgets. Tee Times USA is the world head in custom golf vacations and advanced tee time reservations in Florida. You can choose from more than 300 Florida golf courses and from hundreds of resorts, condominiums and hotels.

Florida golf vacations are particularly popular in winter when guests from the East Coast escape south to enjoy warm weather. The Golf Club at the Ritz-Carlton Amelia Island features a course that incorporates the natural backdrop of the island, including sand dunes, palm trees and oaks. Great scenery and great weather is just a couple of reasons why visitors worldwide prefer Florida Golf Vacations for their weekend getaways. This extend of the Atlantic coast is lined with championship Florida Golf greens that are open to the public. Florida golf vacations initiate at the northern border of Florida and go on to the end of the Florida Keys.

Golf vacations and holidays in this state will offer exceptional challenges, including live alligators and other beasts of the unknown. Everyone knows Orlando has the world's best theme parks, from the magic of Walt Disney World Resort and the thrills of Universal Studios, to the pleasure of Sea world. But Orlando is also home to some of North America's best golf courses. Palm Beach is home to a number of top-notch golf courses mostly for the rich and famous. Panama City is also an excellent place to play golf on some of the most beautiful courses. With an average temperature of around 78 degrees, weather rarely interferes with year-round play. As the temperature decreases so do the prices of golf and lodging making Panama City a wonderful vacation bargain. No matter what the season, Panama City is one of the best places in Florida to play golf. Golf packages cost about $74 at Disney's Lake Buena Vista to about $130 at Disney's Mongnolia and Palm Course. There is single day as well as multi day package available. Such places offer complete entertainment during the golf vacation.

Florida Vacations provides detailed information on Florida Vacations, Florida Vacation Rentals, Florida Vacation Homes, Florida Vacation Destinations and more. Florida Vacations is affiliated with Florida Keys Vacation Rentals.

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