“Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books.”
-John Lubbock
Posted by: jakinnan | January 29, 2013
Natural Learning
Posted in Nature Writer Quotes | Tags: backpacking, beauty, books, California, earth, enviroment, faith, health, hiking, life, literature, local, love, mountains, nature, personal, photography, spirituality, survival, travel
Posted by: jakinnan | January 29, 2013
01/29/2013 Scripture
Then when they were alone, he turned to the disciples and said, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you have seen. I tell you, many prophets and kings longed to see what you see, but they didn’t see it. And they longed to hear what you hear, but they didn’t hear it.”
-Luke 10:23-24 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Bible, Christianity, faith, God, Jesus Christ, life, love, mountains, National Park, nature, personal, photography, salvation, Shenandoah, Virginia
Posted by: jakinnan | January 29, 2013
01/28/2013 Scripture
At that same time Jesus was filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, and he said, “O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, thank you for hiding these things from those who think themselves wise and clever, and for revealing them to the childlike. Yes, Father, it pleased you to do it this way. “My Father has entrusted everything to me. No one truly knows the Son except the Father, and no one truly knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.”
-Luke 10:21-22 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: faith, God, Jesus Christ, life, love, mountains, Mt. Rainier, National Park, nature, personal, photography, salvation, Washington
Posted by: jakinnan | January 29, 2013
Core vs. Corps
Lately, the surge is toward “justice Christianity”—intervening to prevent human trafficking or slavery, caring for indigenous cultures or for the planet itself. And it is right and it is wrong. My goodness, yes, of course God cares about justice. But to be frank, it is actually not the central theme of the Bible. Christianity isn’t simply a religious version of the Peace Corps.
All of these “camps” are Christianity—sort of. Like elevator music is music—sort of. Like veggie burgers are hamburgers—sort of. Think gas fireplaces, wax fruit, frozen burritos. They look like the real thing, but…
It all comes down to this: What is Christianity supposed to do to a person?
“Long before he laid down earth’s foundations God had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love to be made whole and holy with his love.” (Ephesians 1:4 TM)
God is restoring the creation he made. What you see in Jesus is what he is after in you. This is a really core assumption. Your belief about this will affect the rest of your life.
-John Eldredge, The Utter Relief of Holiness, 16-17
Posted in Ransomed Heart | Tags: California, Christianity, faith, God, Jesus Christ, John Eldredge, literature, love, nature, ocean, photography, Ransomed Heart, salvation, travel
Posted by: jakinnan | January 29, 2013
01/27/2013 Scripture
Then he said to the disciples, “Anyone who accepts your message is also accepting me. And anyone who rejects you is rejecting me. And anyone who rejects me is rejecting God, who sent me.”
-Luke 10:16 NLT
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: colorado, faith, God, Jesus Christ, life, local, love, nature, photography, salvation
Posted by: jakinnan | January 26, 2013
Lighten Your Load
Shed the Easy Stuff Reduce your pack load by just a few pounds and you’ll hike farther, cut injury potential, and reduce trail fatigue.
Ο Leave Nonessentials at Home
Take a critical look at your packing list and off-load (or substitute) these items.
>> Wallet 6 oz. Bring only your insurance card, ID, and some cash
>> Food packaging 4 oz. Discard boxes; measure servings into zip-top bags
>> Pillow 6 oz. Fill your sleeping bag hood with rolled-up clothes
>> Extra pot 8 oz. Plan one-pot meals, use nonstick for easy cleanup
>> Camp shoes 10 oz. Unlace boots and switch socks to walk around camp
>> Stuffsacks 20 oz. Stuff clothes into pack corners; roll your tent
>> Guidebook 9 oz. Photocopy the pages you want to reference
>> Trowel 3 oz. Dig catholes with a sturdy stick or tent stake
>> Repair kit 4 oz. Pack a tiny sewing kit, tube of SeamGrip, and safety pins
>> Water filter 15 oz. Use chemical or UV treatment instead
Weight saved 5+ lbs.
Ο Streamline Your Pack
Don’t purchase an ultralight hauler until your baseweight (all your gear not including food, water, or fuel) is less than 15 pounds; lightweight packs lack the suspension and comfort features (like hipbelt padding and frame stays) that you need for heavy loads. Instead, cut up to 20 percent of your pack’s weight by ditching the top lid and trimming unnecessary features like extra buckles, webbing, and pockets. You can shave pack heft without sacrificing functionality or comfort.
Weight saved 12oz.
Ο Ditch Unused Gear
Count individual items like tent stakes, guylines, trail bars, and lengths of TP. After each trip, make a list of gear you carried but didn’t use. If a piece of your kit makes the list after three consecutive trips, leave it behind next time (exception: first-aid supplies).
Ο Plan Calorie-Dense Meals
Combine high-calorie foods for efficient fueling on trail and in camp.
All these foods have more than 100 calories/ounce.
>> Fruity PB Roll-Ups
Spread peanut butter on a tortilla and top with dried apricots and chocolate squares, then roll it up. 6.5 oz., 522 calories
>> Buttered Hot Chocolate
Make hot chocolate using 2 packets of powdered mix; stir in a tablespoon of unsalted butter. 2.5 oz., 348 calories
>> Cheesy Salmon-Pesto Pasta
Cook 2 cups of pasta; toss with a 5-ounce pouch of salmon, 2 tablespoons pesto, and 1/4 cup Parmesan. 8 oz., 640 calories
Go Stoveless Pack a no-cook menu on short, warm-weather trips, and you can unload your stove, pots, and fuel.
Weight saved 2 lbs.
Courtesy of Backpacker Magazine
Posted in Weekly Survival Skill | Tags: backpacking, food, health, hiking, life, local, personal, survival, travel
Posted by: jakinnan | January 26, 2013
Hidden Comfort
Over the years man has been so desperate to get off the land and inside to the creature comforts. The root of our nature is now driving us back to the land and the comfort of the creatures.
Picture Credit: VIP Hahn
Posted in Nature Writer Quotes | Tags: animals, beauty, books, colorado, conservation, earth, enviroment, life, literature, local, love, mountains, National Park, nature, personal, photography, poetry, Rocky Mountain, survival, travel, wildlife
Posted by: jakinnan | January 26, 2013
Separate Journeys: Head and Heart
The sense of being part of some bigger story, a purposeful adventure that is the Christian life, begins to drain away again after those first-love years in spite of everything we can do to stop it. Instead of a love affair with God, your life begins to feel more like a series of repetitive behaviors, like reading the same chapter of a book or writing the same novel over and over. The orthodoxy we try to live out, defined as “Believe and Behave Accordingly,” is not a sufficient story line to satisfy whatever turmoil and longing our heart is trying to tell us about. Somehow our head and heart are on separate journeys and neither feels like life.
Eventually this division of head and heart culminates in one of two directions. We can either deaden our heart or divide our life into two parts, where our outer story becomes the theater of the should and our inner story the theater of needs, the place where we quench the thirst of our heart with whatever water is available. I chose the second route, living what I thought of as my religious life with increasing dryness and cynicism while I found “water” where I could: in sexual fantasies, alcohol, the next dinner out, late-night violence videos, gaining more knowledge through religious seminars-whatever would slake the thirsty restlessness inside. Whichever path we choose-heart deadness or heart and head separation-the wounds, the Arrows win, and we lose heart.
This is the story of all our lives, in one way or another. The haunting of the Romance and the Message of the Arrows are so radically different and they seem so mutually exclusive they split our hearts in two. In every way that the Romance is full of beauty and wonder, the Arrows are equally powerful in their ugliness and devastation.
Posted in Ransomed Heart | Tags: Alaska, faith, God, Jesus Christ, John Eldredge, life, literature, love, mountains, National Park, nature, photography, Ransomed Heart, salvation
Posted by: jakinnan | January 26, 2013
01/26/2013 Scripture
You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. In this way, he disarmed the spiritual rulers and authorities. He shamed them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.
-Colossians 2:13-15 NLT
Picture Credit: National Park Service
Posted in Daily Scriptures | Tags: Arizona, Bible, faith, God, Jesus Christ, life, love, nature, personal, photography, salvation
Posted by: jakinnan | January 25, 2013
Creamy Potato Soup
Ingredients
| 2 | c | instant mashed potatoes |
| 1 3⁄4 | c | dry milk |
| 1⁄2 | c | shelf stable parmesan cheese |
| 2 | T | lower sodium bouillon (veggie, beef or chicken) |
| 2 | T | diced dried onions |
| 1 | T | dried parsley |
| 1 | t | dried garlic |
| 1⁄2 | t | ground pepper |
| 1 | t | dried thyme |
Notes
Creamy Potato Soup mix is a great way to get a potassium rich meal into you when you are so tired you can’t face eating. It is easy to mix up, and quite affordable. Carry a packet or two with you in your food bag, as a backup for cold evenings as well. It rehydrates easily in a freezer bag or in your mug.
You can add a couple Tablespoons shelf stable bacon or a 3 ounce packet of smoked salmon to make a hearty dinner. For extra richness add in a packet of olive oil with the water. Season to taste with salt and pepper as desired.
Instructions
At home mix the ingredients in a large bowl. Divide the soup mix up by 1/2 cup dry portions. Depending on if you will be using freezer bags or a mug to have your soup in, pack in quart freezer bags or sandwich bags.
FBC method:
Add 1 cup near boiling water to the bag and stir till smooth. Let cool a bit.
Mug method:
Add 1 cup boiling water to the dry mix in your mug and stir till smooth. Let cool a bit.
One pot method:
Bring 1 cup water to a boil, take off the heat and stir in the dry mix until smooth. Let cool a bit.
Courtesy of trailcooking.com
Posted in Backpacking Recipes | Tags: backpacking, food, hiking, recipes, soup, survival, vegan
hiking2christ 