I can’t believe it’s November! Fall is upon us, crisp leaves, cool air, and all the pumpkin things! Straw Propeller has got the oatmeal flavor for you: pumpkin pie.
Pumpkin seeds, raisins, and pumpkin pie spice adorn the gluten-free rolled oats.
I’ve been dreading the writeup of these #HellHikeAndRaft posts. It means it’s really over! And I don’t want it to be over. Without getting too sentimental, this was one of the most fun trips I’ve ever been on with some of the coolest people I’ve ever met. Thanks Tara, Russ, Scott, Val, Trevor, Shannon, Jes, Annie, Wendy, Adam, Jeff, and Becky & Parker at America’s Rafting Company!
Now for the nitty gritty… Monday morning, we woke up bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. Our guide, Marshall, picked us up from the Meadows Valley Motel in New Meadows and carted us off to Windy Saddle in the Seven Devils Wilderness. We met up with Rick, our other guide, and John and the horse team and into the wilderness we went.
We quickly began ascending up the Goat Pass trail until we hit the ridge. We were rewarded with views of the Tower of Babel and Mirror Lake. We paused and snapped some photos. From there, we traversed across and began our descent to our lunch destination. The trail was steep and slippery with a bit of scree skiing at certain points. Sheep Lake was the reward, and we stopped to refuel.
Post-lunch, we hiked around Sheep Lake, marveling at its cool, clear waters until we reached the junction to head up to He Devil or head to camp. Tara, Jes, Annie, Russ, Rick, and I decided to tackle He Devil; the rest decided to mosey off to camp.
Our adventurous group began the ascent up, but quickly realized that there was no real trail. Up and up, we went, but as we reached the ridge to reach the summit, we decided to stop. It was late in the day, clouds were rolling in. All signs pointed to safety rather than summiting, and we began our descent and headed to camp.
Shelf Lake was our home for the night! Coming into camp was like arriving at an oasis! A kitchen was set up, a fire was burning, the lake was pristine and clear. I set up camp and started to drink wine. Little did I know, guacamole, chips, and salsa awaited, and there were fajitas to be had.
I slept very well that night.
Total mileage for the day was 4.39 miles with about 1,657′ of elevation gain. This does not include He Devil.
Stay tuned for the other five days, and don’t forget to check out everyone else’s content!
Straw Propeller takes that age-old instant oatmeal and adds their own gourmet twist to make this breakfast staple more enjoyable and fun. My first try with the company was with the Apple Crisp, and boy, was that tasty.
The Cherry & Chia wasn’t quite what I was expecting from the company. Apple Crisp was incredibly sweet and dessert-like, and that was what I was hoping for. The Cherry & Chia was a lot more tart without the extra sweet overload. The chia seeds were a nice touch; I’m a huge fan of getting my fair share of omega-3 fatty acids. However, coming off of the sweet, sweet, gooey, white chocolate-y goodness that was the Apple Crisp, I was a little let down. So, if you’re not a fan of getting a sugar rush during breakfast, this is definitely for you!
Each serving comes in a little cardboard container convenient to make and mess-free. Just add water, wait, eat and throw away. If you’re looking to save space while backpacking, the containers aren’t for you, but they’re great for car camping. I might even stock my pantry with these for a fast and easy breakfast.
Buy through Straw Propeller for $39 for a pack of 12. You can buy a one flavor pack of 12 or mix and match.
Sometimes planning for camping meals can be a drag. Great Outdoors Food makes shopping for camping meals convenient and easy. I’d seen Laura and Great Outdoors Food lurking around on social media, so when she reached out to me to review the meal builder, I said sure!
As first and foremost a meal planner, it allows you to select a variety of pre-packaged meals from various offerings of meats, veggies, desserts, condiments, beverage packets and snacks. The site also offers a store to easily stock up on favorites.
The site itself is very basic. You start off by naming your meal. If you opt not to name it, the default is “My Meal”.
From there, you are taken to a screen to choose the first part of your meal: protein.
Clicking on each individual item shows you the nutritional label and allows you to specify a quantity. This screen would be more useful if it allowed you to view how to prepare the package too. The majority of the time it will be add hot water and, but sometimes those instructions are little tricksters.
Unfortunately, once you make a choice and hit the next button or skip a screen, there’s no way to go backwards without starting from scratch. This makes it difficult to peruse what exactly the site offers. As a workaround, add everything you think you might want, and then remove at the end of each meal.
The review your order screen doesn’t actually allow you to make an edits to individual meals. You are only given the choice to remove and start from scratch again. It would be much more user-friendly if you could update quantities of meals and individual items.
The checkout process is handled through Shopify. The store accepts credit cards or Paypal.
After placing an order, Great Outdoors Food will pack, label, and ship them to you individually so you can stay organized. Each meal will be packed individually in a resealable plastic bag that you can reuse to collect your trash.
Prices are the comparable to REI or any sporting goods store. I found it a little odd that you’re charged for little condiment packages like ketchup, mustard, salt, pepper, etc. But you are paying for the convenience instead of fetching those from a fast food restaurant yourself. If you sign up for the mailing list, you’ll receive a 20% off coupon your grand total before tax.
Shipping prices are reasonable. For items under 1lb via USPS, it is $3.50, saving you some gas money from making you a trip to the store. I was not given any other options for my items.
The Great Outdoors Food Meal Builder is a great tool for putting together meals quickly without leaving the comfort of your couch. The idea is great but the usability of the site could use a good overhaul to make it more click-efficient and time friendly.
I was sent a promotional code to review the website. However, the compensation does not affect my opinion of the site.
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