Garden recap this summer

I hate those blog and recipe posts where you read about someone’s life story before they get to the point.

  • I grew most of my plant-based foods this summer (grocery bill was cut in half)
  • It was enjoyable but a lot of hard work
  • I made a lot of mistakes
  • I will do things differently next year and it should make things easier
  • I started a garden club and would like to expand on it

Foods first but supplement now

When I teach a “food first” approach to sports nutrition this does not mean that supplements are added to an athlete’s diet at some point in the distance future. Fact is that most people could benefit from taking some supplements right now even if they didn’t change one thing about their diet. Foods first means that it’s the big project. It’s what we spend most our time on. Realizing that food choices has to do with many factors spanning from beliefs, to budget, to proximity, and health considerations are but one factor. Food first means an athlete is still a human being and may very well raise a family someday and the food habits and lifestyle is something that spans far beyond the extra rep that supplementing creatine or beta alanine yields. So yes, “foods first” because supplements can only do so much to help a poor diet- but they still help and there’s no reason why we can’t supplement now.

What are your thoughts and what does a “foods first” approach mean to you?

 

3 day hike in the Smoky Mnts

I had a chance this summer to go on a 3 day hike through the Smokies with my friend Dan. Dan and I met on the Colorado trail thru hike and he’s been traveling the world as a backpacker ever since.

The vegetation was lush and there were many wild flowers and mushrooms along the way. I’m looking forward to going back soon to try foraging for food and fishing the rivers.

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We did about 40 miles in total. This was my first 3 day hike using a hammock and tarp set up instead of sleeping on the ground in a tent. I am hooked. I don’t think I will ever go back to sleeping on the ground if I can help it. I’ll do a gear list and backpacking techniques post eventually, for now I’m just getting this blog started.

For now, I can tell you that I do not believe you need an expensive hammock or tarp set up to dwell in a quality shelter on the trail. I’ve taken this set up on a few other trips. One of which caught me in a 5+ hour rain storm.

  • a small travel umbrella
  • 12′ square tarp KELTY NOAH brand
  • a $30 hammock I bought off Amazon
  • some paracord and a few good knots

I stayed dry as a bone, slept comfortably, and had a quick set up and take down. A few advantages that I found with a hammock set up:

  • better sleep and less back pain in the morning
  • when you have to wake up and piss in the middle of the night, you can just lean over the side of the hammock and do your business. I can’t tell you how much nicer that is than getting out of your sleeping bag and tent to accomplish this.
  • more room- you can raise your tarp up as high as you want and the 12′ square means I could have a party under there
  • the hammock can be used as a swinging chair- very nice to sit back in

 

Overall this trip really inspired me to get started section hiking the Appalachian Trail. While I loved living in Texas, Tennessee offers me the nature I’ve been missing in my life.

If you have any suggestions for trails to check out in my area, let me know! Also, I could use some help identifying those mushrooms. I know the orange one is a chicken of the woods, but I’m not sure about the other ones. Let me know what you think!