Healthy Camping Snacks and Two of My Heroes
Can someone put a stop to the speed that this perfect summer is disappearing?
I was paddling this week with Kyle, one of my adventure racing training partners, and he was talking about how quickly the summer was disappearing. I responded that it was true, but the fact that our average Wednesday night is spent in a canoe and on the trails shows that we are soaking every little moment of it up that we can.
When this is your standard Wednesday night, life is pretty darn good. 🙂
In keeping with the trend of soaking up summer, I am sneaking off the grid for the weekend to go camping in Algonquin Provincial Park with two girls from Michigan who taught me to be wild when I had barely cracked 20 and was looking to make my life an absolute adventure. Maybe it is an oldest child syndrome that I have collected older sisters along the way but these two are among the many strong, incredible women that I fiercely look up to and try to emulate.
Perhaps that is the best part of being the oldest child – you get to choose who gets to be that mentor in your life and I have collected dozens of some of the best.
Carolynn is a preschool teacher who is a bit of a girly girl and who regularly absolutely CRUSHES 100 mile races. My favourite quotes from her are “tutus are good but the chafing is bad…” or the latest one that she posted on her instagram:
She has been known to be asked out on a date in the middle of an ultra while she is busily passing by.
The last time I saw her, we were at a ski hill and we had done a huge climb to the top and we were all heaving, trying to catch our breath. She screamed out “I’m doing that AGAIN!” and bounded down the hill only to destroy it for a second time.
Nikki teaching me one of the finer hand movements of crit racing.
She is one of the most bad ass, fun and adventurous women I know and I have a total girl crush on her.
Nikki is a mom, an adventure racer, a cyclist, a runner, a hunter, and well, I would run out of blog space before I could complete explaining all the things she is.
She has interrupted a date to check the score of the UFC game and has had all of her toe nails surgically removed because she kept losing them in races.
Her and I were pacers for another one of my heroes, Kim Owens, when she was crushing the Laurel Highlands Ultra last summer.
I obviously adore her.
These are my people and I can’t wait to go on another adventure with them full of paddling and trail running!
Just add me this weekend. 🙂
Post-race, I am trying to clean up my act a bit to make sure I am properly recovered for my next goal race. Some of the food I take camping with me to ensure that I am eating healthy even when I don’t have access to a fridge or stove are:
- hard boiled eggs
- almonds
- Beets and sweet potatoes (I put these in coconut oil and sea salt in a mountain pie maker or on a roasting stick over the fire)
- Larabars
- Genuine Health greens + mixed into water to start my day
- Love Grown Oats (just add hot water and you have instant breakfast!)
- baby carrots and hummus
- apples and peanut butter
- bananas
- my favourite protein bars
I love those camping snacks – especially roasting sweet potatoes over the fire! Although, I could see that going terribly wrong for me… Haha. Those women are incredibly inspiring! Lately, I’ve been really inspired by ultra trail runner Sally McRae – I loved her podcast with Running On Om this week. Her positive attitude is contagious!
I love Sally McRae! I was watching her Western States documentary last week – what a kick ass lady.
I am downloading that podcast for the drive to Algonquin. Thanks for sharing!
Apples/bananas with PB, plant based protein bars, trail mix, dried fruit, and dry roasted edamame are my fave camping snacks! I would love to go camping this summer. Being outside really does make your soul happy! I also love those love grown oats. They really make for the perfect breakfast!