I am excited to talk about my plans for my next hike! I have some new food just for this long backpacking adventure. I’m also planning for some different videos and next year’s theme for our adventures. So, let’s jump into it as we go walking – together!
My Next Trip. My 10th backpacking trip of the year will soon begin at Arkansas’ Lake Fort Smith Visitor center and go east-northeast through the Ozark Mountains for 164 miles to the Buffalo River near Wollum, Arkansas. This trail showcases the outstanding of the Ozarks of Northwest Arkansas. Water sources are plentiful, as well as campsites and trailheads all along the way.
The 164 miles that I plan to thru-hike is the original Highlands Trail. The trail is being expanded. Another 90-mile section makes its way to Matney Knob, but that part requires a bit of bushwhacking through the National Forest to connect the parts. So, I am satisfied with the original trail which the Ozark Highlands Trail Association told me was still considered a thru-hike of this trail is 164 miles.
I’ve read about the trail. In fact, the book that hooked me into hiking it is called “A Moss Covered Trail” by Matt Dunn. I also got Tim Ernst’s “Ozark Highlands Trail Guide.” He 7th edition includes the latest information and the new sections of the trail. It is well written and offers great details, as well as profile maps of each section. I plan to take this guide along with me on my trip.
Eating while Backpacking. Trail meals have always been my biggest challenge in planning for any hiking trip. The standard dehydrated trail meals get really old. They don’t taste good and have too much in the pouch. So, I force myself to eat what I don’t like – or I must pack out all that extra weight. I’m a big believer in “leave no trace” so I don’t dump the food out, even if I’m tempted to do it.
I began fixing my own dehydrated meals, but that’s a lot of work. I test different recipes, cook the meals, dehydrate the food, test a portion of the meal, reject what doesn’t satisfy, portion the meals into mylar pouches, and finally have something to take with me. I have had better luck with breakfasts than dinners. I discovered 2 companies that are new to me – Greenbelly Meal2Go offers a variety of high nutrition bars for lunch. These are not the typical grain bars that taste like I’m eating hay. They taste good and are packed with protein, calories, and fiber. Each packet contains two bars in a resealable pouch. My favorite is the mango/cashew/coconut bars with 655 calories each. One bar is enough for my lunch. Then I have some granola or trail mix for a mid-afternoon snack.
When I stop for the day, RightOnTrek is my go to choice for dinner. They have a variety of meals that I cook up in my pot. Yeah, I have to clean my pot, but it’s worth it. These meals are fresh, highly nutritious, and taste really good.
I’m still working on breakfast, but Jason’s biscuits & gravy are a good choice. Hope I find some variety to start the day. For now, oatmeal is an alternative.
Plans for 2023. Next year may be different. I may include some other videos in addition to my hiking adventures. There are some gear changes coming. Mainly to improve the video and audio quality for you to enjoy. I plan to share some equipment reviews as I get new gear. I’ll talk about the gear, demonstrate what it can do, and share my reasons for changing.
I’m also planning to share a project that is coming up in the year ahead. We moved from North Carolina to Kansas. We enjoy our community and home. Previous owners of this house had built an addition beside the garage. The interior was framed but never finished. Honestly, this addition was the selling point of the house. It’s framed for 2 rooms. One large room in front will become my wife’s sewing and craft room. The small room in back will be my office and recording studio. I look forward to bringing you along as I finish out that back space and create a studio where I can make some videos and edit them for the channel. It should be fun to get back into some interior construction.
I will be sharing more gear reviews with you next year. I feel like I have some experience to at least share what I like and don’t like about different gear. I’m still far from being an expert. I am more like an old Swiss Army Knife with a lot of utensils, but none of them are very good. Still it should be fun as we go. Maybe we can even have some live shows and others can join me to talk about this stuff.
I will still be hiking! I want to have a theme for my hikes in 2023 to highlight Kansas.
Tom Walker of “Following Walker’s World” made a comment on one of my videos from the Flint Hills Trail series. He said that I had shown folks Kansas like they had never seen before. Tom got me to thinking and I want to share more. I used to think that Kansas was so flat that nothing stopped the wind. And the wind always blew. I learned that isn’t true. Kansas, like every state, has so many secret beauties. It’s not just the place where a tornado blew Dorothy to the Land of Oz. There are hills, rivers, lakes, trees, places that look like the badlands, and places that look like Arizona. It’s remarkable! Perhaps the most remarkable thing about Kansas that really sets it apart for me are the sunsets. This big sky becomes a master artist canvas when the sun sinks down in the evening.
I look forward to sharing places like Little Jerusalem (the Kansas Bad Lands) and Monument Rocks, as well as historical trails of Kansas. I hope to backpack the Cherokee Trail and the Osage Trace and share their stories with you. I’m sure there will be more.
So, the 2023 theme for my hiking adventures will be “Hiking through the Trails of Ahs!” I know you will be amazed. So, come along. Stay on the Path. And let’s go walking – together!