Does this food come with a warning?

All the recipes in my backpacking cookbook* have special names. Many are named after the hikers who created them — like Ben’s Chicken and Cheese. While the rest have names relating to famous trails and notable locations along them. For example, Appalachian Trail Jerky and Cascade Stew.

But there’s one particular recipe whose name makes me chuckle, albeit with some trepidation: Lassen Volcanic Eruption Chili.

Oh I hope not.

It’s as if I’m tempting fate.

I’ve made a couple batches so I will probably find out if it lives up to its name. Needless to say I really hope it doesn’t, but as I was chuckling and making yet another batch for the trail, it reminded me of another hike I did years ago.

In 1997, Betty’s Mom and I hiked the John Muir Trail (JMT) with 4 friends. At the time, several in the group including Betty’s Mom were vegetarian. Since Betty’s Mom did the majority of the planning (and by that I mean ALL the planning — I literally just showed up and hiked), our food consisted of a LOT of beans, hummus (also made from beans), falafel (not sure what it’s made from, but surely beans are in there), and corn pasta. There was no shortage of fiber in the menu.

For those who aren’t familiar, the JMT is essentially the high Sierra portion of the Pacific Crest Trail (PCT). It’s stunning terrain, going through Yosemite, Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. For over 200 miles, the average elevation is between 9,000 and 10,000 feet.

After our group of 6 hikers dwindled down to 4 (…a whole ‘nother story), I wound up sharing a tent with a tall, rather good looking guy we’ll call JoeJoe. Aside from his good looks, JoeJoe was a strong hiker, accomplished rock climber, smart, charming and funny. He was also hard of hearing – as in he wore hearing aids. He wore them during the day, but took them off to sleep, effectively making him deaf at night. Or so someone who’d been eating only beans for 2 weeks at elevation would hope.

I’d spare you the details, but I know Betty’s Mom (who has editor privileges to this blog) will over write me as soon as I am on the trail and out of internet range. So, in not very delicate terms (look away now if you’re easily offended!), I farted loudly enough to not only wake myself up, but also a deaf guy. A good looking, charming deaf guy. Sigh.

So Lassen Volcanic Eruption Chili?

Oh, I hope not.

* “Lipsmackin’ Backpackin'” by Christine and Tim Connors

— Earlier today I finally posted a link to this website on my Facebook page. All the previous posts were done without much of an audience — HH and I had given the web address out to only a handful of people. I can’t help but pause before I hit the ‘publish’ command. The first post most people will see on my PCT blog is about a stomach issue I had 21 years ago. — Nice mTnfLy, nice…….