Earplugs

Do you get cold water vertigo? 

Do you paddle in windy conditions?

Do your ears get plugged up after rolling or swimming?

Do you get ear wax build-up and/or ear infections?

Do you value your hearing?

If you answered YES to any of the above questions, you should consider wearing earplugs when paddling.

I am not a doctor and you should consult your doctor for health advice.  I am sharing my personal experience with "surfer's ear," and how I have found ear plugs to be helpful in preventing cold water vertigo and improving comfort on and in the water.

Early in my paddling career, I went in for a physical and the first thing the doctor commented was on my surfer's ear.  HUH? She explained to me that I had bone growths in my ear canal and that the condition is often called surfer's ear. With a bit more research, I discovered that surfer's ear is common in kayakers as well as surfers.  Cold water is not the only culprit.  Wind is also a significant factor.  

After my appointment, I realized that in the past year I had been experiencing more wax buildup and instances of water being trapped in my ears (even after showering).  I asked around the kayak community and found that many in the whitewater kayak world knew about surfer's ear, many experienced it, and many had started wearing earplugs.  In the sea kayak community, I was surprised that only those that were avid surfers knew about surfers ear.  Today, I am still surprised not to see more paddlers wearing earplugs.

One of the biggest issues is that some ear plugs impede hearing.  The trick, I found is to find plugs that fit and also allow you to hear.  All ears are shaped differently so it takes a bit of shopping and trial and error.  Many paddlers like Doc's Pro Plugs.  I have never been able to get them to fit properly.  I found that they were great at blocking the wind but trapped water in my ear when I rolled.

Mack's Ear Seals have become my go to earplugs.  I find that they keep the water out and allow me to hear.  I also like that they are relatively inexpensive and easily accessible - you can often buy them at your local drug store and even some grocery stores carry them.  I find the strings pop off easily unless you glue them to the plugs with aqua seal.  In recent years, I have ditched the strings and just use the plugs.

If I am not rolling but am paddling in cold or windy conditions, I lightly put the earplugs in my ears.  It is amazing how much warmer and more comfortable I am on windy days with the wind not whistling through my ears.  If I am going to be surfing, rolling or swimming, I insert the plugs further into my ears.

I also discovered that wearing ear plugs helps prevent cold water vertigo which is caused by cold water in the ear canal and on the ear drum.

Have you used earplugs for paddling? If you have any success stories to share, please share them in the comments.

Cheers,

Cate

Food for Kayak Camping

As summer starts to wind down, I start to get excited about kayak camping trips.  Our favorite "get-away" is to load up our kayaks and go on a wilderness kayak camping trip.  Usually we do a whitewater river trip of a week or so but also we will jaunt off in our sea kayaks to various locations on the coast.  Coming up later this month, we are guiding a sea kayak trip on California's Lost Coast.

Kayak camping on the Owhyee River.

Food preparation for self-support kayak trips can be a daunting task.  I enjoy the challenge and get better with each trip that we do.  Most of our meals are one pot meals a protein, starch, and lots of vegetables.

One pot meals make for easy prep and minimal cleanup.

Many paddlers buy pre-packaged dehydrated meals.  This is a convenient way to plan, pack, and prepare meals in the backcountry.  I usually keep a few pre-packaged meals around for emergency supplies and for extra food on our trips because they are lightweight, don't take up much space, are easily prepared, and have a long shelf life.  The disadvantages of prepackaged meals are that they are usually high in sodium and are expensive.  For these reasons, I prefer to create my own meals.

To minimize dishes, we often eat right out of the pot.  It was a good meal when the pot looks like this.

There are a lot of good resources and recipes on the internet for backpacking food.  One of my favorites is BackpackingChef.com.  This site is helpful because it has directions for dehydrating your own food and serving sizes for dehydrated food.  He also has some good recipe ideas.

My new favorite site for backpacking recipes is Dirty Gourmet.com.  A nice resource that they have compiled is backpacking foods that you can find at the local market.  It is less expensive than the prepackaged backpack specific meals.  It gives you ideas so you can shop for Non- GMO, gluten free, organic or other dietary options.  I also like the Dirty Gourmet's recipes.  When Jeff and I did 10 days on the John Day River this spring, I made a variation of their Thai Coconut Soup.  Jeff is allergic to soy so I used freeze dried chicken instead of soy.  It was delicious!!!

Preparing Thai Coconut Soup on a kayak camping trip.

 When planning food for a trip, planning your menu is key regardless of whether you buy or make your own meals.  I usually scratch out all my menu ideas on paper then mix and match what foods would be best on what day.  If I am packing fresh produce, I plan my meals that need produce at the beginning of the trip.  Planning the menu also helps you with shopping for ingredients and preparing and packaging the meals.

Fresh vegetables are a luxury for us on kayak camping trips.

For food preparation at home, I definitely use my dehydrator.  This time of the year, our summer garden is bountiful.  What we aren't going to eat, share, or trade, I will dehydrate for our future camping trips.  Right now, I am dehydrating zucchini chips for dipping in hummus, ceviche, crab dip, or tuna salad. (Down Home Foods in Fort Bragg carries Fantastic Foods Dehydrated Hummus.  It is tasty and easy to pack and prepare).

Dehydrating zucchini from our garden into zucchini chips.

Kale, broccoli, carrots, onions, roma and cherry tomatoes, apples, pears, huckleberries, and king boletes (porchini mushrooms) are seasonal items in my dehydrator.  Dehydrated vegetables are easily added to soups, mac and cheese, instant potatoes, instant rice, or pasta during the cooking process.   I dehydrate my own spaghetti sauce (homemade or store bought).  One of my favorite wilderness meals is dehydrated spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce and a protein (chicken, beef, or fish).

Dehydrated spaghetti sauce.

Dehydrating spaghetti squash.  YUM!

Buying tuna, salmon, or chicken in packets is an easy way to add protein to a meal.  I also use freeze dried chicken or catch fish depending upon where we are camping.  For eggs, we have found Ova Easy Eggs to be the best.

Using a handline to fish for rock cod on the Mendocino Coast.

Spices and seasonings are essential if you are preparing meals from scratch and want them to taste good.  We carry our favorite spices in our camp kitchen kit and small packets of chicken bullion.  Of course, it is important to plan and pack special treats and snacks - maybe some fresh fruit or vegetables but definitely chocolate.  Huppybars are a staple in my snack bag.  Hot chocolate also is a necessity on chilly nights.

Snacks and special treats.

These are but a few of my backcountry food ideas.  If you enjoyed reading about them, I will share more including some of my favorite recipes.  Please share in the comments if you have other good resources or recipes.

Kayak camping on California's Lost Coast.

Protect Your Ears

A couple of years into my kayaking career, I went in for a yearly physical.  The first thing my doc noted was that I had an ear infection.  She also commented on my "surfer's ear."  Surfer's ear is a bone growth that occurs in the ear due to repeated exposure to cold water and wind.  If you want the gory details check out this Magic Seaweed Article - "Surfer's Ear - An Inconvenient Truth."  For the not so gross photos - Wikipedia's entry on Surfer's Ear is fairly straight forward.

After my physical, the wheels started turning . . .  

I went on the search for ear plugs.  Lots of kayakers recommend Doc's Pro Plugs.  Doc's come in different sized and are vented so that you can still hear.  I tried them.  Despite trying multiple sizes, I could not get them to seal.  They were great for blocking the wind.  Wearing them, I could hear fairly normally and found that I was much warmer when I was wearing them.   The problem was that they didn't seal out water and actually would trap it in my ear.

The next plugs that I tried were Mack's AquaBlock Earplugs.   These worked!!!  They kept the water out.  I also discovered that the cold water vertigo that I often experienced when doing a lot of rolling or surf kayaking was not an issue when I could keep the water out of my ears.  The problem was that my hearing was definitely compromised when wearing them.  I started using these as my primary plugs for surfing.  They were great except when I was bs'ing with guys in the line up.  I would have to pull one out to hear and then pop it back in when I went to catch a wave.  These also would not work for sea kayaking, whitewater kayaking, and teaching where hearing is important.

For a while I kept both Docs and Macks in my pfd and wore which was appropriate - Doc's when I was instructing and guiding and Macks when I was surfing.

One day, I lost on of my Mac's.  In the drugstore picking up some other things, I discovered  Mack's Ear Seals.  DING - DING - DING!!!  We have the winner.  These plugs keep the water out when I am rolling and surfing.  I also have discovered that I can partially insert them in my ear to block the wind but still be able to hear.  When I am going to be rolling or getting wet, I push them in the whole way to seal the water out.

Tip - the plugs do come off the ends of the string easily.  Before using them, pull them apart and put some aquaseal on them before using to help keep the plug from pulling off the string. 

I keep my ear plugs on my helmet.

A few notes, we all have different size ears and ear canals.  What works for some might not work for others.  Other forms of ear protection include hoods and helmets with ear covers.  It is personal preference.  I am sharing because I think that too many paddlers don't protect their ears until they have started to have problems.  I also am sharing an inexpensive and convenient fix that has worked for me in my multiple disciplines of kayaking. 

Now you know what those strings are poking out of my ears.

Cate's Kale Soup

Winter time is upon us and friends are dropping like flies with colds and the dreaded flu.  There are lots of good articles online about how to boost your immune system and prevent getting ill.  Two of my favorite ways to boost the immune system are eating healthy and getting lots of fresh air.  Fortunately on the Mendocino Coast, our winters are mild enough that we can venture outdoors on various adventures, and we have good quality food readily available in the winter in our own winter gardens, farmers markets, grocery stores, in the forest and in the sea. 

My kale soup recipe combines healthy foods as well as a way to get outside for some fresh air.  You won't find specific amounts in most of my recipes as I just throw things together in the proportions that I have available or am in the mood for.  Here's my Kale Soup Recipe.  Please let me know if you like it or have suggestions.

Cate's Kale Soup
Ingredients:
Skinless/Boneless Chicken Thighs (optional)
Canned Tomatoes
Onion
Garlic
Carrots
Kale
Hedgehog Mushrooms - hydnum repandum (optional)
Seasonings - aleppo pepper, chili powder, black pepper (my preference)
Olive Oil
Butter (optional)

GET OUTSIDE!!! - gather the ingredients - For us involves a journey out into the forest to pick mushrooms and a little gardening work in the backyard to weed the garden and pick the kale.  No garden/local mushroom patches?  Go for a walk outside!  Perhaps walk to the grocery store.

Mushrooms - Hedgehogs are my favorite mushroom for the soup.  I like the consistency and flavor of them in the soup.  I would think that chanterelles would be good as well.  If you don't know wild mushrooms, you experiment with various store bought mushrooms and let me know what works well.  If picking wild mushrooms, please be 110% certain of your identification.  When in doubt, throw it out!!!


Make the Soup
Boil the chicken thighs and keep the broth for the base of the soup.  If you are not using chicken, use a base or broth that you prefer.

Cook on low - broth, canned tomatoes, garlic cloves, and carrots.

Sautee onions in a little butter or olive oil and add to soup.

Dry sautee hedgehog mushrooms in butter (you may substitute oil).  Cook moisture out of the mushrooms. Then add them to the soup.


Wash kale, separate it from its fibrous stalk, massage it with a touch of olive oil.  Add it to the soup.

Add seasonings to soup.

Bring the soup to a boil then cook on reduced heat for 5-10 minutes.

Options - you can make the soup as brothy as you like.  You might also try making it with sausage instead of chicken.  Experiment and ENJOY this healthy, immune building soup!!!

Please share any thoughts or suggestions.