Love and other dangerous sports

So i just finished reading the book Emily sent me for my birthday, The Scavenger's Guide to Haute Cuisine, by Steven Rinella, and I am head-over-heels in love. Even before I saw the ridiculously attractive pictures of him on his website, I was totally smitten. Emily KNEW this would happen, that's why she sent me the book.

You see, I frequently fall in love with men I barely know- experience has taught me that it's much safer than falling in love with the men who actually play a role in my life. I fell in love once with a boy I was arguing with across a bonfire. I fell so in love with a cocaine-addicted sixth grade history teacher named Bobby on a cruise ship that I was a giggling wreck at loss for words in his presence. Heck, just a few weeks ago I fell in love with the guy belaying me at the gym. I never met any of them again, but it was still love. I fall head over heels for the simple things, like a week's worth of backcountry scruff and a a story to go with it, a sense of humor and a sense of adventure. But I digress.

The point is that I have fallen in love with Steven Rinella for several reasons. The first is that he wrote an awesome book that combines food and playing outside- which happen to be pretty much my two favorite things. It's also a lot about killing things, which I never realized that I was interested in until now. He hunts, catches fish, digs for clams, spears frogs, and captures baby pigeons from the nests around town. And then he cooks it all into one big feast. It's about returning to a more natural way of being in touch with your food and your environment and your family and friends. LOVE.

His interest in hunting and fishing makes perfect sense to me. My purpose in not eating meat these days is not because I don't enjoy the taste or because I think carnivory is wrong, but simply because I don't want to support our industrialized system of agriculture, in particular the inhumane and ecologically disastrous ways in which we produce meat. I've been more than happy to eat wild caught fish, wild game, and meat grown on small, ecologically responsible farms. Now, after reading this book, I wish I could do that a lot more. I guess I need to learn how to hunt and fish. Just what I needed was more new hobbies. I even asked Dad for a shotgun for Christmas (since I feel left out in Nevada without one) but I think he thought I was joking, so I'll have to tackle this one on my own.

I'm also in love with Steven Rinella because he has the type of job I would love to have. He's succeeding in freelance writing about his passions; the outdoors, food, adventure, and science.
Do I want to marry him or be him? I am so torn. But until I decide, I'm going to check at my library for his new book, on Buffalo, and if they don't have it, I'll have to buy it. I can't wait. It might be better to have my own personal copy, since I'll probably be drooling the whole time I read it anyway.

To the rescue!

Late Sunday afternoon I took Allee and Amorita down to the Gold Strike Hot Springs for a little post-tournament soak. I wanted to show off to Allee how beautiful the desert can be (Amo already knows...) and we needed a relaxing evening instead of another night out on the strip. It's a two mile trail through a great canyon, easy wash-hiking with occasional boulders to scramble over or slide down. We hiked in as the sun began to set and everyone else was hiking out, so we had the pools of hot water to ourselves we arrived- perfect for a little quiet skinny dipping and a peaceful beer.

And then this guy arrived. Just after we got comfortable (eg naked and drinking). I warned him, in case he was squeamish, that there were naked chicks in the vicinity. He wasn't, and after a brief chat, we learned that he had also been in town for the ultimate tournament. Thus considered a kindred spirit, we invited him in and offered him a beer. He declined the beer, but hopped in for a quick soak. He only stayed for a little while, citing a lack of headlamp and a long drive back to Phoenix as excuses. Apparently, there's a tourney in Tempe last weekend, and he might know a women's team that needs a woman, so I gave him my number.

Which turned out to be a very good decision. We lingered another half an hour or so, enjoying the warmth and the stars coming out into the moonless night. Our hike out was slow, with only my headlamp on the trail occasionally tricky terrain (like the rope-assisted scrambles), Allee in flip-flops, and all three of us in a hot-spring-soak induced tranquility. But, when we finally made it to the car, my headlamp fading as the batteries died, we noticed a jeep parked behind me with Arizona plates and a "Play Ultimate" sticker. Shit- the guy's still in there somewhere. Without a headlamp or any water, as he told us earlier.

We drove up the road, where I found cell reception and two messages "Hey- I think I might be lost" and "Are you guys out of the canyon yet?" I tried to call, but it didn't go through. I replied that we were out, he must be on a side canyon somewhere, and that we were going to run home for more headlamps and too dump the flip-flop florida girl off in bed before coming back down.

We hurried back, prepared. Water, lights, and wool hats (it cools off quick at night still). About half way down the trail, a few side canyons meet, and in the dark, it'd be pretty easy to start up the wrong one, so I had a pretty good idea where he might be. As we returned to the trailhead, we found the lights of a park ranger, and saw another driving up the jeep-trail to the peak. Apparently, he had called for help. We introduced ourselves to Ranger Michelle, who seemed pretty pleased to have our help, since we were far more prepared than she was for night hiking in the canyon. Once we told her that we were fellow park-people, we got into action. The park's plan had been to drive the powerline roads to look for him, and if that didn't work, they would have gone to a fly-over.

Luckily for the rangers and the lost boy, we had a pretty good idea where he might be, making a foot-search the much more practical option. We hit the trail, at a pretty good pace this time, pausing to yell in unison and listen to our echos and the lack of response. We had a nice chat with Michelle. Her partner, the road driver, sat as back-up at the trailhead. Finally, about a mile down, we heard a call back from up a steep side canyon- "Kate?" A quick scramble and I found him, quite happy to see me, only a couple hundred meters from the proper trail.

I'm not sure a boy has ever been so happy to see me. Lost, alone on a cold, moonless night in a canyon like that would have to be pretty scary. I gave him a hug, some water, and a headlamp, and we headed back down to Amo and Ranger Michelle. Apparently, he had hiked almost the whole way up the side canyon's steep, rough terrain before becoming convinced that he was really lost, and then trying to come back down, disoriented in darkness. He was scared and tired, but nothing seemed to be really bruised but his ego. I tried to chatter about ultimate and such on the hike out, to distract him from beating himself up too much.

Really, it probably could have happened to anybody who was feeling a little too confident. It's just a quick little hike, I won't need any water. I'll be out before it gets too dark, I won't need a headlamp. I couldn't really be lost and need help, could I? I do stupid stuff like that too. I mean, we just had 1 dying lamp, a little water, a few beers, improper footwear, and we had neglected to tell anyone else where we were going. But, we were in a group, and i'm pretty familiar with the trail, even in the dark. But it's a good lesson that it pays to be prepared, especially on the little trips that I take for granted. Allee had remarked on how prepared we were in the first place, "like little girl-scouts," I think she said, but it's nice to be reminded why the desert has taught me to do that. Because even if I've remembered not to be stupid, someone else might be.

So now, I've got a place to stay if I ever go to Phoenix. Amo and I were already considering a little Arizona trip in a few weeks- which is good timing now that someone owes us a beer or two.

Happy Birthday!

YAY Yesterday! 2009 is flying by, my birthday has come and gone already. I think it was a good one though- I like the feel of this 24 thing much better that 23 thing i did last year. I started off the day by calling my mother, to thank her for having me, obviously, and she rounded up my father and sister for the traumatic family tradition of loud, out-of-key and off-rhythm vocalizations that pass for singing at our house. Waiting for me to make the coffee (this was 6 am) my roommate, Amorita asked, "Why are you holding the phone so far away from your ear?" That's a prengaman-birthday!

Work was pleasant, the sun was shining, the wind occasionally took a break from howling, and we hiked to some pretty neat plots in the Gale Hills with high diversity. After work, Amorita and I used the excuse of my birthday to throw our first party in the apartment. We invited all our coworkers (since we don't really have any other friends) and a few of the ultimate frisbee folks, and bought a lot of tequila and limeade. 6 batches of margaritas later, we proclaimed the event a smashing success. There was hardly anywhere to sit and plenty to drink, but no one seemed to mind. It was a huge mess to clean up this morning, so that's a sign that people had fun right?

In case I needed any other reasons to feel pleased with myself besides the anniversary of my birth, an excellent party, and a sunny weekend off-work, my refrigerator was just approved by the NYTimes. That's right, the most viewed article in the NYT online site right now is about the 11 best foods that you aren't eating. But I am apparently smarting than everyone else, because it's basically a list of my favorite foods. Beets and swiss chard are currently in my fridge, and I just finished off my cabbage and tofu stir-fry, which features a lot of turmeric. Blueberries in the freezer for breakfast smoothies. I loved everything pumpkin, seeds, flesh, and convenient cans. I make awesome pumpkin cornbread with lots of cinnamon. Prunes? duh- they are a perfect backpacking snack. I have lived off prunes and peanut butter, not that I care to repeat that adventure... We just bought pomegranate juice actually, for jazzing up the margaritas, so I can check that off too. Lastly, there are sardines in the cupboards, they aren't my favorite, but I'll cook them into a dried food dinner that needs a little protein and salt. Yep- that's all 11. It's always nice to read something that tells you that you are right. I think the over emphasis on certain "miracle" foods instead of focusing overall on a healthy, diverse diet of fresh food is misleading, but I'm still going to bask in my diet's success. Which is making me hungary.

Happy New Year!

The past two years my new year's resolutions have been pretty resounding successes. 2007- I baked all my own bread. I started the year relying on baking powder biscuits, but by the end I had successful sourdough, hearty-whole wheat, bagels, flatbreads, and baguette. In 2008 I bought bread again (it's hard to bake in the backcountry on a campstove) but decided to dedicate more time to reading for fun and find gainful employment. I'd consider it mostly a success on both counts. This year, however, I'm considering resolving too many things that require too much time.

Resolutions: Spend more time writing, more time climbing, actually go to the pool and swim occasionally, be stronger, be faster, be braver, no cavities, help my ankles finally heal, save money for retirement and grand travel plans, figure out where I might want to go for grad school, make new friends, keep the old, send more letters.

Resolutions are a tricky thing- new year, new leaf, we all hold such high expectations for a few shiny weeks before we settle back into another year. I had lunch with friends last week when the subject turned to resolutions. One is vowing to have no boyfriends this year, the other, vows to lower her bad cholesterol. I'm not sure I'd feel attached to either goal, but I'm jealous that they simplified their lists. Mine still needs some work. I already cut plenty. But it's a big, brand new year before us, so I'll see what I can do. Whatever you've decided to do this year, good luck and happy new year!!