Lassen Volcanic National Park

( Text up front, pictures at the bottom of this post, enjoy )

I suffered a hard drive failure on my computer, so this blog is being thrown together quickly before I leave work on a Friday. I am sorry if it sucks.

I made it back from Lassen Volcanic Nation Park. I enjoyed this park a lot. The soil was soft and easy on my joints, lots of trees meant lots of shade, and the elevation was low enough as to not be a problem. I had a blast. I hiked in 5-7 miles to rainbow lake saturday night, and then did 12-15 miles Sunday to run out to Butte lake, stopping at CinderCone and then back to the car. I can see myself heading out here again in the near future. Hopefully I can motivate some friends to come with me next time.

I made the Amaranth soup with Seitan. It was as delicious on the trail as it was at home. I really liked amaranth, and I will be using it on more trips. I was dealing with strong winds, and less than ideal fuel for my stove. Boiling lots of water was out of the question, so I used smaller chunks of glutten. It turned out a little spongy, but it is hard to make one serving of gluten under any conditions. This meal was a success.


Anyways, here are some pictures from the trip, click for bigger picture, visit my flickr page for more complete photo collection.


I entered via the SouthWest entrance

Sulphur works is closed, but here is a little guy spewing out some gases

I made my way back to the lakes from summit lakes trail head

And camped at rainbow lake

In the morning I ran out to Butte Lake, and saw this volcano called Cinder Cone along the way.

This is the view from inside the volcano. There are 3 people in this picture.

A single tree struggles to survive on the side of Cinder Cone.

A nice shot of Mt Lassen.

here are some pictures of food from the trip.

The uncooked glutten

Potato was diced fresh, but the rest of the veggies were dried from fresh at home.

Cooking over the pop can. Isopropano is a crappy fuel. And the winds weren't helping much.

Dinner is served, a wilderness version of candle lit dinner.

With the flash it looks like this. I made it with extra broth. I think it helps make the full sensation last longer.

Breakfast was porridge of corn, wheat, oat, barley, millet, and amaranth. Seasoned with honey, allspice, and cinnamon. I would walk 14 miles before I ate another meal. Better than my usual cream of rice.

Amaranth and Harvest Soup

(Text at top, Pictures follow, recipes linked in right side column)

No rice, no beans, no lentils, no problem !

First lets get out some bisquick, instant potatoes, and dry milk. I'm joking, put that stuff back on the shelf. I think you will like what I came up with better. At first I was struggling, I kept wanting to use the forbidden items. Rice noodles, tofu, textured soy protein etc. But then, inspired by ancient brewing practices in the Americas, I decided to use amaranth seeds.

Amaranth seed is an amazing pseudo-grain, providing nearly 100% of the required amino acids per 150 grams. The flavor is very enjoyable, nutty, sweetly similar to malted barely. The texture in my hands is a delicate crunchy shell, encasing a soft chewy interior. In Aztec culture, amaranth was believed to be a magical food that provided superior endurance and strength. Amaranth was food for royalty, and an important part of the native religions in the Americas. The Spanish forbid the cultivation of the plant because of its use in non-Christian religious ceremonies, and the food disappeared for hundred of years.

I'm pairing Amaranth seed with wheat to provide me with a complete protein diet, as high in food value as red meat, fish, or poultry. I've decided to make fake meat on the trail from vital wheat gluten. It's a simple, but hour long, process of mixing some seasonings and water with some gluten powder. I've specifically planned this trip to allow me cooking time.

Today's dish is a simple Amaranth soup with Seitan (wheat meat) and fresh harvest vegetables. I walked out of the store with onions, snap peas, red bell pepper, potatoes, and corn. Your market might have something else in season.

I've also prepared a chimichurri inspired vinaigrette to finish off the flavors of the dish. It's simply a bunch of parsley, garlic, EVOO, champagne vinegar (or lime juice // other acid) , and red wine. Notice that by bringing wine and acid, I will have a drink as well as a dressing.



I started by preparing some Seitan, or wheat meat

It's boiled for about an hour in chicken broth and 10% soy sauce

and then cooled in broth

before being sliced and used like meat

Dice potatoes take the longest to cook

so they go in first, cooked in broth from Seitan preparation

Amaranth is a tiny little seed from a flowering weed

I add it after the potato has had five minutes in the pot, and let it cook 8 minutes

before adding the veggies.

In preparation, it's very beautiful

The fixing for a little Argentinian inspired sauce

Finished sauce, let water separate and take seasoned
acidic oil on the trail.

The final dish as eaten for dinner last night

For the trail, I dehydrated some corn, onion, celery and pepper. Less than 1/4 ounce for great fresh flavors. A huge weight savings, and almost no noticeable change in flavor profile. Much easier to chop and use in the wilderness.