Black Moshannon Day 3 – Vegan Leftovers

The window shares its forecast of gray and clouds.  Not wanting to miss a final bird and photo opportunity, we all dress and quickly make our way to the bog for a final look.  Although I stand in the same bird hotspot as yesterday, there is barely a peep.  Usually this much quiet early in the morning means bad weather with animals hunkering down.  A breeze seems to answer my question as we make our way to the boardwalk.  We take our last photos, admiring the distinguished feeling of the bog.  It’s as if millions of years have passed and the water is still brown, the lilies  continue their fight to the  surface, and ducks still hide amongst the reeds.  There is a smell of age, almost like a cedar chest keeping family heirlooms safe.  It’s a shame we have to leave because the schedule for the park says that there is to be a boat tour today to investigate the bog.   I’ll keep that on the bucket list for the future.  Now the breeze has escalated into a gust and we are feeling the cold across our fingers.  Definitely time to get back for breakfast.

We start to pack as Rich prepares some hot oatmeal with apples and maple brown rice syrup.  Conversation has slowed down as we all regret having to get back to our busy schedules.  As we eat the warm porridge, I think of  how this trip has allowed us to get to know each other better and to realize that new friendships can be made later in life.   It’s a warm feeling.  The sound of the coffee pot hitting the table reminds me that it’s time to leave.  Rich and Annarita wash the dishes while I pack lunches for the trip home.  I find creativity in the leftovers of hummus, veggies and flat bread, which I’m sure will taste great later.  Sharing food is bonding, and it can happen anywhere — even a car.  Looking forward to the next trip and a new tire.

Black Moshannon Day 2 – Vegan Blueberry Corn Griddle Cakes

I was awakened by something like a door slam thud at about 3:00 AM.   Unfortunately, I did not see a bear behind our site.  I say that only because it is really exciting to see large wild mammals nowadays, considering man’s structures are crowding them out.  I finally go back to sleep and the next thing I know I smell coffee.  It’s so wonderful to have a smell rouse you when you are between worlds.  Rich and Annarita had already broken out some apple coffee cake from Rich’s mom and were having a pre-breakfast munch. The sun seems to be zigzagging a path from the window to the trees, as if to beckon us out.

Rich and I decide to hike down to the lake while Annarita stays back to enjoy some quiet reading.  When we arrive, there is a beautiful mist sweeping its way across the water.  We stay on the water’s edge walking on the road until we hit an area with tons of birds.  I can make out the “ner-ner” of Nuthatches and see Chickadees bouncing in the branches.  Then, I hear a bunch of woodpeckers calling.  Some of them are  Downy and some are Red-Bellied.  As I tune my binocs to another bird, Rich shrieks “Pileated!”.  Sure enough, I see a crow sized bird fly off with the  unmistakable tuxedo wing markings.  Nearby, I spot a tree covered with the elongated holes of a Pileated.  It’s just astounding how powerful their beaks are.  We lose track of the bird, but note that the time is close to 9:00 am.  Birds are creatures of habit, and we know where we need to be tomorrow morning!

We continue down the road where we find a cute lean-to  that I just have to try out for myself.  I wonder if it was a scouting project?  Eventually we reach the Hay Trail.  This trail leads us deep into the woods where it is completely silent except for the occasional leaf jumping off its branch.  I breathe a deep sigh as it’s been a long time since I’ve been in the woods without any sign of man in four directions.  There are ferns, leaves of crimson color and lichens that appear like little steps on trees.  It’s one of those perfect ecosystems they make you study in school.  In fact, it’s almost a downer when we finally reach the trail blaze for Seneca, which leads us back to the cabin.

Annarita greets us from the porch and we are all ready for a mega breakfast.  Rich goes to work on making some Blueberry Corn Griddle Cakes, with a recipe by Christina Pirello, a popular vegan chef in Philadelphia. Some things are perfect just as they are, and this is one of them!  What really makes them tasty is the lemon zest with the blueberries.  Fearing that our frozen blueberries would make the batter too thin,  Rich opts to make a sauce out of them and promptly serves the griddle cakes with our fave vegan apple sage sausage.  They are a golden blue heaven.  Rich insists on using his travel mug that looks like a camera lens.  Smile!

With the sun holding out and a prediction of rain in our future, we opt to wash dishes later.  We set out for the ranger station to learn more about the park and to choose our next hike.  The station is closed, but on the map we find a bog path that looks interesting, and we decide to check it out.  We discover a long boardwalk leading out into Black Moshannon’s bog, which turns out to be one of the largest bogs in PA.  There is interpretive signage giving tidbits about the wetlands,  including the difference between  three popular aquatic plants — Spatterdock, Water Lillies and Water Cells.   It’s so nice to finally note the differences!  Sphagnum Moss, which is plentiful,  appears in bright green patches in the bog growth.  I had only ever seen it dried for use in potted plants.  Who knew it grew like this?  The wind starts to pick up hinting at a storm, so we make our way back to camp.

After cleaning up  dishes and putting beds back in order,  the next priority is to start drying out the damp wood.  Rich sets to work making a tee-pee style fire.  The wood bubbles as it lets out its moisture and things begin to get smoky.  Around this time, we notice that one of the tires on the car is low.  Not good since our trip home is 4 hours away.  Annarita and I decide to make it our mission to find a gas station and some dry wood.  We hop in the car, and as we exit the park, we notice a sign for the Black Moshannon Lodge.  I quickly turn in the driveway, where we spy a pickup truck parked outside.  Thinking it can’t hurt to ask for directions,   I open the door to the lodge expecting to find a lobby, and instead find myself in someone’s living room.  I can just make out a woman sitting at a table in the next room.  I don’t know whether to bolt or just act casual.   I call out to her and she finally offers me a smile that makes it apparent she’s not holding a shotgun. Apparently the whole lodge is a rental as a cabin, so I had truly just walked in on a family!  They aren’t local, but the woman’s husband mentions a gas station about eight miles away.  So, back in the car I go, and we continue down the road.

I happen to notice a sign for a regional airport.  Now my thinking is that an airport would certainly have an air pump for airplane tires. We decide to take the risk.  We follow the road for about a half mile until we reach a clearing.  What we think is an airport is actually a factory with a dead end sign beyond it — sheesh!.  As we start to turn around, we see a group of professionally dressed hunters.  Feeling already foolish, I wave hello and stick my head out the window to explain my far fetched theory of airports and tires.  The hunters laugh as they explain the airport has been defunct for many years, but encourage me to pull over.  Apparently they have an air compressor in one of their vehicles.  Maybe my logic was off, but this was a stroke of luck!   I back the car into place, and as the youngest hunter set about connecting the hose, we chat it up.  Most of them are from Northeast Philadelphia, and we joke about how friendly Philly can be. They have all been hunting together for a while and are using muzzle loaded guns and compound bows.  As a vegan, I’m not a hunting fan, but these men seem to be by the book and extremely respectful of the land and how things are done.  They engage us with stories of bears, coyotes, deer, ducks porcupines and turkeys.  The most important thing we learn is that some of the hiking trails are considered part of the hunting area.  So, it’s imperative that campers wear bright colors-especially hats.  One hunter mentions that he saw a bicyclist wearing a black and white outfit that looked just like the back of a deer.  I was glad I was at least wearing a big lavender ski hat.  After sharing some trail mix and more stories, we finally get back on the road to find some firewood.  It turns out a house has some for sale on honor system right near the park entrance.  We deposit $5 and are back at our cabin in a few minutes.

Rich finally has some hot coals, but it starts to drizzle.  That means dinner will have to be prepped quickly, but first things first!  We warm some flat bread over the fire as a snack with hummus.  Then, Annarita and I start to prepare foil packs for dinner.  Foil packs are an old staple from scouting trip days because they are an easy way to prepare meals that cater to individual tastes.  Laying down  a large piece of foil, we fill it with cubed potatoes, carrots, onions, broccoli rabe and vegan apple sage sausages.  We swirl some olive oil, italian seasoning and/or cajun seasoning on top.  Then, we fold it up, adding another sheet of foil and repeating the folds to make sure it is protected from burning.  In the coals they go!

While the foil packs are cooking, we prep some Hot Banana Boats, another scout favorite.  Keeping the banana  in its peel, we slit the banana lengthwise, without actually cutting all the way through.  Then, we stuff it with chocolate bits and a little bit of trail mix.  Then, like the foil packs, we wrap them up, making sure to notice which end is up.  As we finish wrapping, Rich takes the foil packs out of the fire and then places the bananas in their place.  Time to feast!

Never doubt the power of vegetables simply roasted in a fire.  The potatoes have just a hint of brown and the olive oil and broccoli rabe create a bath of moisture for the rest of the veggies, similar to a stew.  Add the warmth of melted chocolate with bananas, and you are sure to unleash some vigor for more storytelling.  Well, actually all the sugar must have gone to our heads because Annarita and Rich ended up playing cards, while I quickly documented our day.  Sadly, our time to explore the park is running out.  Weekends are way too short.

Black Moshannon Day 1 – Vegan Cream Cheese, Spinach and Bean Wraps

This time we wanted to drag a friend along with us for a last minute vegan camping experience.  The state park ” slot machine” directory came up with Black Moshannon for our weekend.  The park is part of the Allegheny Mountain range located  near Philipsburg, and is well known for its beautiful bogs and pristine environment.  We arrive at the park entrance late at night and a bit stressed, after many winding highways and tractor trailers.  After crossing over two small bridges that hint of marshland, we finally spot  the cabins.  They are nestled together in a patch of old growth forest.

The cabin we chose was a deluxe cottage, as nothing else was available.  It has a swanky kitchen including a stove, oven and a  large table that can seat six.  The second room offers the normal two bunk arrangement on both walls.  It doesn’t have a fireplace, but it does have two heaters, which we gladly fire up.

After bunks are fixed up, we pull out an easy dinner of Cream Cheese, Spinach and Bean Wraps that we prepared before the trip.  This is our vegan version of a recipe we found in a Sunset cookbook.  The wraps are rather simple to make —  a combination of two fillings.  The first  filling is a combination of 8 oz. vegan cream cheese, one package of frozen spinach, and a splash of vinegar, horseradish, Nayonaise, Agave Syrup and some fave herbs.  The second filling is just the beans mashed slightly with a bit of their liquid.  Just take a wrap, layer the two fillings and then roll up.  They are the perfect swirl of flavor.   We also munch on a new trail mix — our guest, Annarita, came up with a winning combination which you can find on our “Recipe” page.  It was the result of a visit to Whole Foods Market with an emphasis on organic, organic, organic!

We spend the rest of the evening cleaning up and chatting about possible hikes for the next day.  Going to bed is especially nice, because the moon is shining through a large floor to ceiling window in the rear of the cabin.  It’s like sleeping in a bird blind, and I’m hoping to either be awakened by a woodpecker or bear.

Cowan’s Gap Day 2 – Vegan Ice Cream Ball

We awaken to sprinkling rain.  Although we are a bit disappointed not to be able to cook outside, we decide to give the vegan French Toast a try using the cook top in the cabin.  Using a flax seed mixture as an egg replacer, I create a paste and then add in the milk, sweetener and spices.  It smells heavenly, but will it have that crisp texture once it is cooked?  After dunking a slice of the whole wheat bread in the mixture, I toss it into Rich’s faux buttered pan.  It seems to brown fine, but it just still feels spongy, not quite the firm texture I remember from my scouting days.  We tried a few more rounds only to get the same texture.  The taste is delicious, although I make a note to add some nutmeg next time.  I will definitely need to dream up a better way to thicken the milk bath – perhaps arrowroot powder.  Still, once paired with some fresh ground coffee, it makes a hearty breakfast, and we are ready for a hike around the lake.

The lake at Cowan’s Gap is small, but pretty.  With on and off rain showers, the lake is empty except for fishermen today.  Every now and then we hear the sound of a bullfrog and a quick “plop” as we walk by.  Off to the right there is the Brightbill Nature Center.  We are lucky enough to see a Ruby Throated Hummingbird doing its air ballet in front of a small feeder.  However, our dog Lucci is an Italian Greyhound and not prone to sitting still, so we do not get to linger.  With rain showers in the distance, we head off back to camp.  Lucci is entertained by the zany chipmunks as they squeak and scurry off to their downed trees and he is definitely panting by the time we get back to the cabin.

Once refreshed with some Vitamin C drinks, we started working on the Gorp mix.  Gorp is the name for trail mix used by scouts.  I don’t even remember what it stands for, but it is basically a fruit, nut, cereal mixture.  If you search the web, you will find most of them to be a ton of sugary cereals, and less fruits and nuts nowadays.  Not really a big surprise considering the state of health in our country.  We’ve decided to stay with the more traditional style with healthy rice chex cereal, roasted peanuts, dried cranberries and dark chocolate candies.  Stirring all those yummy ingredients in a big pot reminded me of being in Junior Troop 1140, but one bite quickly proved my memory wrong – it was way too tart.  Rich quickly got to work and hand-picked every dried cranberry out of the batch.  Note to self – keep it simple and stick with raisins next time.  Now, what to do with all of those dried cranberries?   Luckily, mistakes are the mother of innovation, and we discovered that they made a lovely addition to Rich’s tempeh chicken salad.  He had pre-prepared the sandwich filling so we would have it ready to go in the afternoon.  Good call as we were feeling a bit tired anyway.  The tangy cranberry was a great foil for the sweetness of the Nayonaise.  I love it when hacks prove delicious.

After each meal I walk up to the rest station to clean off the dishes.  Back in scouts, we would have to heat up a bucket of water over a fire and then have a separate rinsing bucket.  I don’t miss the time it took to do that, as I like to be out hiking or birding, but I did keep one part of the ritual – the dunk bag.  The dunk bag is a simple drawstring bag made of netted nylon.  You can make your own or pick one up at an outdoor shop.  It basically allows you to carry your dirty dishes to wash and then hang your clean dishes to dry.  Sometimes I whirl it around like I did when I was a kid to speed up the process.  I still enjoy the process of washing the dishes, much like I enjoy the process of camping.  Just focusing on the suds and each dish — it’s focusing on these little things that are restful for our minds.

When I get back to camp, Rich is resting in his own way – playing the guitar and singing out by the picnic table.  He’ll do anything from Counting Crows to John Denver.  I guess that makes him more of a country/crossover guy.  We tried to come up with a list of sing-along type stuff, but it was hard.  We realized that most of those songs come from camp and that camps really vary with music.  I can remember songs like “500 Miles”, “The Little Jeep”, “Sipping Cider Through a Straw”, and “Make New Friends”.  It seems like the only song we both knew was “100 Bottles of Beer on the Wall”, and that probably wasn’t cool for camp.  It makes me wonder what they are singing at camp nowadays and if they are even passing these silly songs down any more.

Rich was just using his hatchet to split some wood as I heard some thunder in the distance.  It looks like we’d be cooking inside again.  This meal was going to be on Rich since he had a good background in southwestern cooking from his days at Chili’s Restaurant.  Instead of just tossing the pineapple in the pot with the rest of the tomatoes and beans, we decided to take advantage of the wood stove again.  We skewered the pineapples with a stick and grilled them over the fire until brown in places.  When you have a group of friends around a campfire, this can be a great task to assign.  It keeps people busy and allows them to be part of the meal making.  The end result was a heavenly chili with a touch of sweetness and cilantro – a good combo.  I think something Rich and I have in common is a general love of savory foods.  Sweet potato pie, caramelized onions, olive oil and ice cream (yes, a friend actually made this for us one day!) – it’s all amazing.  We served the chili with some tortilla chips and then pulled out the trail maps to plan the next day.

Once plans were made, we decided to experiment with our friend’s ice cream maker.  It’s one of those large plastic balls with an inside thermal chamber.  The idea is  churn it yourself — soccer style.  If you don’t have one of these fancy balls, you an always make your own version using a large coffee can with a smaller can inside.  You basically put the cream in the inside chamber, and then surround it with salt and ice in the outside chamber.  We wanted to use something cream-like, so we tried Silk Vanilla Soy Creamer.  Then we started kicking and tossing this ball all around the cabin.  Considering the bad weather, it ended up being something fun to do.  In about 45 min. we opened it up to find things getting firm and we added some defrosted bing cherries and vegan chocolate chips.  With 15 min. more soccer play, we had a cold and creamy delight.  Of course this couldn’t compare with a Ben&Jerry’s, but it was definitely tasty — more like an ice milk.  It’s hard to say how we will improve this next time, but I think we may try coconut milk and a sweetener.  I just hope we burned some calories, because after all of this food, we need it!