Kevin Callan is a wonderfully funny Canadian author and paddler. Recently he launched a video piece called Cooking with Kevin — Curry Couscous. Not only is it a great recipe, it’s fun to watch. Kevin is entertaining, as always. I have to laugh at the comments about the MSR Dragonfly. Still, it’s my stove of choice too.

Recently, my husband Bryan, my son Tobias, and I travelled to the Chiniguchi Waterway System near Ontario’s beautiful Temagami region. George, the sweet man who owns Sportsman’s Lodge Wilderness Resort on Kukagami Lake or Lake of the Owl in Wahnapitae, shuttled us to Matagamasi Lake. As with all our trips, the weather was wet and dreary.

We paddled the length of Matagamasi Lake up towards McCarthy Bay. We came across pictographs (probably close to 400 years old) on the rock walls just across from what looked to be a beautiful wilderness campsite.

Someone was already on the site so I my heart sank. We’d have to paddle a little longer in the rain. We decided that we would pull over on the site to lunch on its’ peninsula so we paddled around to the eastern side of the campsite to ask the occupant(s) if they would mind.

To my delight, we saw a man who looked familiar to me — Mike McIntosh, for whom I had created The Friends of Chiniguchi website a few years back. I recognized him right away even though we had never met before. It must have been from his photos or perhaps just in the kind way he greeted us.  Bill and Roula, our traveling companions, knew Mike from Friends of Temagami so we all exchanged our hellos and pulled over to unload the canoes. Before the trip we had discussed meeting up with Mike but I had assumed it would be later on in our journey.

As we came up to the central part of the site I could see that Mike had his tarp set up and underneath there was a steaming pot of something that smelled wonderfully woodsy. He graciously offered up some freshly brewed cedar tea. With the day being so miserable it was a welcome treat that warmed us to the core.

Some Natives burn cedar and believe it brings balance and attracts positive energy. It is also used as a traditional medicine because of its calming effects and its high Vitamin C content. Never use the bark or dried cedar. Be sure to keep in mind that some people are allergic to things like cedar tea. Pregnant women should not consume any amount of cedar tea.

To make cedar tea you need two cups of cedar greens for every cup of water. Just boil the greens for about 10 minutes and then let them steep for another 5 or 10 minutes. Remove the greens and enjoy with a little honey or maple sugar if you like your tea sweet.

We broke camp late the next morning and didn’t see Mike again… but that is another story that I will share around a campfire one evening.

He was with us in spirit as Roula had fallen in love with the soothing cedar brew and she made it at other times throughout our trip. It didn’t rain for the entire trip but it was pretty close to that so warming drinks were definitely in order.

To the left is a photo from the second day as we travelled through Flume Lake. It was a very pretty spot.

My eight year old is a big fan of hummus so we often include it in our backcountry meal plans. It’s fun for him to help make it and he loves to pulse the food processor. If you don’t have a food processor you can mash the ingredients with a fork or use a blender. Once dehydrated it will look like cracked earth. Here is one of his favorite recipes.

Sunny Garlic Hummus
Courtesy of A Fork in the Trail © Laurie Ann March 2008

Dehydration Time: 5–7 hours
Makes 2 to 4 servings

Hummus is one of the easiest things to make for a trail lunch, and this one has the sunny flavor of oranges.

1 19-ounce can chickpeas – rinsed and drained
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 teaspoon lime juice
2 cloves garlic
1 heaping teaspoon orange zest
2 tablespoons tahini
Pinch of kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon cracked black pepper

At Home
Combine and blend all the ingredients using a food processor or hand blender until you have a thick paste. Spread evenly on lined dehydrator trays, keeping the mixture about 1/4 inch thick. Dry for 5 to 7 hours or until the mixture crumbles and is thoroughly dry. Store in a medium ziplock freezer bag.

At Camp
Rehydrate the hummus using a formula of 1 1/2 parts dried mix to 1 part water. Wait 5 to 10 minutes and then add a little more water if it’s too dry. Serve as a dip with Greek pitas or your favorite crackers or use as a spread in a wrap.

Tip
If you need to increase your fat intake for cold-weather hiking, drizzle a little olive oil on the hummus just before you eat it.