Unsung San Juan Treasures

February-March 2004

This is an article from WaveLength Magazine, available in print in North America and globally on the web.
To download a pdf copy of the magazine click here: > DOWNLOAD

by Deborah Leach with Beth Mairs

"We were camped on an island which had pits thought to be used in ceremony for the (now extinct) Plano Indians”, says Beth Mairs, of Wild Women Expeditions. “As the group gazed in the direction of the pit we were to explore the next day, an unfamiliar figure strode towards the fire circle, wearing flowing robes, face paint, and beads. Our transformed female paddlemate was wearing a frumpy dress, make-up and a hat over her shaved head. We laughed hysterically seeing a ‘nice lady’ morph out of quick-dry shorts and Tevas. This kind of whacky sense of humour and spirit happens when trips are tailored to gals or guys only.“

Beth was introduced to paddling the Ontario way—going to camp ‘up north’ for the summer when she was ten. She got hooked on canoeing and tripping, becoming a guide in the 1970s—a novelty for a woman in those days.

Today, she only hires women and has had fantastic experiences with all female trips. Beth believes the advantage of single gender trips is that all jobs are valued equally— navigating, portaging, sterning, map reading, cooking and cleaning.

Together with J Wallace she authored Recipes for Wild Women: a canoe tripper’s cookbook and guide. They promote their book as a playful and informative guide to planning your own scrumptious canoe trip. Wild Women Expeditions prepares gourmet meals and it is usually three days into the trip before campers realize they aren’t eating any meat.

Their adventures include kayaking on Lake Superior, cycling and dog sledding. Check out WWE and BUSHGirl products at www.wildwomenexp.com. Here’s a taste from the book.

BETH’S BANNOCK

Prepare before the trip:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups barley flour
1 cup blue corn flour
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
2/3 cup margarine
optional: 2/3 cup skim milk powder
At the campsite, add: 2 cups water

Add water slowly, kneading the mixture as you go. You should end up with a stiff dough. There are many methods possible to bake the bannock. We prefer oiling a cast iron frying pan, patting the bannock mixture in so that it takes up the pan and is flat and round. Cover with a second frying pan or a large lid. Place on top of the coals of a fire or on low heat on a camp stove. Bake on one side until you first smell it. Then flip it. Bake on the other side until you smell it. It should smell good, like baked bread, not burnt. A rule of outdoor cooking: you can NEVER leave the bannock once it is cooking. The time lapse between smelling good and burning to hell is very, very short. Believe us.

Once the bannock is baked, slice it into wedges and serve with peanut butter, honey and cheese.

© Deborah Leach is a nutrition and kayaking consultant in Victoria, BC.