Personal entry: Camping without gaining weight
Ed. Note: This is a personal entry on my recent trip to the mountains of Southern Oregon. If you enjoy Almost Fit, please leave a comment or consider having Almost Fit delivered to your inbox. Thanks.
As the title of this post indicates, despite my best efforts to the contrary, my camping trip at Umpqua’s Last Resort was a dietary success.
After 7 days of camping in the mountains of Southern Oregon and then 3 days at an incredible ocean view rental on the Oregon coast, I have returned unscathed by the scale.
In hindsight it would have been interesting to write down what I ate and drank during our excursion, but I was too busy playing and hiding from the sun. However, here is what I remember:
Friday: Beer. Beef. Beef with Beer, and a side of chicken. A slice of squash, chased with a beer. Packaged ice cream bar (be still my beating heart). Lots of almonds and a beer. Oatmeal that included flax seeds. Tortilla chips and beer. Beer with a side of sour cream and onion potato chips. Peanut butter and apricot jam on 12 grain bread, with beer.
Saturday: Beer. A “cheeseburger hotdog” (don’t ask what’s in it - I didn’t). Carne Asada with guacamole, cheese, salsa, and a flour tortilla. Beer. Strawberries, blueberries, and cherries. Several beers. Gran Marnier, and a shot or two of Woodford Reserve whiskey. Followed by beer. And almonds. Ice cream and cake.
Lather, rinse, and repeat for the next 5 days.
You get the idea.
Mix in a random watermelon cracked over the rocks at the swimming hole, multiple green salads, and some eggs and bacon for breakfast, and you have a portrait of a workable vacation diet, including indulgences.
Fortunately for me, it was blazing hot, which meant I spent a fair amount of energy trying to stay cool in any way possible. This typically included swimming, dam building (building a swimming hole) and jumping from rocks into ice-cold rivers, as well as hiking to incredibly beautiful waterfalls and lounging. And while I’m not certain that lounging counts as exercise, when it’s in the 90’s I think just about any motion burns calories, including fanning yourself under a shady tree.
On the fishing side, sad to say there wasn’t much to be had. We drove up a fire trail to a local lake only to be greeted by a shore full of dead fish. Apparently there had been an algae bloom in the local lakes and it was killing the fish. I haven’t confirmed that, but it was what I was told by a friend who had read it on his way up. At any rate, very little fishing took place, but that was alright - even just making the mindspace for it was peaceful. In a sort of Zen substitution for the serenity of fishing, I spent a good amount of time creating natural art pieces, such as the cairn pictured above.
Other random activities of note: I spent a fair amount of time working on my ukulele skills; my wife and her mother are both oil painters, so they worked on paintings for the new cabin (3 generations of painters in that photo); we had a dedication ceremony for one of the cabins to commemorate the passing of April’s great-grandmother last fall; and last but certainly not least, not a single case of poison oak was had, which is a big accomplishment with two active children.
Our next stop was Port Orford, Oregon, for a taste of France. Stay tuned.
Oh, and I haven’t forgotten World Domination…Soon. Very soon.
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Sounds like that trip was just what the doctor ordered. I find that when I go on active vacations (or just make a point to do a lot on foot or learn a new activity) my weight always stays stable. On vacation you’re relaxing and usually happy, so emotional eating or eating because your bored just doesn’t happen. You eat when you’re hungry and enjoy it!
Hey Jeremy
Wow, sounds like you all are having a blast, and from the look of those pictures, simply amazing. Pictures communicate effectively, especially here! Yes, I will stay tuned, and please keep us posted!
Sounds like a great time. Living in the midwest, I would love to travel to the northwest especially to a place like where you are at. Like I said in response to your other post, the activity I did on the camping trip I went on made up for a lot of what I ate and drank. Basically everything to do involves some sort of physical activity. Have fun with the rest of your trip.
@Jenn: Hey there Jenn - Yep, it really was good for me on many levels. And you are right - the emotional eating side of things is way more in check. Hadn’t even thought of that, but I know that we snacked very little - not by intention, but by circumstance. We had those sour cream and onion chips after we came down the mountain from a hike, for example. Earned a few I’d say.
@ Miguel: Hey there Miguel! I will try to post more pictures as well - I know I love them on other sites, so I should do more of that here.
@ Tom: Hey Tom - I’ve really only driven through the midwest a couple of times, and while it seemed like a great place to raise a family for example, I know that we are “addicted” to the mountains, rivers, green, and ocean here, despite the tough weather for the other half of the year. When we were deciding where to live we considered places as far away as Chile and New Zealand, but in the end, the Northwest was our choice. We love it here - and you are definitely welcome to come on over to the coast and share in it
Sounds like you had a most excellent time. Love the cairn. Too bad about the fish. There is nothing better than a cold beer on a hot day. What a beautiful place. I am just about due for a trip to the mountains. My brother lives in Calgary so I hope to go that way in August. They actually live in Brag Creek right in the foothills. Banff is close and so is Kananaskis. I can smell that clean mountain air.
The camper is getting loaded onto the truck us I type. I got it mostly packed today and even got the gardens weeded. I am so excited. I have some shopping to do tomorrow and hopefully Saturday we will be good to go. John has to get the boat ready. The canoe has to stay home. Rats! I wanted to do some paddling. I think I will go and buy myself a new dinghy. That should do the trick. Everybody else has one. I think I will buy some dumb prizes and we could have dinghy races.
The photos are spectacular … what beautiful country.
I just got back from Lake Como, Italy a few weeks ago. While it was also very beautiful, your photos make me realize how much more I have to see of this country!!
Susan
http://www.catapultfitnessblog.com
sounds so amazerelaxing.
Im jealous and also seeing this as a reminder to pack up the toddler and the husband and git back out there and PLAY.
M.
@Christine: Hey there Christine! I know the “pre-trip” sense of excitement you’re talking about. Have fun! You know I have never been to Banff but I have heard that it is utterly out of this world.
@ Susan: We are just dying to get to Italy, but with the exchange rate and two kids (and that little bit about me quitting my day job), it doesn’t look likely. So we’ve decided to explore the places near us. Oregon is LOADED with natural beauty, and unlike many of the places we visited in California while we lived there, they are virtually untouched. On a hike here you may come across a few people during the entire hike, no litter, and clean, clean air. Or you can head west and go on a wine tasting tour at world class vineyards. And all within 1/2 hr of Portland. Pretty incredible.
@ Mizfit: Hey there Miz - you are spot on - it really was exactly what we needed. Play is always good!
About the exchange rate — it was brutal! I also left my day job (today is my official last day!) to focus full time on my education (first my NESTA Fitness Nutrition Certification with more to follow) and converting my blog into a Fitness portal. If I hadn’t already booked and paid for the trip last September, no way I would have made those plans now.
Future trips will definitely be US-based in the near term, and I’d love to get to the great Northwest!!!!
Susan
http://www.catapultfitnessblog.com
The pictures look great and I hope you had a good trip. I love that region of the country probably the best. My family has a cabin in northern California (grandma is also oil painter). With the mountains, trees, rivers, lakes and ocean all within a couple hours of each other I think that area is hard to beat.
@Josh: Hey there Josh - I really do agree. When we were trying to find a place to settle down for a while (raising kids and whatnot), we traveled all over, from New Zealand to Asheville, NC, and wound up always leaning back toward the Northwest. We loved those places as well, but we really do consider the Northwest our home.
Too funny. I just sent your entry to my boyfriend because we’re going camping this weekend and he’s been working hard on his diet! Yes, he likes beer, salami, beer, sausage, 2 more beers, chips etc when he camps. I have been creating a camping menu that will be lighter and still full of energy for the two of us (tabbouleh anyone?!) But don’t worry, there will still be a lot of beer. And we’ll keep them cool while river rafting!
@Evan - Sounds like your boyfriend and I would have a great time hanging out, drinking beer and toasting pretty much anything over an open fire. But my wife did the same as you - she worked like crazy to have a bunch of healthier foods ready to go, knowing that we’d be supplementing with junk here and there.
Worst example of this? My friend K., from many years ago, once showed up for a week of camping with nothing more than a case of coke and a cooler full of frozen burritos. That was all the food he brought.
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