Black Mountain Ridge - May 13, 2023

[scatman]

Eureka! Last week while doing my daily 2 mile walk, my daughter asked me about hardtack. I said, "You mean what the soldiers in the Civil War ate?" I then told her that maybe hardtack would make a good food to take on hiking and backpacking trips. So preparations for this hike began on Friday, as we made some hardtack - well, mostly my daughter made it while I took pictures.

A quick look at the recipe now:

- 2 cups of all purpose flour (we used 1 cup all purpose and 1 cup of whole wheat flour instead) - You know that Scatman needs his fiber.
- 1/2 Tbls. of salt
- 3/4 cup of water

Mix all together - might need to add just a touch more water (2 tsp.) if the dough is still sticky, then cut into squares and punch some small holes in each square, then bake in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees on one side, then flip each piece over, and then bake another 30 minutes. Once out of the oven, then let cool for about twenty minutes.


Before going in the oven


The final product after cooling, and they are as hard as a rock.

So I woke up Saturday morning and headed out to hike to the top of Black Mountain Ridge. I drove to the trailhead, and after hitting the trail it started to sprinkle, and then eventually it began to pour rain. I hustled over to a stand of gamble oak and put on my rain jacket, and also put my camera away in my day pack to keep it from getting wet. I was a bit discouraged thinking that I was going to have to turn around, but I made up my mind that I was going to at least reach the Avenues Twin Peaks before I tucked my tail between my legs and headed back to the trailhead. Once I got to the ridge just north of the northern summit, the rain had let up and was barely spitting at this point, so I decided to head on to Black Mountain. I might add for @TractorDoc's sake, that I used my newly acquired used Canon Rebel XT on this hike, along with a Canon Powershot SD100.

This was the weekend for wildflowers in the foothills here in Salt Lake. In the lower foothills, the arrowleaf balsamroot was blooming everywhere. As I gained elevation, the balsamroot was replaced by glacier lilies, all the way to the top of the ridge. Very beautiful indeed! Once on the ridge and heading east, I had one more rain shower to put up with before I could take the rain jacket off for good.



Arrowleaf balsamroot - the star of the show in the lower foothills


Raining hard at this point, so put my Rebel XT away and used the SD100


Western waterleaf was plentiful too lower down


Mules ear coming out. Not blooming yet, but give it a couple more weeks


Western stoneseed


Some lupine starting to grow


Hawk above


Rounding the north summit of the Avenues Twin Peaks


Running into a few glacier lilies at this point


I've seen quite a few of these so fat this year


Arrowleaf balsamroot still dominates the hillsides at this elevation


Looking back west towards the Avenues Twin Peaks


My destination ahead


Burro Peak in the rain and across the canyon


More glacier lilies


A look down City Creek Canyon


Elk droppings on the ridge


It might be time to take off the rain jacket?


More lilies


Snow covered mountains to the north above Centerville, as I start my climb to the top of Black Mountain Ridge


Some snow to deal with while heading up


Yes, I took a lot of pictures of these, with some spring beauties thrown in for good measure


First good look to the south at the Wasatch Front


More City Creek and the SLC International Airport beyond


They were everywhere heading up final ridge



More spring beauties


And spring parsley


The ROCK Benchmark, at 7793 feet


Now it was time to put the hardtack to the test.


I brought up my collapsible bowl that I use backpacking, and poured some water from my water bottle into it. The directions said that
you needed to soak the hardtack for 5-10 minutes to soften it up some so that one does not beak their teeth. I found that it too about
17 minutes of soaking to soften it up. Maybe it was the altitude, or the water being cold that caused the longer soaking time.

With seventeen minutes to spare, it gave me time to set up my tripod and take some pictures from up on top.


Summit(?) shot.


And the BCP greetting for @Rockskipper


Back to my lunch


And time to try the hardtack


One bite and you're hooked!

So Skipper, I think we should go into business together and make hardtack. We could call it the Skipper and Scat Run for the Hills Hardtack. Marketed to hikers/backpackers who want the real deal. I can see dollar signs in our future! Ka-ching, Ka-ching! What are you going to do with all of your hard earned cash?

I'm also thinking that @Bob and I need to make the Wyoming Range Trip all about hardtack.


More beauties


Yellows bells




Snail shell


View north to the Dude Benchmark. It appears that something is burning beyond in the wetlands



A couple of hound dog shots for @Rockskipper


Heading back to summit the Twin Peaks


I ran into a lot of these on the way back down


Some type of vetch


A little paintbrush and parsley beside the balsamroot.


View of Burro Peak without the rain this time


A look back at Burro, and Grandview Peaks along with Black Mountain


Summit shot from the northern summit of Avenues Twin Peaks. Is that a smile @TractorDoc?


Low cryptantha, between the two summits


paintbrush between the two peaks too.


On the south summit


Low crypantha, and paintbrush


More vetch


Elk track just off the south summit. This was the first time that I have ever seen elk track on the Avenues Twin Peaks



The Twin Peaks were just covered in arrowleaf balsamroot which made them look gorgeous.


Longleaf phlox


More vetch


Back at the Sube, which turns 21 in June.


And this is Cooper, who got after me while I was loading my gear into the Subaru before heading home.


Alright @Rockskipper, you've got a couple days to give our business partnership some thought. Tack for the outdoor community.


The End.

 

[regehr]

Nice! And not for the first time I was on the opposite ridge. It was a really perfect day to be out! I was going to post a few pics but the software here inverts photos from my phone, ugh.

 

[Bob]

Ahhhhhh .....dont think so. If thats all youd carry for food your pack will be lighter!

Crackers are better.

 

[Rockskipper]

Let's call it Scatty's Sheet Iron.

Our company motto could be "Don't Be Tackless."

I prefer it soaked in gourmet stews or soups.

 

[scatman]

Let's call it Scatty's Sheet Iron.

Our company motto could be "Don't Be Tackless."

I prefer it soaked in gourmet stews or soups.

I don't think soaking them in gourmet soups or stews is the real deal Skipper.

 

[scatman]

Nice! And not for the first time I was on the opposite ridge. It was a really perfect day to be out! I was going to post a few pics but the software here inverts photos from my phone, ugh.

We need to coordinate our ridges one of these days.

 

[scatman]

Ahhhhhh .....dont think so. If thats all youd carry for food your pack will be lighter!

Crackers are better.

And my mouth would have less teeth.

 

[TractorDoc]

Is that a smile @TractorDoc?

That looks more like a grimace to me.

Probably due to the hardtack scraping the walls of your inner plumbing at that point.

 

[Janice]

Love all the flowers!

And I really am curious - what was the hardtack like? (As awful as I'm guessing?)

 

[regehr]

for people who aren't quite as hardcore as Scat, I would recommend purchasing pilot bread, it has many of the same properties but won't cause a visit to the dentist

 

[scatman]

That looks more like a grimace to me.

Probably due to the hardtack scraping the walls of your inner plumbing at that point.

I'm thinking that we may need to soak some hardtack in a Big Bad Baptist Imperial Stout come August.

 

[scatman]

Love all the flowers!

And I really am curious - what was the hardtack like? (As awful as I'm guessing?)

The hard tack is actually not too bad believe it or not. It has a salty taste to it, but it was quite filling once I could chew it that is. I'll definitely finish all the squares that we made. I think for my next batch though, I'll use all whole wheat flour instead of mixing the flours equally.

 

[scatman]

for people who aren't quite as hardcore as Scat, I would recommend purchasing pilot bread, it has many of the same properties but won't cause a visit to the dentist

Pilot bread is not the real deal either.

 

[Rockskipper]

From what I know about hardtack (minus zero), it's what you soak it in that makes it tolerable. The problem is, if you already have good stuff to soak it in, why would you eat it in the first place?

(Spoiler - you wouldn't.)

 

[scatman]

@Rockskipper, Skipper, Skipper. We may need to have a sit down chat. The whole point of our venture is to appeal to the outdoor community. Words like "Tolerable" and "You Wouldn't" have the opposite effect. We can't Ka-ching if nobody wants our product. I may need to enroll you in the Scat advertising course 101 as a refresher. I'll check and see if they offer it in Logan so you can take a road trip. On your way to the beautiful Cache Valley, be sure and stop by and say "Hi."

 

[Jackson]

Nice! The Wasatch always look so great in spring when the foothills are greening up and there's still a bunch of snow up high!

I keep chuckling to myself that you guys made hardtack and took it on a hike.

 

[Rockskipper]

@Rockskipper, Skipper, Skipper. We may need to have a sit down chat. The whole point of our venture is to appeal to the outdoor community. Words like "Tolerable" and "You Wouldn't" have the opposite effect. We can't Ka-ching if nobody wants our product. I may need to enroll you in the Scat advertising course 101 as a refresher. I'll check and see if they offer it in Logan so you can take a road trip. On your way to the beautiful Cache Valley, be sure and stop by and say "Hi."

I forget that the basic role of marketing is hyperbole. I think there might be other words for it, but…

A trip to the beautiful Cache Valley wouldn’t be too bad. I don’t know about stepping by your place along the way though if you’re gonna make me eat hardtack unless you have some good Irish whiskey we could soak it in.

 

[Bob]

@Rockskipper, Skipper, Skipper. We may need to have a sit down chat. The whole point of our venture is to appeal to the outdoor community. Words like "Tolerable" and "You Wouldn't" have the opposite effect. We can't Ka-ching if nobody wants our product. I may need to enroll you in the Scat advertising course 101 as a refresher. I'll check and see if they offer it in Logan so you can take a road trip. On your way to the beautiful Cache Valley, be sure and stop by and say "Hi."

Greenies would buy it.... Organic?

 

[scatman]

Nice! The Wasatch always look so great in spring when the foothills are greening up and there's still a bunch of snow up high!

I keep chuckling to myself that you guys made hardtack and took it on a hike.

The sad part is it only lasts a coupe of weeks once it warms up. We're supposed to be in the eighties here all week, and mid-eighties by the end of the week.

I just had to try the hardtack Jackson. Let all your friends know that it's coming back.

 

[scatman]

I forget that the basic role of marketing is hyperbole. I think there might be other words for it, but…

A trip to the beautiful Cache Valley wouldn’t be too bad. I don’t know about stepping by your place along the way though if you’re gonna make me eat hardtack unless you have some good Irish whiskey we could soak it in.

I've got some Irish whiskey, but I'm betting the Imperial Stout is better for dipping/soaking. I'll need your artistic abilities to come up with the packaging for this fine product.