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Home made energy bars for hiking

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For my longer hikes I always make home made energy bars. It would off course be easier to just bring a bag of nut mix with me but, I find  nuts quite boring to eat. Furthermore I find them try and they often make me thirsty. Making my own müslibars is not necessarily much cheaper than buying them, but this way I know exactly what is in my bar and what is not.

During the years I have experimented with may different recipes for müslibars and raw bars. Sadly for some reason I always forget to write down the recipe 😦 . So before a long hike I always have to search the internet for a recipe that seems good and then end up improving it some how to make it awesome 🙂

I made some müsli bars for the Großglocknerer hike last weekend and this time I actually noted down the recipe!! Here it is:

  • 90g Dried Apricotes
  • 50g chopped almonds
  • 30g chopped Pumpkin seeds
  • 40g chopped cranberries
  • 20g sesame seeds
  • 30g sunflower seeds
  • 100 g oats
  • 50 g butter
  • 60 g fibre syrup
  • A little salt.

Melt the butter together with fibre syrup. Mix all the dry ingredients a bowl and add the fiber syrup and butter. Mix well until you get a sticky dough. Let it rest for 20 minutes.  Then cover a oven form with aluminium folio or plastic and press the dough into the form as hard as you can. It really should be compact. Then put it into refrigerator over the night. Next day take it out, cut it into a suitable müslibar size and pack each bar into aluminium folio. Store in the refrigerator. I have had mine in refrigerator for 2 weeks without them getting bad. You can also freeze the bars for later use.

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These bars are totally raw and therefore not really suitable for very warm hiking days. In colder temperature they are amazing. They are also not too sweet so they don’t make you thirsty.

 

Enjoy 🙂 .

Interview with Munich Mountain Girls

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Munich Mountain girls is a community started in 2016 by a mountain girl from Munich. Here you can learn to know sporty mountain girls in Munich. You can sit back and get inspired by reading about inside hiking tips, must have hiking gear and girls’ favorite places to hang out in Munich. I was contacted by Christine (the owner of the page) early June for a short interview and was glad to participate.

Now I can officially myself a Munich Mountain Girl. It’s only a label but its a cool one 😉 I also look forward to get to know all the other girls part of the community and to get inspired and to learn from them.

In the interview you can learn about my first experience in the mountains, about my favorite hike until now in Germany, and what I always have in my back bag when I go hiking :).

You can check out Munich Mountain Girls and the interview with me here.

PS. It’s in German, but I am sure Google will help you to translate it 😉

Enjoy.

Last but not least, I want to share a little glimpse of my hiking trip in Norway. I just got back today but I already miss the mountains there. I will write about the hikes in Norway soon so stay tuned 🙂

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Wishlist for hikes in 2017.

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I am quite happy with the hiking year 2016, but as any passionate hiking enthusiast, I am already planning hikes for year 2017 :P.

I once read that there is a bigger change that you reach your goals if you write them down. This is simply because even if you are not aware of it, by writing it down you are making a stronger commitment than by just saying it or thinking it. So write it down.

Another way to increase the changes to reach your goals is to share them and make them “public”. That way you feel more accountable for reaching your goals. You know you have all eyes on you 😉

Third tip is to set a time limit to your goal, this way you have that extra time pressure that just may be enough to get you off your sofa.

Have the courage and clarity to write down you goals and dreams. Goals are what give me directions and priorities, without goals I am lost, be it for hiking or for any other area in my life. Therefore, I strongly recommend everybody to write down realistic goals for year 2017 🙂

Acting upon my own advice, I have written down my hiking goals for 2017 and will now share them with you :D:D  I am determined to hike all these mountains and can’t wait!

My list is the following:

  • Großglockner (3798m), the highest mountain in Austria.

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Picture is taken from grossglockner.at

  • Alpspitze (2628m), Germany

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Picture is taken from foto.wilsdroff.biz

  • Zugspitze (2962 m) the highest mountain in Germany. 

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Picture is taken from summitpost.org

  • Hochfeiler (3510m) South Tirol

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Picture is taken form wikiwand.com

  • Hochnissl (2547m), Austria

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Picture is taken from wikiwand.com

Off course these are not going to be the only mountains I climb next year (I also have some destinations I don’t want to reveal just yet ;)), but these mountains are definitely the ones I “have to do” next year 😀 and I can’t wait!

What hikes to you have planned for year 2017?

Retrospective of hiking year 2016

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I hope you all have had a nice Christmas celebration so far. At the moment of writing this blog post I sit in Norway and have a nice view to the mountains and the sea. I have eaten way too much Christmas food but I am happy to be able to spend some time with family again. Last past days there was a storm passing Norway, but today the sea has calmed and the mountains are visible again in the horizon.

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Not much snow in Hareid yet.

The relaxing time between christmas and new years is perfect for taking a look at what you have accomplished during the year that has passed. When I think back to the hiking year 2016, I’m quite happy. All in all I think I have done 20 hikes. I try to keep count but it could be that I have forgotten to count some hikes.

From these hikes the definitive highlights are:

 

Triglav 2864m, Slovenia

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Watzmann 2713m, Germany

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Obere Wettersteinspitze 2297m, Austria

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Picture is taken from hikr.com

 

I have not written about these hikes because I did them all before I started this blog, but I will try to write about them during the next year, because these are all hikes I really recommend!

How do you feel about year 2016? Has it been adventurous enough? Have you realized some of the hikes on your list? I sure hope so! I am currently making a wish list for year 2017 and will post it when it’s ready 🙂

Have a nice rest of the christmas and a nice new years celebration!

What to get a hiker for Christmas?

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Today it is exactly 24 days to Christmas!! I guess many of you out there are like me and have yet to get most of the christmas presents. Here are some of my tips for what to get for an outdoors enthusiast 😀 PS. many of these items are on my wish list as well 😉

PS: I am not sponsored by any of these brands so I am just voluntary providing you my ideas.

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  1. Tracking poles – Previously I did not use tracking poles, but I just bought myself a par couple of weeks back. I could not wait until Christmas 😛  Why tracking poles?  The reason is simple, while doing 1600 m or more descents you need the support. For short hikes I would say they are not needed (unless you have trouble with knees).
  2. Headlight – For winter and autumn hikes a good headlight is a must. I seldom use my headlight because I calculate the hikes so I don’t have to hike in the dark, but I normally have it in my backpack just in case I miscalculate and need a headlight.
  3. Fiber towel – For a multi-day hiker a fiber towel is a must, but this also comes in handy for a frequent traveler or backpacker.
  4. Seat pad  – I love these, I use it during summer and winter.
  5. Thermos – Every hiker should own a small thermos. There is nothing better than enjoying a cup of warm chocolate or tea on the top of the mounting in autumn/winter time.
  6. Reusable warm packs – This you can get to a person who is constantly cold, hiker or not.
  7. Power bank – These days we are so dependent on technology. You hardly see people with maps anymore. This is a perfect gift for a hiker or a Pokemon go player 😀
  8.  A night in a hut – Every hiker would love a voucher for a night in a hut!!
  9. GoPro – This is very expensive but will make every serious hiker/skier very happy.
  10. First aid Kit – This is something every hiker should have in their backpack but many do not.

So here you go, there are differently gifts in different price ranges in this list. You should find something for everybody, even for somebody who has everything 😉

Peaceful Christmas shopping to you all – lets hope the snow comes soon!

Don’t let others crush your hiking dreams!

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On Fridays a typical conversation I have goes like this:

X: So what are your plans for the weekend?

Me: Actually I will go hiking.

X: (Rolling eyes) off course you are.

People don’t always understand why somebody would climb 1500 meters to the top of a mountain just to walk down again (and I don’t understand why people who take cable-car up a mountain :D). Many people seem to think that what I do is “Extreme”. For example my grandmother tells me every time we talk that I should not reach for the “extreme”, because I will only end up injured. For her extreme would be everything from running a marathon to doing a handstand. Sometimes it really feels like people just want me to sit still the whole day! And for what? So that I would not have pain in my knees when I turn 60? It is frustrating :(. 4047179af9cd819c31969c18e9324068

I have found something that makes me wake up early on a Sunday morning, that gives me this inner peace and inner drive at the same time. When I have been in the mountains I feel like my weekend is complete and when I don’t go to the mountains I feel like I am missing out. Why would I stop with something that is healthy and makes me happy? If you have found something like this, you should not give it up or restrict yourself. You should embrace it and develop it. Simply do more of what makes you happy!

You can not change your family, but you can choose who you hang out with. Therefore to balance all this negativity I try to find people who are as “extreme” as me or much worse :D. People who I can look at and think ah I would like to be like this. People who have done hikes that inspire. People who share my passion and understand by drive.

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It is ok that not everybody understands the need to sand on top of a mountaintop (more mountains for me 😛 ). We are all different and have a right to like different things, but don’t let friends or family limit your goals and ambition. Do what feels rights for you and that makes you happy. If it is 7 days hiking in the alps, or climbing a difficult mountain so be it.

Hiking with people who you have never hiked with before.

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This weekend I will join a group of people for a hike. Most of these people I have never met before. We are supposed to be a group of ten. They do not know me and I do not know them. There are both positive and negative sides to hiking with a group of new people. The obvious positive thing is that you will be meeting new people who also like to hike! What a nice way to make new friends right?

Yes, it is a nice way to make new friends, be social and share the experience, but whenever hiking with new people my biggest concern is their fitness level and experience. Will they be too slow? Too fast?

When asking a friend or a family member to join your hike you also need to consider these things. I have myself experienced that people who I thought would be fit enough for the hike were not. This is not a nice situation to be in for neither the organizer or the attenders.

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So to conclude, when organizing a hike:

  1. Make packing lists.
  2. Tell everybody how much food and water they need to have with them as a minimum.
  3. Inform attendees about how many meters the hike is, if there is some scrambling  or exposed areas, what you expect the terrain to be like. How many hours you expect to use etc.
  4. Ask attendees how much hiking experience they have and if they have done any hikes recently (people who hiked a lot 2 years ago may not be fit now).
  5. While hiking adjust your speed to rest of the group and take care of the slowest ones.

If you have a slow hiker in your group you will in worst case need to shorten the hike but people may also turn out to hike much faster than you. Maybe you asked some more experienced hikes to join your hike and now they are running up that mountain? This is for me an equally bad situation. I hate hiking so fast that I barely can catch my breath. I mean, I hike not to workout but to enjoy the views.. and I must say that I am not fit enough to run up mountains ( I wish I was). Therefore this situation can equally destroy my hiking experience.

How to handle this? Well, I try to put the people I know are fast at the end of the group. BUT this only works with people you know. When you don’t know your new hiking partners ,you can’t go and command them to go behind everybody. In this case I just remind myself that I need to hike in my own  speed. Normally that works fine (because I will not be hours behind) and I still have nice time because the fast ones will wait for the rest of the group on the top.

And now comes the deal breaker for me. If I hike with people who are fast – they more or less “run” to the peak, and then when I get there they are all ready to head down again.. Well, then I will NOT be hiking with these people again. I need my time on the top of the peak!!!

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There is nothing better than a nice cop of tea on a mountain top during this time of the year.

What do you think of hiking with people you don’t know? Ever done that?

I will make a post about the hike itself and how it went sometime during the weekend. Until then I hope you get out to explore some mountains this weekend, be it alone or with new hiking buddies :).