What a difference being awake makes.

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The jerky I put in earlier finished in three hours.  That was five trays, fairly tightly packed.  I tried to leave a quarter inch between pieces, but really stacked it in this time.  My guess about how long it took last night was based on not being awake, trying to wake up and missing the alarm, and such.  I am not sure I really needed to put it back in for an hour this morning.  Then again...  I'll see in a bit.  Three hours for five pretty full trays of jerky, unless after it sits it seems too moist.

I was then setting it up for a run with the very last bit of jerky and hamburger as jerky.  The doorbell rang.  Bleh.  So I washed up as quickly as possible and went to see.  Delivery, the extra trays.  Just in time I thought.  So I pulled them out and washed them.  I thought I had ordered two, not two of two.  All good though.  That gives me nine trays.  And after a more thorough check, it seems this device can handle twelve trays.  Good for larger batches.  Twelve trays would have meant one shot with five pounds of sliced jerky.  Anyway, back to it.  I thought I would need the trays.  Not so much.  I made the burger a bit thicker, so they will take longer.  But with the sliced, nearly a full tray, the burger only took up two more trays.  Might have to fuss with it if it isn't drying well enough though.  The timer is set, I'll know in a few hours.

It is getting warm in here.  Some of that is the dehydrator.  It runs, for meat, at about 160 F.  So... yeah.  All good though.  Definitely worth the hassle.  I should be able to get enough food for a couple of weeks out dehydrated, treats to full meals set, and with the powdered milk and other odds and ends, be ready for camping on the trail.  As I said as well, by the time I hit Alaska, I should be pretty much self-sufficient as to foods.  Milk, like eating out, fresh eggs, and fresh fruit, will be luxuries to be enjoyed, if affordable, or simply gone without.

Some things I really didn't think I would be taking with me, either on the trail or on an longer adventure, are actually being considered.  Flour, for one thing.  And if I will be doing any fishing, corn meal.  I don't know, but some sugar for special treats, and maybe other sweeteners, such as honey or that stuff Desert Cat seems to like so much.  Not splenda... anyway.  Got to have sweets, but I also have to limit it and choose among them wisely.  Treats will be just that.  Why flour on the trail?  Frybread, one in a while... think chili.  Perhaps pita bread, if I take some quickstart yeast... or even figure out sour dough.  And there is more, such as thickening a soup into a stew (much preferred, at least by this ogre).  And there is even more.

Looking forward, finding new tech, for some things, is fine.  Looking sideways, at how to innovatively use what there is works.  But looking back, too.  Actually, the pool of useful tech, notions, ideas, principles, and ways is much deeper in the past.  Just the way they thought, and sometimes exactly how they didn't think, is more prevalent, useful, and successful, in the wilds than any city slicker, book writer, or pretend wildman will ever be able to present.  Some are trying though, such as the man above.  Not only do I enjoy the history and cooking lesson, but that he is building a business on it, or has.  So... I want to do business with just such a man, and share out what he has to offer.  No business connection, I don't advertise, save if I find something useful myself, and without remunerations.  Anyway...

Hmm... might turn on the ac and fan, crawl in and read a bit, take a nap, who knows.  Might as well enjoy tech while I have it, when I have it, eh?  Later.