#applachia

Views from the Blue Ridge Parkway

It was bone-chillingly cold here on the 31st. The wind roared and the trees croaked as the procession of The Wild Hunt raged on; as Frau Holle, Diana, Herodias, Aradia, or Lilith acting as Dominae Nocturnae led her retinue of the Good Folk through the night sky to the sabbat. The coyotes barked and yipped, their song keeping our livestock dog Sylva howling in defense all night.

We stayed in to bake black bread and make hag’s tapers. After harvesting dried mullein stalks — a plant with a long list of medicinal values and lore in witchery — they’re brushed (very tediously) with beeswax, and they burn like torches.

A lot of the lore behind mullein relates to its representation of the crossroads and its use in rites of necromancy. “It encourages the manifestation of spirits and communication with those who dwell on the other side.” Certain old grimoires also use mullein as a substitution for graveyard dirt in their formulae.

Burn hag’s tapers to illuminate the Mighty Dead. Last night, they led our party guests like Hekate’s torch into the woods to the stone spiral that surrounds a beech tree (a tree with lore in ancestral work and old wisdom). Candles were sat along the spiral, songs were sung, and stories were shared of those we lost this year and in years past.

I love it when places where the earth have been treated unkindly are reclaimed for wildness and beauty! There’s a place like that near my home and it’s one of my favorite hidden spots for foraging! The site was a former strip mining operation where enormous bucket-wheel excavators tore into the soil searching desperately for lignite and coal. Fortunately there was not much of either and the operation was given up many years back. The surface area that had been stripped was converted to several lakes and the entirety of the expanse that had been used was given back to the weeds and the wild crawling things of this wonderful world and the spot remains a hidden, rustic paradise with poorly maintained, bucolic, twisting trails that go deep into the forest and act as host to many different useful plants and fungi! My dilemma as a forager is always this: the plant friends and healers that I work with more often than not have only very short blossoming times, so how do I preserve their large harvests and enjoy their strong tastes and vital medicines deep into the deep dark winter months when I seem to need and crave them the most? The answer that I often turn to when I’m working with wild edibles that have a large surface area is very simple: wild fermentation, more specifically, I pickle them! Today I’m going to detail how I made a wild pickle out of milkweed pods, but this technique could be utilized for mushrooms, cat-tail shoots, burdock roots and all manner of edible roots, pods and tubers, so feel free to experiment!

What you’ll need:

A wide mouth quart jar

About 2 or 3 cups of Spring Water

A medium sized stock pot

25-30 Milkweed Pods

A Tbsp of non iodized Salt

Whatever spices that you find complimentary to Milkweed Pods. I find that just the salt does the trick for me!

The first step is, of course, identifying the milk weed pods and being 100% sure that you’ve gathered milkweed pods! Cross reference several foraging books, ask a seasoned forager and/or join one of the many facebook groups dedicated to foraging. Here’s a pic for your reference, but don’t just use this one! Learning to identify plants by touch, sight, smell is a wonderful, truly sensual way to enter into deeper relationship with them, and I assure you this will enrich your life! 

The Milkweed Pods typically form a couple of weeks after the flowers have dropped off and I find you can usually get about a half a dozen per plant while still leaving plenty for our insect co-conspirators and for the plant itself to reproduce. Once you’ve gathered a nice harvest (I find that about 25-30 fits in a quart jar very well) you’re ready to prepare them. Milkweed plants secrete a latex that contains a bitter toxin that is mildly poisonous (but has been used as a folk remedy for warts for centuries when used topically! Just goes to show you that almost anything in this world can be useful if we honor the plant and ask to learn its secrets!) so it’s necessary to boil the milkweed in a couple of changes of water. I will typically add the milkweed to a stock pot, fill it up about halfway with water and boil for ten minutes. Then I will strain the pods with a colander and repeat the process. You’ll notice long, rubbery flecks of white foam emerging from the milk weed, that’s A-OK! The toxins are being neutralized and your pods are gonna be tasty, mild and most importantly: edible! After the second boil I strain again and run cool water over it for a few minutes to make certain that the internal temperature has cooled to about 70-75 degrees. That’s the temperature that our bacterial friends seem to like it and we’re doing our best to invite them to form a colony on these buds so that our harvest can be preserved indefinitely! While they’re cooling, prepare a brine by adding a Tbsp of sea salt or Himalayan Pink Crystal salt to about a cup of Spring or distilled water in your quart jar. It’s important that you don’t use tap water or “table salt” as they contain fluoride and iodine respectively, which are bacteria inhibitors. Thus they kill off the very microbial life that we’re trying to “harvest” to preserve the milk weed pods and improve their flavor and nutrition. Mix the salt and whatever spices you want to use into the water well and once your pods have cooled, add them to the brine that you’ve prepared in the quart jar. Stack them until the jar is about 75-85 percent full, then add enough spring water to cover them and add some sort of weight to keep them submerged. This process, plus time, equals milkweed pod pickles infused with trillions of bacteria!!! How much time? You’ll probably notice some bubbles after a day or two in the summer months. That’s a good sign! That means the bacteria and yeast are present and are feasting! The bubbles are carbon dioxide, one of the by-products that’s produced during a wild fermentation. After that happens, I suggest you start tasting pods every so often until you get the taste that you desire and then pop them in the fridge, where the fermentation process slows down to a crawl and your taste will be preserved almost indefinitely! Thanks for taking the time to read this! Please feel free to send me any questions or feedback! Are you working with milkweed? How are you preparing it? Would love to hear about it in the comment section below!

The fog has been heavy here lately; the sea of dead goldenrod seems to be full of prying eyes. Our livestock guard dog, Sylva, barked throughout the night, standing sentry, stalking the fence line. Standing at the edge of the woods, Michael heard something “laughing or crying inside the barn”. He turned to go check on it, but I told him that he knows better than that and to come inside where the fire was hot.

Have you ever dreamt of embarking on a life-changing adventure through the wilderness, experiencing breathtaking scenery, challenging yourself both mentally and physically, and creating memories that will last a lifetime? If so, then the Appalachian Trail is calling your name. This iconic trail spans over 2,000 miles, crossing through 14 states, and offers a truly unique and unforgettable hiking experience. And while some adventurers choose to tackle the trail on their own, others may prefer the comfort and guidance of a guided tour. In this blog post, we will explore the benefits of choosing a guided tour from Ultimate Appalachia for your Appalachian Trail adventure.

1. Expertise and Local Knowledge:

2. Safety and Group Support:

Hiking the Appalachian Trail can be physically demanding and potentially risky. With a guided tour, you will have the added safety net of hiking in a group and having a guide who is trained in wilderness first aid and safety protocols. They will be able to provide assistance in case of emergencies and ensure everyone stays on track and adheres to safety guidelines. Moreover, hiking with a group can provide a sense of camaraderie and support, allowing you to share the experience with like-minded individuals and make new friends along the way.

3. Logistics and Planning:

4. Customized Experiences:

Ultimate Appalachia offers a range of options to cater to different preferences and abilities. Whether you are a seasoned hiker looking for a challenging trek or a beginner seeking a more leisurely experience, there is a tour that can meet your needs. Some tours offer shorter sections of the trail, allowing you to experience the highlights without committing to a months-long journey. Others may focus on specific themes, such as photography or wildlife spotting. By choosing a guided tour, you can find a trip that aligns with your interests and desired level of difficulty.

Embarking on a guided tour of the Appalachian Trail can open up a world of opportunities for outdoor enthusiasts. With the guidance of experienced leaders, the support of a group, and the assurance of safety and planning taken care of, you can fully immerse yourself in the beauty and adventure of the trail. Not only will you have the chance to explore some of the most stunning landscapes in North America, but you will also have the opportunity to challenge yourself, gain new skills, and create lasting memories.