Where did the long holiday weekend go? Last Wednesday I had five glorious days in front of me and now I am scrambling to finish the odd, unrelated assortment of tasks that have occupied much of my time. Most of my “his” stuff, i.e. mowing the grass, oil change, cleaning the computer keyboard (the right shift button still sticks) is done while I am still working on the “her” list which is still way too long for comfort.
Among one of the more unusual tasks was mixing up a small packet of sourdough starter purchased in Alaska in September 2001. I have been shuffling the starter from spot to spot and finally decided I was willing to commit to the starter up keep. So many memories from the trip came back as I read the package instructions. John and I were part of a group of seven friends who spent 12 days backpacking in the remote Brooks Range (located above the Arctic Circle). We relied on a map, compass and each other for our existence. The stark, rugged mountains, the night sky ablaze with the Northern Lights, soggy tundra dressed in reds and yellows for fall, icy glacier fed rivers, the constant awareness of a possible grizzly encounter, warm days, crisp evenings, funnel cakes, and lots of laughter. It was an epic trip of grand proportion and finally, when we returned to the tiny town of Bettles (pop. 70-in the summer), we consumed the huge cheeseburgers and french fries that had been occupying our thoughts, dreams and conversation throughout the backpack.
Your are probably wondering (or not) how the sourdough plays into this story. Well, while waiting on the burgers to cook, I meandered around the tiny Bettles gift shop. One of the items I picked up was this little baggy of dehydrated “Sourdough Dan’s Bettles Sourdough” mix. I think I paid maybe $2 for the mix and couldn’t wait to get it home. As John reminded me, I had big plans! I was going to activate the starter and divide it among the travel companions. We would all enjoy loaves of sourdough bread and yummy sourdough blueberry pancakes, just like in Bettles and Fairbanks. I was feeling pretty enthusiastic, but sourdough is like a pet, it requires upkeep so I put it off.
Fast forward to November 2006. I finally decided to commit to the starter. As a matter of fact, I was thinking about how I would pull the group together for a sourdough pancake meal and a rehashing of the trip. But five years is a long time for a tiny package of dehydrated mix to keep it’s ingredients active. I mixed the starter with warm water (as per the instructions) and put it on top of the warm oven where I planned to have something cooking most of the day. Nothing happened. The water rose to the top, the flakes sank to the bottom, no fizz, no bubble, no sign of the active yeast. A disappointing but not totally unexpected result after waiting so long.
So Will, if you are reading this, and I know that you are, when are you going to pull out your map and compass and plan another epic journey to Alaska?? I have sourdough starter to buy!!
