Archives for “food”

Becoming comfortable with food choices can be difficult for a long-distance backpacker.  To help folks with ideas, I searched for the best backcountry cooking resources.  Here’s a review of one of my top three finds:

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Teresa “Dicentra” Black has posted over 150 backpacking recipes at OnePanWonders.com.  I was impressed at how the author put together tasty meals using ingredients that could be found at a typical large grocery store.  This is important for the long-distance backpacker who has decided to resupply in town without using mail drops (which can be simpler in many situations).

In many recipes, small amounts of several spices were added.  It’s important to use seasoning during long trips to keep meals appetizing, but I recommend keeping only two or three flavorings at a time (hot sauce packets, blended seasoning powder, dried herbs) and then switching those out when you come across new flavors that seem tasty.  Your tastes will change on a long-distance hike as your body changes.

To find out more about the site author read an interview with her at EasyBackpackingTips.com.

>>>>My favorites at One Pan Wonders:

Breakfast - Chocolate Banana Oatmeal

Lunch - Hula Wraps

Dinner- Cheddar Mashed Potatoes

Stay posted - one other trail food resource to come.

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Know of another good backpacking food resource?  Please share with our community by leaving it in a comment to this post.

Squirrel Meat’s List of Trail Food Characteristics:

The best trail food is:  lightweight, high in calories, nutritious, compact, packable, appetizing, and requires little energy to prepare.

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***Bonus Resource*** I just ran into this nice overview of backpacking food on the Wikipedia backpacking page (scroll down to the food section).

Becoming comfortable with making food choices can be a difficult thing to do for a long-distance backpacker.  To help folks with ideas, I searched for the best resources in the field of backcountry cooking.  Here’s a review of one of my top three finds:

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Kirk and Sarah Kirkconnell run Trailcooking.com, a site that includes articles, pictures, and videos related to backcountry cooking.  On their site they’ve posted a collection of over 100 trail recipes and present a cooking technique that creates lightweight, nutritious meals that are full of variety.  The most valuable feature I found on their site was the trail cooking blog (www.Blog.TrailCooking.com) where posts are added daily.

I ran into Sarah at the PCTA’s Trail Fest 2009 last month and had a chance to get a copy of her book Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple, a 90-page guide to the Kirkconnell’s trail food technique and a collection of backpacking recipes (not found on their website) grouped by meal.  I gained from the recipes “Breakfast Trail Rice,” “Trail Shake,” and “Seafood Chowder” and connected with the author in the use of single-serving condiment packets.

The book would be a smart purchase for any hiker who is planning drop-box meals from home.  The hiker who will shop for food along the way might draw from the cooking technique, but should be warned that most recipes include ingredients that wouldn’t be found in the typical trail town grocery store.

Stay posted - two other trail food resources to come.

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Know of another good backpacking food resource?  Please share with our community by leaving it in a comment to this post.

Squirrel Meat’s List of Trail Food Characteristics:

The best trail food is:  lightweight, high in calories, nutritious, compact, packable, appetizing, and requires little energy to prepare.