Best Recipe for Trail?

I used to go to summer camp in the Adirondacks, it was sports camp but there was an emphasis on hiking. Last year was my last year there but this summer they offer a backpacking/sea kayaking trip to the rocky mountains or the cascades out west (they haven't decided yet). I'm pumped, as the trip sounds awesome, and it's with a group of people I have spent my last 5 or 6 summers with. Each person needs to bring a recipe for good, lightweight food on the trail. I'm a good cook at home but I'm clueless when it comes to cooking on the trail, with the weight of the ingredients being a factor. Any suggestions?

Unfortunately, I've got nothing. I've actually given up trying to keep my food lightweight, because I had little success with it.

That said, you've got a long time to experiment. Pasta is a good choice, though it can get heavy depending on how many you have to cook for. Good old Mac-n-Cheese, if you have a brand that works well with powdered milk and no butter, is an option.

Another one that I've done is a bag of baby carrots, one of those sealed foil packs of chicken, egg noodles, and boullion cubes. Whip up a nice hot soup.

Pre-cooked bacon is another handy item. There's no microwave on the trail, but it only needs a few seconds in a pot or pan and it's done and ready to go with no mess. Livens up sandwiches or breakfast nicely.

The other suggestion I have is for dessert - if you'll be near any cold streams, take instant pudding packets, make the pudding at the campsite with (filtered) water in a jumbo zip loc bag, then submerge the sealed bag in the stream. It will set up nicely during dinner and everyone can have some afterward.

Good news! I'm full of backpacking advice and I know cooking. I was a lead guide for several seasons and had to re-adjust the menu many times.

Don't think of food as needing to be light weight, but think of it as needing to be dense. For example, if you make trail mix out of Cheerios, you'll notice it's light, but you'll need to eat ten bags of it to get full. If you make trail mix using Grape Nuts, it'll fill you up with half a bag. The best rule of thumb is to pack 1.25 pounds of food/day (or more) and you should be ok. You can't go lighter, it's against the rules of hunger.

That said, the less actual cooking you do, the better. Stoves and fuel can become a pain and operating a liquid fuel stove in high elevation is risky; sometimes they flair up from the low air pressure making it impossible to cook. I would lean more toward dry goods such as trail mix, beef jerky, cheese (extra sharp chedar should last about a week), and trail bread (find a good recipe). A good alternative to trail mix is to use the Rice Crispies Recipe, but to use a more hearty cereal instead and then add mixed nuts, dried cranberries or raisins, and m&m's. The trail bars are yummy and filling.

If you have to cook, I have some advice as well. Go to the grocery store and look either near the spice section or near the soups. There should be a miriad of small kool-aid-sized packets of powdered sauces. These are what the world of backpacking depends upon. These sauces can be added to either pasta or rice (buy the minute rice). I suggest buying a bunch and then running your own taste-test. The next step would be buying freeze-dried chicken or beef and vegies. You can get this from the internet and can be bought seperately from pre-made recipes. For added flavor, you can bring small packets of butter (the kind you get at restaurants) or a tiny bottle of olive oil as well as salt & pepper or any other spice.

Don't experiment on the trail. Cook-up your ideas at home using fresh meats just to try your ideas. Once you get a good meal, write down the steps replacing the fresh meats and vegies with freeze-dried. The freeze-dried goods will taste remarkabley fresh on the trail. Also, don't forget desert. The best think you can prepare is a cheesecake from a powder. You can use crushed graham crackers for the crust and add fruit preserves on top for added flavor.

I've backpacked in both the Rockies and the Cascades; they're both amazing.

Good Luck and Have Fun!

Thanks for the tips man!

One of the things that the Boy Scouts seem to be big on are "foil meals" that you can cook right on an open fire...has anyone had any experiences with those when backpacking?

Foil meals will only work on the first night for backpacking because the fresh meats will go bad. You can take rock-hard frozen meats for the first night, but they are heavy and bulky. Honestly, I would steer clear of foil dinners though.

czimborbryan said:

Foil meals will only work on the first night for backpacking because the fresh meats will go bad. You can take rock-hard frozen meats for the first night, but they are heavy and bulky. Honestly, I would steer clear of foil dinners though.

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Thanks...I know that the scouts are big on those for camping trips but it's a lot different when you're at a car-accessible campsite and can put your perishable food in coolers.

One good thing about the foil dinners on camping trips is that the clean-up is a lot easier...what have you found works well to reduce clean-up hassles?

Thanks again for the tips...

ive always used the quality freeze-dried meals....they suck but its decent

Cooking specifically for backpacking should be simple, non-perishable, fast, and tastey.

The foil dinners reminded me of something we had done as guides in the Bighorns. We would take 4X4's up an off-road jeep trail to a spot way the heck up into the mountains to set up a base-camp. We would have a modern campsite with lanterns, simple showers, canvas tents, and fresh food kept cold in coolers. We would use the base camp as a staging ground for several short backpacking excursions and long day hikes into the higher mountains. This gave us an opportunity to refresh the troops for extended exploring.

Skier75 said:

I have been know to soak the noodles before boiling and letting them rehydrate, then just bring them to a boil and serve. Even less gas.

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That's a handy tip. I never even thought of that.

When I did my three months in Arizona, My breakfast every morning consisted of rolled oats, pancake mix, dried fruits, brown sugar and pancake syrup, all mixed up with some boiling water. Sat like a brick, but it kept me full and going all day. Of course, lunch was usually two packs of Ramen, and dinner was two boxes of mac and cheese and beans and rice, plus whatever meat substances were still edible. We only got into town about every two weeks. I did pick up a can of bacon (yes, a can of bacon) at one point- that may have been the tsatiest thing I have ever eaten.

Mmmmm ... canned meat. Why not just go for the jerky? It softens up a bit when boiled.

czimborbryan said:

Good news! I'm full of backpacking advice and I know cooking. I was a lead guide for several seasons and had to re-adjust the menu many times.

Don't think of food as needing to be light weight, but think of it as needing to be dense. For example, if you make trail mix out of Cheerios, you'll notice it's light, but you'll need to eat ten bags of it to get full. If you make trail mix using Grape Nuts, it'll fill you up with half a bag. The best rule of thumb is to pack 1.25 pounds of food/day (or more) and you should be ok. You can't go lighter, it's against the rules of hunger.

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Definitely great advice, but to expand a bit further, think of your food in terms of caloric density, simply because mass density and caloric density most of the time corrolate, but not always. Foods with high water content may be dense, but not calorically dense, hence the popularity of freeze dried foods.

It's important to have a good balance of fats, protein, simple and complex sugars and long chain carbohydrates but if you mix up your food, you can usually acheive the right balance without too much thought. I love run of the mill trail mix for that reason... just some raisins, M&M's and peanuts. It's calorically dense, can be crushed without being ruined, tastes great, and can be homemade for less than $3 a pound. As a caveat, I only have experience day hiking in summer and winter, but the same concepts apply nonetheless.

This is a great thread. I've not done many overnight trips, but I do long day hikes.

As far as food goes, I'm simple. I like the basics like trail mix, peanuts, and granola bars. I usually save a sandwich or something for lunch, but I usually eat lite.

Powders are great. It's fairly easy to buy specialized powders online. All that you need to do is add hot water and stir.

The following powders are amazing:
gravy
spaghetti sauce
cheese cake
soups
coffee/hot chocolates
cheese for mac & cheese
pesto
eggs
milk

the list goes on and on...

If you want something calorie dense, other than rice and pasta, that cooks by just adding boiling water, then try couscous.

Bring some olive oil and spices, or soup mix to jazz it up.

Maybe grandma's fruitcake with a jar of peanutbutter.

czimborbryan said:

Maybe grandma's fruitcake with a jar of peanutbutter.

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Ha!

Maybe she can make enough for the rest of us?

:lol:

Bringing Gatorade is actually quite helpful for keeping the energy up. I've just started using it on hikes and have noticed a huge difference. Also, the new "Fierce" flavoring is much better than the previous stuff. I've heard for best rehydration to dilute the contents with water (approx 50/50 blend).