Backpacking Meals. No reason Not To Eat the Best



Posted: Friday, October 01, 2010

by Joe Mac Millan

Eat a piece of perfectly delicious bread toasted to perfection and coated with your favorite condiment at home and it tastes very nice. Eat a poorly toasted stale bread that accidentally fell into the campfire for a second and it tastes as good as what you would expect toast should be from a five star restaurant.

Why does campfire cooking taste so wonderful? No matter what it is, food cooked outdoors tastes terrific. We used to take the very basic food such a can of beans or a can of Spam on our backpacking trips. One year we decided to change out tactics and see what we could do to make the meal something to look forward to.

There are great tasting recipes you can cook up at home to take along with you. The one problem is weight. Weight is the main concern for backpackers. We have met died in the wool backpackers who travel extremely light and hike across the hills at fast speeds. We met one fellow while were on a four day hike. He did that hike four times a year in one day.

Our choice of food for our trip is decided before hand. We decide upon the dinner meal first because that it our most important one. We feel that we should reward ourselves for completing the days hike so why not eat a good tasty meal. The breakfast is still the most important meal as it sets the body up for the hard day ahead. Fruit is so good on the trail and so is cheese. One of our friends took along a huge block of cheese once. It tasted terrific but it does tend to bind a person up.

We make a trip to our friendly outdoor store and make our selections from the array of freeze dried meals such as Beef Teriyaki, Beef Tetrazzini, Wild Rice Mushroom Pilaf, High Thai Chicken and our favorite High Country Beef Stew. Grilled Chicken Breast with Mashed Potatoes will fill you belly with enjoyment for the evening. This is adequate for two people although the portions are a little small if you have a third along. The meal re-hydrated well and the mashed potatoes are the regular ones you buy off the shelf. We take along some carrots and corn and green beans to fill it out.

These meals are freeze dried and weigh a lot less than if you took along the food from you fridge.

If you have not tried this kind of meal, try it at home before you head off. You will love it.
Joe and Irma MacMillan have spent many years backpacking, skiing, and simply enjoying life in the mountains of British Columbia. Their website Whistler Outdoors is full of tips on snowboarding, camping, kayaking, rafting, camp cooking and fishing. They met on a blind date in 1957 and are still married. Take a look at their story here About us

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