Backpacking Menu

[KillEmAll]

Some of us here on the forum will be doing a 5-6 day backpacking trip into the Wind Rivers at the end of July. I've got everything pretty much lined up as far as what I'm packing, except for the food. This is the one spot that always gets me. Who has some good suggestions for food? Eggs are a question. Personally, I don't dare. Has anyone taken them? I plan on eating LOTS of fish, but I don't want to starve if they aren't biting.

[stefan]

Who has some good suggestions for food? Eggs are a question. Personally, I don't dare. Has anyone taken them? I plan on eating LOTS of fish, but I don't want to starve if they aren't biting.

powerbars

eggs work. if they stay relatively cool and unbroken they're fine. you could buy one of those plastic egg containers to protect them. refrigeration is really only necessary if you will eat the eggs in raw form or if you want to prolong their life. in europe most eggs in the stores aren't refrigerated.

[Iceaxe]

powerbars

[Alex]

I am surprised you guys are not mentioning dehydrated foods?

Link here

I much prefer Mountain House over other brands, but the dinners are quite tasty and they don't weight anything. Just add water and you are good to go!

[Alex]

I also like to take Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, you don't need to keep them cool and they are quite filling for lunch. For breakfast I usually bring a bagel with cream cheese and a power bar.

Are you backpacking or camping for 5-6 days?

[Sombeech]

We'll just be camping, but packing in @8 miles.

I've brought eggs on the King's Peak trip. I am really, really, really going to watch my pack weight this time though. I ALWAYS end up burning my extra food on the last night of camp.

I think I'm going to count on eating fish for at least a couple of meals, so I can pack a little lighter.

How about MREs?

[Alex]

MREs are good if you don't have anything else, but they taste kinda crappy. The retailed dehydrated food is a lot better in taste, it's actually like home made dinners. I like the chicken stuff (Like Oriental Chicken, Chicken with Rice) and Beef Stew and Strgonoff. Some dinners are kinda nasty, so I stick to what I know tastes good.

You can pick up the dehydrated food at any sports store, including Walmart

[DickHead]

MRE's
At over 2,000 calories a meal you can survive off one a day, if necessary.
A packing hint for MRE's:
Open the outer packaging, take out what you want to keep, and repack into a ziploc, let the air out, seal. This will save about 40% of the space an MRE takes up, and you're not carrying the stuff you don't want from it.

[KillEmAll]

I also like to take Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, you don't need to keep them cool and they are quite filling for lunch.

Peanut butter sandwiches huh. Can't believe I haven't thought of that one. That would make for a pretty decent lunch. I usually did the tuna fish and pita thing, but I just can't choke it down anymore.

For breakfast I usually bring a bagel with cream cheese and a power bar

I always thought you had to refridge cream cheese. How long would it last?

[KillEmAll]

I am really, really, really going to watch my pack weight this time though. I ALWAYS end up burning my extra food on the last night of camp.

That's my goal too. Usually I just grab a can of $.99 chili and throw it in the pack. You get 5 of those and that's a lot of weight though. I have a smaller golight pack I'm taking and it's forcing me to pack light since there's not much room.


A side topic... has anyone cooked their fish with tinfoil before? I'd really love to leave the pan behind, but I've never done it so I really don't want to experiment without a backup plan. What's the best way to do it? Cook it over the coals like a hobo dinner?

[shagster]

Tin foil works great, in fact I think that is the only way I have ever cooked fish when backpacking. I always season the fish, wrap it in tin foil and throw it in the fire. It always comes out great.

[marc olivares]

powerbars

yeah i've been out w/ you, hard to think you keep that girlish figure w/ all that beef jerky and gateraid you consume.

as KAZAK mentioned, i like Mountain House, but then you need a stove and water.

[Alex]

Yes you "should" refrigirate a lot of food, but if it doesn't smell bad it's ok

Another breakfast option I do is the hot cereal like oatmeal. Just bring a few packets of that and hot water, breakfast served. Don't forget about dehydrated fruits. Fresh fruit are way too heavy for backpacking.

If you guys don't have one of these http://www.rei.com/online/store/Prod...cat=REI_SEARCH
you really should look into getting it. It beats all camping stoves out of the water. I had a whisper stove before Jetboil and will not go back now. I use it backpacking as well as backpacking.

[Alex]

powerbars

yeah i've been out w/ you, hard to think you keep that girlish figure w/ all that beef jerky and gateraid you consume.

as KAZAK mentioned, i like Mountain House, but then you need a stove and water.

You don't need a stove. Mountain House package is the cooking ware. All you need is hot water (I guess you'd need a stove to heat the water... sorry) . I usually just pack my jetboil with me for some hot coffee and a hot meal at night. There are also Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon, but those are kinda nasty.

[Alex]

A side topic... has anyone cooked their fish with tinfoil before? I'd really love to leave the pan behind, but I've never done it so I really don't want to experiment without a backup plan. What's the best way to do it? Cook it over the coals like a hobo dinner?

My tint fish always turned out too moist and watery. I like it more crisp taste you get from the pan. So just keep that in mind about tint, unless I am doing something wrong?

[KillEmAll]

There are also Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon, but those are kinda nasty.

Glad to hear you think they are nasty. It's the only thing I've ever tried and it was pretty awful. Thanks for the info.

[Alex]

There are also Mountain House scrambled eggs with bacon, but those are kinda nasty.

Glad to hear you think they are nasty. It's the only thing I've ever tried and it was pretty awful. Thanks for the info.

LOL sorry to hear that man, ya I can see how those can turn you off on dehydrated foods. Try the Strogonoff one, my wife loves them, she had a craving for them when she was prego and never got over it. I like the chicken ones as well.

These are my favorite:

Link Here
Link Here
Link Here

I've tried these and liked them quite a bit. Even though it says for TWO people, I (so the rest of my gang) ate one of those packs each night. So plan ahead.

[James_B_Wads2000]

I also like to take Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches, you don't need to keep them cool and they are quite filling for lunch. For breakfast I usually bring a bagel with cream cheese and a power bar.

I second PB&J

[Reedus]

There is only one way to cook trout when you are backpacking or camping IMO. You clean the fish, but leave the head still attached. Build a fire and let it burn down to just hot coals, no flame. Lay the trout with the head attached on the hot coals for about 5 to 7 minutes on a side. Remove the fish with a stick through the mouth. The blackened skin comes right off leaving nothing but juicy meat. Season with lemon pepper and hot damn if they aren't the best tasting trout I have ever had. No pans and no tin foil= no mess and no weight.

[Reedus]

On another note after reading James reply. Sams club sells cooked BBQ pork ribs in the freezer section. The come in a sealed pouch with BBQ sauce and you boil them in the bag for ten minutes and they are good to go. Damn good eats too