Becoming a Well-Fed Camper

You can find trail food in supermarkets, specialty shops, ethnic markets, health-food stores, and backpacking stores. It may take a bit of detective work, though. I have found food suitable for camping in the prepared-food, ethnic-food, dietetic products, health-food, and general food sections of my local supermarket.

If you are planning anything more than a weekend trip, take a few minutes to do a reconnaissance of your grocery store. Go through the aisles looking for items that appeal to you, that are in your price range, and that you could carry in a pack. Do the same thing if you shop at ethnic or health-food stores.

Outdoor stores do not usually carry a wide selection. If you are interested in using prepackaged freeze-dried or dehydrated entrees, contact one or more of the companies that make these products and ask for their brochures. If you see items you like in the brochure, you can then either order directly from the company or get your local store to special-order the products for you.

As you plan, jot down your itinerary, your budget, your estimated weight limit, target calories, and other considerations. I find it is helpful to make up a chart with the number of days I will be out and notes about those days. Then, I make lists of what I have in the house, what I have to buy, and anything special I have to do.

Planning a Camping Trip
In the following example, I am planning a backpacking trip in the mountains, so I want to go fairly light. Dinner on Day 1 and breakfast on Day 2 will be near the car, so I can take fresh food in a cooler for those meals. I'll make tabouli, a quick cold salad, for the first night.

From Day 2 lunch through Day 6 breakfast, I've scheduled lightweight food that is moderately economical of fuel. I've planned for two uncooked breakfasts, granola and muesli, so I can get early starts.

Next, I make a list of things to buy and do. "To do" includes making granola, muesli, and tabouli. I already have dried tomatoes, onions, and peppers for the tortellini stew. After I have done the shopping and cooking, I assemble tape, marker, and plastic bags.

To make things easy on trail, I put all items for a meal plus cooking directions in one bag, labeling the bag by meal and day. Because it's just me, I will probably pack the lunch items in bulk rather than per day, to save on plastic bags. (If I were going with a group, though, I would package by day so there would be no chance of running short.)

To decide how much gas to take, I will add up the number of cups of water I'll need for hot drinks, soup, pasta alfredo, instant oatmeal, and cleanup, and factor in fuel for cooking the Spanish rice for 10 minutes, the tortellini stew for 15 minutes, and the wheat pilaf for 15 minutes. I'll include some extra, for cleanup and good measure.

If you are traveling with a group, you have to be thorough about labeling and including directions for each item. You may know that the oatmeal should be cooked in three cups of water and that sugar feels different than powdered milk, but the person who does the cooking that morning may not. If I'm using a boxed mix, I tear off the directions and include them in the bag.

There are several ways to organize group food. You can package everything by meal and distribute the parcels.

Notes on Trip to Mountains

Breakfast/Lunch & Snacks/Dinner

Day 1: Afternoon, drive to trailhead campsite bag lunch in car:
sandwiches and fruit
herb tea
tabouli
bread
fruit

Day 2: Hike to Moose Pond
fried eggs
hash browns
2 English muffins
fruit
tea
2 granola bars
1/2 c dried apples
bread
peanut butter
jelly
1 oz cheese
1 c gorp1 c instant soup
Spanish rice mix
freeze-dried corn
4 fig bars
herb tea

Day 3: Day trip from Moose Pond
2 pkts oatmeal with 1/4 c raisins, 1/4 c sunflower seeds, 1/3 c powdered milk
bagel & cream cheese
tea
bread
tahini
jerky
chocolate
apricots
mixed nuts
1 c (dry) tortellini with dried vegetables
1/4 c Parmesan cheese
2 brownies
herb tea

Day 4: Hike to Black Spruce Mt.
1 c granola with 1/3 c powdered milk
bagel & cream cheese
tea - same as Day 2
pasta alfredo
2 brownies
herb tea

Day 5: Hike over mountain to Cirque Pond
cheese
1 c muesli
bagel & cream
tea  - same as Day 3
wheat pilaf mix with 1/4 c cheese, dried veggies
2 coconut bars
herb tea

Day 6: Hike out to car mid-morning
2 pkts oatmeal with 1/3 c powdered milk, 1/4 c raisins, 1/4 c cashews, 1 pkt butter
tea
1 c gorp
2 granola bars

Food I have in the house/need to buy at the supermarket/need to buy at outdoor store:

oatmeal (granola, muesli)
eggs
tea
dried veggies
dried apples
cashews
sunflower seeds
Parmesan cheese
fig bars
tomato soup packet
powdered milk
peanut butter
jelly
walnuts
cashews
tahini
jerky
potatoes
Spanish rice mix
box of tortellini
3 bagels
jar of peanuts
box of raisins
bag chocolate bits
bag of apricots
2 boxes granola bars
tub of cream cheese
1 bag English muffins
1 box instant oatmeal
wheat pilaf mix
1 chocolate bar
3 pieces fresh fruit
1 small loaf bread
alfredo dinner
freeze-dried corn

Buy at deli:

4 brownies
2 coconut bars

Make at home:

granola
muesli
tabouli
bag lunch for Day 1

Whatever manner is fair, you may want to redistribute food during the trip to keep the weight equitable. It is hard, though, when parts of a meal are spread out in several packs: You may be trying to collect dinner while everyone else is busy putting on dry socks. Also, people typically forget what they are carrying, so if you can manage it, keep a list.

Another system is to make up three big bags, one each for breakfast, lunch and snacks, and dinner then decide daily what you would like to eat. Staples to be used in several meals, such as oil, spices, and extra biscuit mix for baking, can be put in a "pantry" bag.

If you want to share the job of planning and packing, you can take the number of days on trail, divide it by the number of people on the trip, and assign each person individual meals or days. A variation on this theme allows each person to pack his or her own breakfast, lunch, and snacks, plus an assigned number of dinners for the whole group. This method accommodates individuals who special needs, such as food allergies or a high metabolism.

I have used all of these systems at one time or another. Key is to agree ahead of time on the type of food to be carried and on the approximate number of calories that will be needed per meal. I went hungry on one outing, a combination hiking and canoeing trip, when a friend and I did not communicate well. When she said she'd brought "lots of food" for lunches, I assumed she meant "lots of calories." She actually meant "lots of fresh fruit and vegetables." My jaw dropped when I saw the celery sticks. It's a lesson I haven't forgotten.

Tips for Buying and Packing

Seasonings
Seasonings make the difference between wonderful food and wallpaper paste. On a major trip, I may carry an entire spice kit, including chili and red peppers, cinnamon, curry, garlic cloves or powder, ginger, nutmeg, onion powder, parsley, pepper, salt, thyme, and Italian mix (2 teaspoons parsley, 1 teaspoon oregano, 1 bay leaf, and 1/4 teaspoon each of thyme, rosemary, sage, and garlic). On a shorter trip, I am more likely to measure out the spices and pack them with the ingredients for that dish and carry just a few basic spices in the pantry.

Garlic cloves and ginger root have a much fuller taste than do their powdered forms. If you do use powdered seasonings, at least make sure they are fresh, because spices and herbs lose their potency with time. When you use seasonings, measure them out into your hand rather than pour them from the container into the pot so that you do not add more than you want by mistake.

When storing herbs, do not use old film canisters, which can retain manufacturing chemicals.

Odds and Ends
All-vegetable margarine keeps better than does butter or margarine-containing milk solids.

Because it has more fat, whole-milk powder does not keep as well as nonfat milk powder does. In this book, I call for nonfat milk powder. If you use whole-milk powder instead, use 1/4 cup instead of the designated 1/3 cup of nonfat powdered milk. Whole milk does have more calories than the nonfat variety.

If you buy cheese in bulk and want to use it throughout a long trip, package it in the following manner. Cut the block into daily portions, wrap each piece in cheesecloth, and dip it in hot wax. Double-bag with plastic, because if the weather is hot, oil may leak through the cheesecloth. Cheddar cheese prepared this way lasted through one week of very hot weather plus seven weeks of cooler Canadian tundra climate and still tasted good at the end of the trip.

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