The pumpkin might be the hardest part about this recipe. Prepare it freshly at home and make this meal your first night out. If you have time beforehand, use a dehydrator to save the most weight. If you really want to go old school, take the canned version and a P-38 can opener. You can try this with butternut squash too...which can be purchased freeze-dried. Serves 2.
This pumpkin curry recipe is a great option for when you have a little more time to prepare before a trip and cook on
For those of you who live in areas where you can camp year-round – or those of you intrepid enough to dig snow caves and hunker down, this squash soup makes a rich seasonal meal that’s spicy enough to heat you from the inside. The topping of crispy lamb with cumin and sunflower seeds adds a taste sensation bold as a winter camper.
Soup “bark” is dehydrated pureed soup. The liquid is poured on solid trays then dehydrated until crisp (see dehydrating your own backpacking meals). It often tast
Stay fueled. Here are some versatile items that we like to always have in our food bag to add extra calories, flavors, and variety to backcountry meals. The possibilities are endless, but by carrying these ingredients you can take any off-the-shelf backpacking meal to the next level or add calories and taste to your own creations.
Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried Vegetables
A great way to add flavor and variety to your meals, as well as have a few servings of veggies during the day or with d
Fall is in the air. The nights are getting crisp and the moist leaves on the ground have a pleasant and earthy odor. It is a wonderful time loved by many backpackers. Here’s a quick and simple yet yummy dessert that conjures up visions of autumn. Apples, cranberries, and cinnamon spice….all flavors of the fall. This backcountry apple crisp is a tasty treat for two or a decadent dessert for one.
This backpacking dessert is a perfect complement for chilly fall weather.
Apple Crisp
While I’ve shown how to make dehydrated juices in earlier cuisine recipes, here’s the easiest of all…and you only need dried fruit and a pinch of salt (to add those essential electrolytes). I chose blueberries, cherries and ginger because they are especially high in micronutrients critical for the vitality of backcountry exercise.
Cool Ginger Blueberry Cherry Tea
First the technique: just add a ¼ cup dried fruit and a pinch of salt to your water bottle. Using a wide mouth bottle is bes
After a hiatus due to grad school, I am now enjoying the outdoors again on a regular basis. Having enjoyed the summer wildflowers, walked among the aspen leaves of autumn and plan to explore the canyon country of Utah over Thanksgiving.
My usual solo backpacking fare of cold food for breakfast doesn't always work . And while a hot dish of cream of wheat, dried cherries and almonds can hit the spot on a cool Colorado morning in the backcountry, sometimes I want to make a breakfast perhaps a
Fall is upon us. The days are sometimes cold and wet. The wind whips over the mountain pass. Your rain gear and thermal layers are a bit wetted out. But you hike on. The snow comes in wet and large flakes. Your shoes and socks are wet. An hour before dusk, you gratefully reach camp. The shelter is erected. Your dry sleeping bag is fluffed up. And the stove is broken out. A filling meal is eaten. A hot drink is gratefully consumed.
But the edge of hunger is still there on this chill ni
Why every freeze dried meal out there doesn’t already have a fill line on the packaging is a bit of mystery, but luckily we can memorize our own. For example, most Mountain House meals call for either 1 ⅓, 1 ½, or 1 ¾ cups of boiling water. Instead of having to precisely (or imprecisely) measure out that exact amount of water to boil, or worse yet attempt the dreaded cups to milliliters conversion without the help of the internet in the backcountry, we can remember and make our own specific fill
After a cold day of backcountry skiing, a sheltered spot is found for a campsite. A snug spot located in the trees, it has an excellent view of both Mitchell Lake and the Continental Divide above. The shelter is soon erected, warm and dry clothes are changed into, and the stove is fired up. Dinner is cooked and consumed. But it is not quite ready to be called a night. The sun is setting and the alpenglow on the mountains is delightful. The stove is fired up again. A drink is quickly made. A warm
On the trail my dinner requirements are simple: after a day of hiking and after setting up camp and filtering water for the night, I just want a meal that tastes good, doesn’t take long in the typical fading evening light, and meets some basic calorie and nutrition requirements. And all without too much clean up afterwards. With all these prerequisites in mind, freeze-dried meals can often be found in my food bag – and most of the time these meals will be a selection of staples I’ve come to find
In my book, a good trail meal needs to taste great and pack in needed calories and nutrition, without being overly complex or time consuming to make on the trail. With dinner frequently being fit in just as the light begins to fade and with tired legs, I often want to jump in the sleeping bag sooner rather than later, but still want a great meal. This one takes a little prep at home and just a little specialty shopping before the hike, but is still ready in minutes on your trip and tastes great.