backcountry gourmet

Jason on the south rim of Yosemite Valley

"What do you eat when you're out there?"  That's probably the number one question I am asked (besides questions of toileting) by non-backpackers when my husband and I hit the trail.  Food for backpacking requires forethought, and one must consider factors such as weight in addition to the usual considerations of taste and nutrition.  But honestly, my favorite thing about backpacking food is not the food.  It is the venue.  You always have the best seat in the house.  No reservations required.  Everything tastes better on the trail.

Jason cooking dinner near Vogelsang Peak, YNP

Jason cooking dinner on the south rim, YNP

Over 10 years of backpacking in the Appalachian mountains, with some westward excursions here and there, have taught me how to pack, what to pack, where to shed weight and what food stuffs are worth extra weight.  

When backpacking, we most often go with meals made for backpacking.  Unfortunately, most backpacking meals are straight up nasty.  I mean, who wants reconstitutable scrambled eggs?  And who knows what's in them?  We have tried all of them.  Mountain House, Natural High, you name it.  The absolute best meals out there are Mary Jane's Farm meals.  They are organic, only have a handful of ingredients and some of the meals are really cheesy, which I consider a huge plus.  The Chilimac and the Santa fe pasta both have sharp white cheddar, making them my two favorite meals.  Also important, they are some of the lightest meals you can buy.  You will have plenty to eat (sometimes Jason isn't able to finish his), but the packed weight is only a few ounces.  

The most affordable way to buy is to go to the website and buy in bulk, then use a food-saver to individually package them.  Don't forget to write the amount of water needed to prepare and the cook time on the packages.  If you buy in bulk, keep in mind that you should not tell people that you have 12 pounds of Mary Jane's coming in the mail (which I did).  Also keep in mind that food-saver bundles of dehydrated food can also look like dehydrated bundles of other stuff when viewed via ex-ray by TSA agents.

coffee setup

Well that covers dinner.  Breakfast is my favorite meal on the trail.  I like to make granola or buy instant oatmeal.  The best instant oatmeal flavors I have found are the Quaker Real Medleys.  Man, the cherry pistachio is so yummy.  In the summertime, I always feel like I am having to conserve water and I just can't drink enough, so this time of year, I forget about weight and bring some juicy, delicious applesauce in those individual serving bowls to have with breakfast.  We also carry a titanium MSR french press for brewing coffee.  It doubles as my dinner bowl at night.  Oatmeal, applesauce, black coffee, a handful of dark chocolate covered almonds and the sunrise - no better way to start the day!

Don't forget about your four-legged friends!

What about lunch, you ask?  Honestly, when we hike, we don't really worry about lunch.  We carry lots of jerky, trail mix and Mojo bars and snack along the way.  This way you don't have to stop and worry about stuff that will require dish washing in the middle of the day.  Sometimes I do carry those little tuna set-ups that come with the pack of crackers and mayo, but it just depends on how much weight I want to add.  I always carry fruit leathers.  When I hike uphill, non-stop for hours on end, I can feel my blood sugar get low.  When that happens, I just eat a fruit leather.  Problem solved.  When hiking in the summer, we also always carry packets of Gatorade powder.  I can remember one time being so dehydrated after drinking all of my water with the water source we had seen on the map being dry and having to hike about seven miles in the heat on the south face of a ridge to reach the next water source.  I just wanted to lay down and die.  It was that bad.  When we got to the next water source, that Gatorade revived me like nothing else could have.  I really dislike the stuff and I never buy it at the convenience store, but I also never go backpacking in the summertime without it. 

Backpacking is definitely more about the escape than the food, but I still want to eat good stuff while I'm out there.  If you happen to be car-camping, which is entirely different, go all out.  If I'm car camping, there better be a cooler of beer and a grill going!