Backpacking Food Tutorial for Absolute Newbies

Have a favorite trail recipe or technique you'd like to share? Please do! We also like reviews of various trail food products out there. The Backcountry Food Topix forum is the place to discuss all things related to food and nourishment while in the Sierra wilderness (as well as favorite trail head eateries).
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Peech
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Backpacking Food Tutorial for Absolute Newbies

Post by Peech »

Next weekend I'll be in in the 20 Lakes Basin hosting a Newbie Backpacking trip for a few of my adult friends who have read my trip reports and have really wanted to try out backpacking. They've all been car camping and enjoy it.

I've emailed them gear lists and have gone over their questions about water purification and stoves but when one of them said that he wanted to bring his 4 cup coffee percolator I decided to make a food tutorial for them.

I didn't want to say "you have to pack this or that" and that "you have to do as I do". I just wanted them to think about some of the logistics and not show up with 2 grocery bags of food or funky flavors of dehydrated stuff that no one wants!

You guys will find this stuff painfully basic but I figure I'd share!
http://peechierana.weebly.com/backpacki ... orial.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
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maverick
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Re: Backpacking Food Tutorial for Absolute Newbies

Post by maverick »

Thanks Peech, enjoyed your write up, it should give them a basic idea, which they
can play with and expand on.
Professional Sierra Landscape Photographer

I don't give out specific route information, my belief is that it takes away from the whole adventure spirit of a trip, if you need every inch planned out, you'll have to get that from someone else.

Have a safer backcountry experience by using the HST ReConn Form 2.0, named after Larry Conn, a HST member: http://reconn.org
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Maddog61
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Re: Backpacking Food Tutorial for Absolute Newbies

Post by Maddog61 »

Good tutorial Peech. It's perfect to help first timers avoid some mistakes. BUT.... Do you really drink the dish water? Or is this a customary initiation for those noobies you take into the backcountry? :grin:

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Peech
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Re: Backpacking Food Tutorial for Absolute Newbies

Post by Peech »

I actually do drink the dishwater! The people that taught me tossed around all sorts of "leave no trace" ideas like swallowing toothpaste instead of spitting it out, using dirt instead of camp soap for grease and smearing human wastes on rocks up in arid high altitude environments so that it just dries out and becomes um... "dust blown away by the wind". Some ideas stuck and some never made it to trial but I will say that the dishwater thing is wildly entertaining if someone in your party has cornbready-trouty-apple cobblery water to polish off!

I think the 6in cat-hole is enough initiation for this particular group...I should bring an old unused Wag Bag with questionable integrity just to mess with them...
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Maddog61
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Re: Backpacking Food Tutorial for Absolute Newbies

Post by Maddog61 »

That's good stuff. Lol. But unless I have to hike a mile for more water, I'm not drinking the dish water! :grin:

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