Sustenance, Gourmet, or In Between?

[rayfound]

On a hard day, a simple freeze dried meal is just fine...after some chili paste, fresh cracked pepper, fresh herbs, spices, sesame seeds, pine nuts or whatever may be appropriate is added.

I pretty much add chipotle powder to all of them. I plan on bringing some pine nuts next trip too.

[TehipiteTom]

The solo vs. group split dave54 mentions is a key factor for me as well. I've done much more interesting meals when I was leading groups than I do when I'm solo.

That said, I always enjoy the challenge of developing backcountry meals that are a) reasonably lightweight, b) easy to fix, and c) really tasty. On my northern Yosemite trip last week I had my Puttanesca Pesto for dinner every night, and it was great. On group trips, I've made very creditable backcountry versions of Chicken Mole and Tom Kha Gai, among other exotic dishes.

[randy77]

I'm new to the forum, but here's my 2 cents: soup makes a good breakfast. Never at home, but for some reason it tastes great early in the AM before the sun warms me up. A packet of TJ's Miso with a 1/2 cup of roasted brown rice (Japanese markets carry this) thrown on it, a mug of hot tea w/honey, and I'm good for a while. Raw almonds, TJ's flattened bananas, and maybe a Stinger PB protein bar for lunch. More tea w/honey. On a hard climb day I like a "recovery" shake made of two scoops Carbo-Pro, 2 scoops Designer Whey protein, and a teaspoon of L-Glutamine. It all gets shaken with cold water in a wide mouth Nalgene. It seems to help.

I OD'ed on freeze-dried entres some time back. I can't even smell a Chili Mac ProPak without gaging now. Jerky doesn't taste so good to me anymore, either. Back in the '70's, they used to make a meat protein bar we'd crumble into mac and cheese. Can't find those anymore.

Honestly, I could do with just the Miso and roasted brown rice for dinner, too. Knorr soups make a lot and I guess they'd be fine.

[Oubliet]

I like to be able to enjoy my meals, especially in the evening after a day of hiking with a pack.

So, I usually cook something. It might be simple, but it's something that I'll definitely enjoy savoring.
If I bring the ingredients dried and/or powdered, it keeps the weight light.

Meals that I've prepared have included Thai curries, thick vegetable soups (a la minestrone), and soy sesame sauce based dishes. I will include a protein (egg, dried meat of some kind) some vegetables and a starch(couscous, noodles, boil-in-bag rice, or quinoa)

Asian supermarkets like Ranch 99 are great places for ingredients like powdered coconut milk, chili curry paste,and the like.

(I've found that I can successfully make these dishes over a simple alcohol burner stove, too!)

[East Side Hiker]

I am a very good cook, and love to cook at home. On the trail though, its only about sustenance and light weight. Like I've said, in-between the trips, its good bread, apples, cheese, seeds, yogurt, Corona, etc. on lay-over days. By the end of summer, I'm pretty bored with oatmeal...

[Troutdog 59]

Like most, it depends on the length of the trip, but I fall on the sustenance side of things for anything more that 3 days. I used to make all my meals at home, because the freeze dried stuff sucked in the early 70's . Trouble was, while my stuff tasted decent, it weighed more and I found myself carrying all sorts of extra items like strainers, 2 pots, a teflon pan, etc, etc, etc. About 6 or 7 years back I noticed the freeze dried meals had expanded and had some pretty appealing mixes. We tried em, and now they are my dinners. The eat right out of the bag type and I somewhat reluctantly have to admit I like them. No strainers, one pot, and my pack is considerably lighter than before. I don't carry a skillet on longer trips, but do bring some foil for trout if we are in areas where we can have fires (still alot of fire legal country on the west side).

Now weekenders and car camping are another story!!!

[Oubliet]

I simplify my recipes, but I do have to enjoy what I eat at the end of the day. I prefer having a nice "reward" meal after hiking uphill with a pack.

My breakfasts are simple: Usually a cup of Vietnamese coffee with a granola bar of some sort and dried fruit.

Lunches usually are half a bagel with hummus, cheese and salami.

Dinners vary. I try to have a pasta, grain, or potato starch based dish with some protein (lentils, salami, or dehydrated meats), dried veggies, and a tomato/onion/garlic based sauce, a sesame-soy sauce, or a thai curry based sauce to go with it.

[Clubb]

sustenance.

when i'm in the back country, i mostly eat bars/jerkey/freeze dried etc......simpler=better, although, the occasional brookie with a little salt/pepper/butter/capers, mmmmmmm....

i'm usually fishing into dark, getting back to camp and eating by headlamp.


Now, good coffee and good bourbon, no skimpin there.

[Cross Country]

I virtually always went the sustenance route. I love fresh fruit and vegetables but don't eat them every day. I like steak but I don't want it every week. I like wine and beer but don't drink those every week either. There is almost nothing I need to eat even every week, much less in a given week. My attitude towards food is the following: If there is nothing that I think is ultra important that weighs a lot (relatively), why in the world would I lug it into the backcountry. I am neither crazy nor badly compulsive. I sometimes took alcohol into the backcountry but every time I saw someone who carried beer into the backcountry I wondered if they were beeraholics, a little crazy, masochist, or trying really hard to empress someone (maybe themselves), ditto for anything else that was obviously too heavy. As a result, after I came back from a BP trip I nearly always had a craving for something, and this made it all the more enjoyable when I ingested it. None of that carrying heavy food stuff seemed any thing less that "nuts" to me. I loved being in the backcountry and didn't need to "treat" myself by ingesting something that added unnecessary weight to my pack. Being out there was a treat for me. I felt like I got a really full and gratifying experience from the trip. I could wait until I got home to eat something "heavy". Besides that, I always got to eat grommet out there. I love fresh trout. I cooked it lots of different ways, all of them relatively easy. I got really proficient at it too.

[Troutdog 59]

I already posted on the sustenance side, but I had to respond to.......

but every time I saw someone who carried beer into the backcountry I wondered if they were beeraholics, a little crazy, masochist

I concur, but I did once carry in two beers, I just didnt know it. We were hiking out of North Lake over LamaracK Col. We dropped our packs at the trailhead, and I drove my car back to the parking area while my brother watched our packs. Unknown to me, he stashes 2 16-oz Coors in my pack (which was actually pretty impressive seeing how crammed my pack was). Sitting atop Lamarack Col he askes me if I want a beer? Huh? Then the bugger opens my lower pack compartment and pulls out the beers. . It was hard to complain much, as after a few minutes in the snow, it was one of the tastiest beers Ive ever had even though it was a Coors (sorry bro).