The Basics – Food and Cooking

Welcome back to my little blog, where I spill the beans on some stupid mistakes I have made so far in hopes that it will save someone else the headache.  I also love to share the solutions I have found.

This post will be different, though.  This time around I will not discuss boneheaded mistakes.  Instead I am going to share what I have tried, and what I have liked and not liked, in terms of food and cooking.  And understand fully that since all of us have tastes that change over time that this will need to be updated at some point.

That said, let me jump in.

From my experiences so far, cooking on trail consists of heating water to rehydrate something.  I know there are many other types of meals that can be prepared on trail, but I have just not yet explored those options.

So, how have I gone about heating up my water?  I’ve tried three options so far.

The first was to go total Boy Scout and heat the water in a pot directly on a fire.  It is effective, to be sure.  But the pot gets charred and smells afterwards – And I needed to put it back in my pack to pass through airport security.  I therefore decided that this would be used only as a last resort.

I then bought a Jetboil:

I think all of us may have explored these at some point.  It is indeed effective at heating water, and weighs in at 445g without the fuel cannister.  One thing I did like was a small fuel cannister can fit inside along with all the other components.  I’ve had mine for about 5 years and the last time I took it out the starter malfunctioned.  For some reason I did not have a lighter or matches with me, so I had to eat cold food on that trip.  Before that I had also grown tired of having just one pot – That meant that morning coffee and breakfast would all have to be eaten in shifts from the same pot.

I am currently using this setup:

I have no idea the brand, nor where I got it.  The whole setup weighs in at 449g, so definitely comparable to the Jetboil, and the stove itself is just 26g.  It wont bring water up to a boil as quickly or efficiently as a Jetboil, but it does a good enough job.  You will note the makeshift cozies I’ve tried to make for both the pot and the mug – Neither are very effective.

This is the type of fuel cannister I am packing these days, and I believe this is a full one and weighs in at 378g:

I am planning on shifting my gear over the next five years to ultralight, but the cost of that will mean I cannot do it all at once.  I’ll keep you posted on any updates.

The food I take has always been evolving.  I started off believing the Hiker Hunger would hit me the first day, so I packed a ridiculous amount of food the first time out – For a planned 4 days:

In reality, I’ve not yet hit the Hiker Hunger.  And my longest trip so far has been a week.  But I have tried enough to know that I viscerally dislike Knorr side’s.  Can.  Not.  Eat.  Those.  I’m not sure why.  But these I like:

The only problem I’ve encountered with Mountain House, or similar meals, is that sometimes the rice or noodles will remain a bit crunchy.  Of course, Ramen Noodles is always a staple on the trail – Off the trail I will absolute keelhaul someone if they try to serve me that nasty tripe.  But just about anything can be made better by taking along small bottles of olive oil, tabasco, or honey.

And as far as food goes, there is really only one set-in-stone rule I have.  Towards the end of the day try to get as close to the base of the first major climb for the next day.  Then eat a good breakfast before heading out in the morning.  Typically for me, that is three packs of instant oatmeal.  That will give me enough fuel to make it over that first climb.

Food storage in very important!  You want neither bears nor mice getting into your provisions, so care must be taken.  I’m currently using an Ursack which is made of Kevlar.  Theoretically I can just tie the bag off to a tree and be done with it for the night.  In practice, though, I hang it from a branch using the PCT method – Click through to see how it’s done.  There have been times when I’ve not been able to find a suitable branch, so I’ve just wedged it as best I could into something and tied it off.  For an extra measure, and to keep the stuff in my sack dry, I also use an Opsak, the “op” standing for “odor proof.”  If the bears and mice cannot smell my food they wont know where to look.  Add to this another Opsak that I keep in there for my garbage, particularly food garbage. 

Never ever ever ever do I keep my food bag in my tent at night.  Or anywhere close to my tent, for that matter.  It should be stashed a good distance away.  The only exception is when I am using a shelter on the AT and I hang from the provided bear cables. 

Here is a pic of my current setup:

So that is where I am, at this point in time, regarding food and cooking supplies.  As I said, this one will certainly evolve.  And when it does, I will talk about it here.

#Hiking #GenX #GenerationX #Retirement #Adventure #Backpacking #ursack #Gear #AppalachianTrail #MountainHouse #MountainHouseMeals #UrsackBearBag #opsak #PCTmethod