Camp Food

[DNR]

I'm a fan of eating good on camping trips.
Steaks (or better yet venison), potatos, corn on the cob or my favorite - a big dutch oven roast with all the veggies.
Eggs and bacon/sausage for B-fast.

But I'm going to be doing some 2-3 night trips this Spring and Summer and don't want to carry perishable foods for the second/third night.

I've got some MREs, they're not bad - but not good. At least you get some snacks, etc.
In the past I've done freeze dried food, some are just plain nasty.

I experimented with a differant brand the other day.


And the cool ranger stove that Randy showed a while back to boil my water.

Boiled water in about 8 min.

Now doesn't that look good-

Cooked-


It was actually better than I expected, better than most I've had.

So my question, what do ya'll eat on night 2-3+?
What brands and meal of freeze dried are the best tasting?
Favorite MRE?

[DarrellS]

I don't have anything against MRE's but up to a week trip I carry fresh food.

[redtarpon]

I've got some MRE's that have been in my closet for at least three years. We would always take them out to big bend. I think I will start to bring canned chili with me on kayaking trips, the extra weight should not matter too much like it does when backpacking...

[Hirsch]

summer sausage, canned soups and stews, fruit cups and trail mix for starters.

[bowgarguide]

I have taken several 5 day trips and pack fresh food for the whole trip,
Me and Darrel ain't no little boys and we are both partial to good food.
Ron

[milret]

Pre boiled eggs, canned sausages, chilimac, beefaroni, things like that. Ice chest can only hold so much ice and it is heavy. Pre freeze water bottles helps. I take what I need, not what I want. My yak is small and I am not. If I operate out of a base camp, well that is a different story.

[CaptJack]

When I was in Vietnam the normal field food was C-rations (canned - heavy)
The freeze dried food (LRRPs) was just starting to be passed out.
We'd get 9 C-rat meals and 3- freeze dried for a 4 day re-supply
Mountain House was the government contractor that produced the freeze dried meals
they have always been the best

most Mountain House freeze dried meals are 2 servings in each bag
just before a trip I will open mine and split them in half
I have a food bag vacuum sealer so I just re-seal them in 1 serving meals

also - you can open and take your MREs apart and just pack the parts that you need
we did the same thing with our C-ration meals

[CaptJack]

I have taken several 5 day trips and pack fresh food for the whole trip,
Me and Darrel ain't no little boys and we are both partial to good food.
Ron

Ron - being a 'grunt' and carrying everything on my back, including ammo for a 30-day mission, I think about food on a trip as 'fuel'. I carry the fuel I need to keep me going and treat myself with trail-mix, Harvest PowerBars, good jerky, &a pint of good Tequila

[DNR]

CaptJack - 'Jet fuel'






bowgarguide - how long do those frozen water bottles last you?
A couple of last summers trips were in the 103 degree temps in the daytime and mine didn't last longer than a day. I do have to carry a pretty small cooler with me though. Not full sized at least.

Good ideas everbody.

[bowgarguide]

Dnr
I use a five day extreme cooler ,think it is a 50 quart.
I dump the ice from the icemaker on the fridge into it the night before,then the next morning pore off the water put in a few small water bottles and gator aides frozen bust one 8 lb bag of ice and then add another still sealed
add the food ,with this setup 5 to 8 days depending on how many times you get into it and the outside weather.
Ron

[Triple E]

When backpacking I always liked to use the lipton noodle packs that come in different flavors. Most require some milk component so I would carry powdered milk and a tin of canned chicken or tuna to add.

Dry beans that you soak in water bottle while you are traveling or the premixed red beans and rice kits with some cured salami is pretty tasty too.

[CaptJack]

you guys are way beyond me - I kayak camp like I backpack - same - same....

[bowgarguide]

Jack
I spent 18 months on a little vacation in south east Asia, and I know what your talking about. but I dont have to do that now so I make myself as comphy as I want .
Sleep comfortable warm and dry and eat good with plenty of ice for my toddys
Ron
67 68

[Bassbug]

for 4 guys we will plan a meal a piece. we dehydrate as much as we can and reconstitute it later.

we usually make,

the first night we grill steaks, to get rid of the weight and to start the trip off right.

Spag with dehydrated ground round.

Lentils with spam and onions.

[Hirsch]

Last night I set out some dried limas and the hambone from Christmas on which I left a generous amount of meat. There is now a bean/ham potatoe blend with half a dozen delightful herbs and spices simmering on the stove for dinner to be supplemented by corn muffins. At least one portion size container will go in the freezer. I typically do that and later it gets packed in the cooler for these trips. Augmented by a bagel or crackers it makes a meal that sticks to the ribs.

I also tend to pack dried fruit for breakfast and snacks in addition to the trail mix.

[Jeffman]

I use a combination of fish (when I'm lucky )freeze dried food (i.e. Mountain house), MREs and a SMALL amount of produce. Besides the necture in my trusty flask, all beverages originate from the river. I stopped using ice long ago. I eat very well and travel very light. Too easy!