Planning for a long (3+ weeks) trip

[KCStudly]

I saw that!

[Crabapple]

Well...too late for this trip but here is my suggestion for the future; invest in a food dehydrator. You can make your favourite meals at home ahead of time and dehydrate them. The meals are compact, light weight, keep a very long time without any refrigeration required, and when rehydrated taste just like they did when you made it fresh!!
What I typically do is for a few weeks ahead of a trip I make a large pot or wok full of a favourite dish, have it for dinner, then dehydrate the leftovers. I store the meals in double bagged zip lock sandwich bags. A sandwich size bag of dehydrated dinner will feed 2 people when rehydrated.
My camping background consist mostly of a great many years of wilderness canoe tripping where you have to paddle & portage everything, and obviously no refrigeration and no "stopping at the store". A dehydrator is essential to quality eats for extended back country canoe or hiking trips!

[deceiver]

We're campers. Keep a small supply of stuff that can be cooked on a stove. i.e. beans, spaghetti sauce, Whatever you need. Then as you travel, about an hour before stopping for the night, find a grocery store and pick up something for the fire. An example might be Chicken breast, cuke, ear of corn, cucumber. Do the meat and corn on the fire and the rest is cold. Or the right amount of hamburg and rolls from the deli dept. No cooler needed and no waste. Just what you need. If you don't travel that day or can't shop, or don't find a store, well, you've got your backup stuff.

[tx2sturgis]

I wonder how this trip turned out?

[working on it]

... I have an awesome new Yeti cooler, but it's on the smaller side so I'm trying to find recipes with non-perishable ingredients (vegetarian chili, pasta, etc.) and will likely take a second cooler for cold drinks that won't hold ice as long or as well.... I don't eat meat, so that's one less perishable thing to pack!....

• Have fun on your trip; but I don't have any ideas for your pantry. If I had your Yeti, I would be in great shape, because it would be packed with Egg-beaters, breakfast sausage, hash browns etc, that I've had trouble with keeping cold on my trips, so far; the second cooler would have bottled water (for use with single-serving peach ice-tea mix packets), and my main storage would have canned greens, canned German Potato salad, and SPAM (I don't leave home without it). Two small meals a day, and I'm good to go.
• As you can see, I'm not into vegetarian diets, but it's worked for me for 67 years, and it's too late to change my ways. Is there a vegetarian equivalent to all-purpose Spam?

[S. Heisley]

I wonder how this trip turned out?

Me too! Let's hope we hear from her!

[NorthEGPhoto]

Heck, I'M excited.

Take that Dutch and cook up this for your pals. It ain't rocket science and they'll be blown away:



You can leave the eggs at home and use 7 Up or Sprite instead (trust me –add it until your batter is "there"). Also, for it to come out as perfect as the video, the Dutch has to be on a level spot. Otherwise, it'll be thick and thin.

I'd throw a can of bear spray in (you won't need it but you should have it on those hikes). Dunno if the Canadians will let you cross the border with it.

Tony

Don't quote me on this, but I believe the 'pepper spray' type bear spray is fine. Generally though, make yourself as big, loud and intimidating as possible should you come nose-to-snout. climbing trees, playing dead, running away.. etc.. are probably going to get you made lunch of. and if a bear just wants your food, be polite and share. not worth your life.

[ae6black]

I must be weird, because I really don't take anything different while camping than I eat at home. With a couple of dutch ovens, a propane stove I can cook just about anything I would a home. Sometimes I might premix dry ingredients for a cake or bread mix, but I figure I am camping, part of the fun is sitting around the campsite making the meal. If I run out of propane, I have a rocket stove that will heat up chicken, rice and veggies in short order. I can cook anything on that will allow me to cook with high heat. Never tried french fries, but I am sure that it could be done with fresh potatoes and some veggie oil to cook it in. The only problem with that set up is the soot, with clean up being a pain. Sometimes I can up some pork loin in small pieces for the meat in my spaghetti before I go, but that's about the extent of it. Being canned, it doesn't need refrigeration. It also goes really well with those spicy rice mixtures that you can get in a can at walmart. If I don't feel like cooking a big meal, there's always hot dogs and buns or a quick sandwich. Sometimes, I even get fancier than I do at home because I generally have more time on my hands. Some of my favorites to cook in the dutch oven are baked corn, applesauce bread, that Easy potato bake that I found in one of this forums rescipies. I also like peaches with brown sugar with a yellow cake mix dumped on top. I have to admit with a truck and a cap, I can take all my toys with me without having to conserve space, but that's just what I have for a tow vehicle. If I mess something up, the dog is quiet willing to clean up after me. Usually he likes my cooking even when I do not. If you have to eat on the fly while traveling, there are plenty of fast food joints to hit on the highway before even making camp.

Art