Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Backpacking Food

On all of my past trips, I have used the pre-packaged meals. I would like to get away from them and start making my own food. Not sure where to get started. Any advice?

Hi BigMatt,

I have been having a lot of luck on trips between 3 and 5 days by keeping my dinners down to Couscous, and these little packages of Thai noodles from Thai Kitchen http://p2.hostingprod.com/@thaikitchen.com/productsstore.html. These noodles are great because they are light, take up little space in a bear canister, and feel really good going down after a really hard day in the Sierra's. Oh yeah, and they come with a little package of flavored oil. Like most people I have seen on this board talking about getting their food into a canister, I repackage everything I can (except the Thai noodles). I bring a little ****ey, and a good deal of dried fruit, and some nuts. My girlfriend loves to make me carry fresh fruit like apples if there is room in the canister. I also take a few power bars, but they are heavy. I hate oatmeal, but if you can stand it, instant oatmeal seems to be a favorite of a lot of my friends. Hope that helps.

Forgot to mention that I bring at least one stove, so if you are trying to go so light that you don't bring a stove, the couscous and Thai noodles won't work. By the way, I noticed the board sensored the dried meat (****ey) that I sometimes bring. Also, just for clarity, if you check out the link I posted, the noodles I bring are the instant rice noodle soups.

I wonder if it will censor this: jurkey

Way to get around the system Tre. Now I know. Thanks.

There are many ways to go light and tasty without doing freeze dried. Though I am by no means a gourmet chef, I do like to cook(not just head water). Boxed noodles(like pasta roni) and couscous(as mentioned) are two of my favorites. Invest in a dehydrator which allows you to create your own dehydrated veggies and you've got a nice mix. One can take small vials of oil and powdered milk to help make these things. Also pre-cooking meats and freezing(prior to the trip) them works well for the first night out. Dehydrator and vacuum sealer, with these two the possibilities are endless.
Eric J Lee

heat not head, oopsie.
Eric

Hey Matt...On short trips the expensive dehydrated stuff is ok but for anything serious repackaging your own bulk staples is the only way to go: Less trash to pack out, less volume in your pack, and you won't be cramping up in your bag from a sodium overload. =)

I like to start and end each day with 'hots'...Oatmeal or other hot cereal in the morning and a one pot dish of noodles/rice/pasta/spuds with protein like vaccum packed tuna/chicken/ham added in. Swish a little hot water in your cup/bowl after eating and then follow with tea or other beverage and you don't need to wash anything other than a big pot (if cooking for a large group). If it's a long trip I like to bring some precut veggies and and ripe avocado to wean myself off the green things. Oh yeah...Don't forget to bring hot sauce.

'Lunch' for me (other than bagels and power bars) is all the junky crap I feel guilty eating at home in the city. =) Eat a little 'Lunch' everytime you stop to rest. String cheese, salami, summer sausage, pop-tarts, chocholate, nuts...Bring a variety 'cuz the higher you go the less you will feel like eathing. Try to have both sweet and salty junk and figure out what works! A guy I know made it up Rainier last summer eating nothing but COMBO PIZZA all the way to the top! Getting enough calories is what counts.

The advice above will serve you well in any general mountaineering context...But there are at least a couple of other dominant schools of thought:

1.) Fast and Light - Subsist on nothing but GU and Gookinaid (hot and cold) and take Immodium to avoid having to blue bag it. Avoid sleep at all costs so you can leave the tent at home. Suffer as much as possible and tell yourself how much you love it.

2.) Slow and Heavy - Pack everything including booze/box-wine, REI outdoor wine snifters, chopping board, knife set, cook set, convection oven, the kitchen sink and REI solar/battery-powered margarita mixer...Leave camp everyday after a California Alpine Start (somewhere around 10-11AM) with an altitude enhanced hangover and a 65 pound pack. Suffer and savor.

Your milage will, of course, vary and you will find your own balance. For me I want to maximize my climbing time and food is just not that important...I get lots of restaurant food in the city. Also, in winter conditions, melting snow for water consumes lots of time and so 'cooking' should happen during that period and require only hot water and a pot/bowl so you can get out of the cold and into your bag.

Hope this has helped/amused...Be safe and have fun!

>>>one pot dish of noodles/rice/pasta/spuds with protein like vaccum packed tuna/chicken/ham added in.<<<

This would be dinner. =)

The other problem with packaged dehydrated food is the high price. Thai noodles cook fast, cost little, task ok, and you can repackage them to save space. They don't have all the sodium the other junky hiker food has. I also bring lots of accelerade and protein shakes and tiny nalgene bottles with olive oil. I do bring a stove but the fuel not the stove weighs a lot so I only boil water for coffee, noodles, some dehydrated hiker food, and oats. Pasta burns too much fuel so I don't use it. There also is a company called "tasty bite" which makes an assortment of Indian food - you cook it by boiling the package. It is a bit heavy though so I usually eat that for breakfast before the hike or upon return.
Not all dehydrated food is the same. An organic place named "Mary Jane's Farm" sells really tasty hiker food in packages or in bulk! They have a large variety and the meals don't contain too much sodium.
Finally, sometimes after a long day the salty hiker dehydrated food (like a pile of lasagne or blueberry crumbler) tastes really good.

>>>Dehydrator and vacuum sealer, with these two the possibilities are endless.<<<

Eric you are either a mormon or married to one! =) I need to invest in the above myself...Good advice.

You all got me thinking about the dehydrated food. A friend of mine introduced me to the Just Veggies, and Just Fruit last year,(a search on the 'net for either will bring up many links, but many people probably already know about them), but, as Eric mentioned, I am sure many people out there have their own dehydrator. I don't, and I don't mind the expense of the Just Veggies and Fruit. I mix up some of the peas, onions, red bell peppers, and a small amount of the roasted garlic for some of the couscous as a way to get some "real" food. If you like to bring evaporated milk and granola, the Just Fruit raspberries, or strawberries are a really good addition.

Surprisingly enough I have no relation to mormons what so ever, though I have read the Krakauer book about them(interesting to say the least). I got my dehydrator at Target for $35, not high end but it gets the job done. The only reason I use all this is that when you are planning 2 and a half months of straight hiking buying prepackaged food becomes expensive. In other words bulk home made stuff saved me lots of dough.
Eric J Lee

LOL Eric...Mormons ARE interesting! Met a girl here in LA (I am married mind you) and she had me ready to convert:

"My dad was a pretty big climber until he whipped and shattered his leg on a ledge and was barely lowered off...He's so proud of me for leading 5.9-10! We still ski big peaks together as a family every year back home (Utah)...So you climb, huh?"

Offhandedly, my new friend also WENT OFF on the virtues of food preservation (a tenet of the faith, given the history, I guess). I got the feeling she looked down upon me for not owning my own dehydrator. =)

Seriously...If you can find it in your life to not work and devote 10 weeks or more to 'through hiking' you are my hero! On my way to Target this weekend to get the goods!

The ideas presented are great. I often start with instant mashed potatoes and try adding to them (instant rice works well too.)

Add such things as bacon bits(TVP), or salami, and cheese. I have found a powdered butter substitute in the spice section of the supermarket called Molly McButter that is not bad. The same company also makes a powdered cheese substitute. Premix at home and just add hot water!!

Also Zataran's (spelling?) cajun rice mixes and salami are great. but make enough for 2 or 3 people. Works good for groups.

If you don't mind carrying some extra fuel, good ol' Kraft Macaroni & Cheese is cheap and packs well. You'll need some powdered milk and butter/oil/margarine...I stock up by asking for extra butter packets at the local KFC.

Ramen noodles are quick to cook but not very efficient, volumetrically.

On multi-day trips, I try to alternate "real" with freeze-dried dinners.

Breakfasts are usually just instant oatmeal packets. Lunches, bring a squeeze tube full of peanut butter, a pack of tortillas (high density carbs, pack well), dry salami and hard cheddar.

Carry a few "treats" like canned chicken, tuna, etc., to dress up the Ramen noodles once in a while, even though you're carrying packaged water and hauling the empty can around.

Add one of those multi-spice shakers with garlic, paprika, etc., in it to perk up the plain stuff, too.

Within the Mormon faith, the women have a monthly get together called "Home, Family, and Personal Enrichment." Consequently they come home with all kinds of cool ideas about cooking, sewing, craft making. Combined with their emphasis on self reliance, I see the link to the dehydrator and vacuum sealer.

I need to get with the program. Being a life long Mormon, surrounded by Mormons and coming from a family of Mormons going back over 100 years, I hate to admit I haven't upgraded to a dehydrator and vacuum sealer. But I must admit I have been tempted....not for religious reasons....but because it would be cool to have them.

I usually bring a mix between store bought expensive stuff and stuff I dried myself. I rarely buy dried fruit. To be honest, the stuff you dry yourself tastes better. Interesting thread going here...would I dry my own food if I didn't come from a family with a heritage of drying their own food? Probably, but I have always dried my own, plus its so much less-expensive. And, I have a reliable food dryer (of the Target variety), cost me $40, I've used it for about 5 summers, works great (but meat takes a long time if you don't slice it thin enough.)

I have to second the "Mary Jane" brand of dehydrated meals. It's the only one I will buy from now on, as long as I can find it at the store. One of those for dinner is enough for me with a candy bar for dessert. Plus I usually have some fresh trout to go with it! ;-)

Last year I got turned on to the salami, cheese, and wheat thin lunches. It's really good! Someone suggested the mini-rounds of cheese that are sealed in wax. I think they are the "laughing cow" brand. I took a large bag of them that I got at Costco and they lasted the full six days of my trip without spoilage. The summer sausage and salami I bought held up also.

I like the "mountain house" granola with blueberries and milk for breakfast. All you have to do is pour a half cup of cold water in the pouch and you're good to go. I know they're expensive, but since I only do one six day trip a year I don't sweat it.

Every year I tell my friends, "It's cheaper for me to go backpacking for a week than it is to stay home for a week." All I have to pay for is gas and groceries. If I stay home and go out to a movie and dinner, I've spent as much.

Cheers...

If my wife only allows me one or two backpacking adventures a year- 5 to 7 days each if I am lucky. I plan, dream, and ponder these trips for months before, trying to anticipate and make certain that everything is perfect in advance. I realize that once you get in there, there is no place to buy anything you forgot.
Now, when it comes to food, if it means making a choice between buying one item that costs a dollar, and one that costs $2, this is a no-brainer. I agree it costs me less to backpack than stay at home- (after gas and equipment of course). I know that nothing tastes as good as when it is cooked over a stove at 11,000', but I do not buy off brands of anything to take to the mountains. It's my sacred week.
Now if I can only convince my wife...