Camping is a popular activity, enjoyed by many people throughout the nation. But when it comes to food and preparing meals, especially when it comes to backpacking, mistakes can be easy to make.
When one goes backpacking, they are carrying everything, from their shelter to all the clothes they need to, yes, their food, on their back. So naturally one tries to reduce the weight they are carrying as much as possible. One of the heaviest things that go into one’s pack can be food.
In an effort to make one’s backpacking experience more enjoyable, one needs to find the balance between low weight foods that also provide enough calories to fuel the strenuous activity involved with backpacking. There are several ways to reduce the weight of one’s meals.
The first thing one should do is select foods that are, by nature, already low on weight. Items such as dehydrated noodles and nuts are not heavy, and also provide sufficient nutrition for hiking. There are several companies that sell freeze-dried meals that are light weight, but these are often expensive and are often not particularly very tasty.
Another thing one should look at to reduce weight is packaging. Foods such as tuna fish and chunk chicken are excellent for backpacking, as they are quite nutritious and do not require refrigeration, but are often found in heavy aluminum containers that sometimes require a can opener to open.
However, it is becoming increasingly more common to find in groceries stores, on the same aisle, often next to the heavy aluminum containers, tuna fish and chicken in lightweight, easy to carry pouches.
Backpackers should plan their hikes so that they do not carry too much food or too little food. For a short, weekend hike, one can carry all their food with them. However, for longer hikes, such as through-hikes of the Appalachian Trail, one has the option to buy food at one of the many towns along the trail, or you can buy food at home and ship it to destinations along the trail.
Camping meals do not need to be complex! A meal of chicken flavored Ramen noodles with some chunk chicken thrown in can be just as satisfying as chicken cordon bleu with a side of red skinned mashed potatoes, not to mention a lot less stressful to prepare.
While the idea of cooking over the campfire is romantic, one should always carry a stove with them. Luck would have it that all the available firewood is wet, the lighter won’t strike or the matches are wet, or you end up in an area with no firewood at all. Having a stove would take this unfortunate situation and make it a negligible fact.
Finally, throw your trash away! Trash thrown on the trail harms the environment and makes it less enjoyable for other hikers. If you’re in an area where there are no trash cans, carry it with you until you get to one.
Just make sure that if you’re in an area known for bears, you hang your food and trash in a tree. If everyone keeps their trash off of the trails, they will remain beautiful for generations to come.
