Backpacking Food

Backpacking is one of the most enjoyable activities a Scout can have. While it is fun to enjoy nature, take a nap in the warm sun and enjoy a campfire, there is nothing that warms the soul more than a well prepared meal while backpacking. It seems to refresh the spirit more than car camping and cooking. Maybe it's the self reliance of it all, the solace encountered in the woods, or the simple refreshment it provides.

When scouts put together backpacking meal plans for their patrols, Asisstant Scoutmasters have more than the Scouts' immediate health and welfare in mind. The menu is designed to help them learn new skills and practice old skills. It gives them opportunities to try different cooking styles and techniques and to taste new foods.

A daily menu includes, on one side, a food list and duty roster for each meal and, on the other, recipes and tips. As the days go by, the meal sheets include fewer and fewer details, increasing the challenge and opening up creative approaches for adventuresome cooks.

With backpacking, the emphasis is on lightweight foods available at a supermarket - dried and powdered ingredients, a few small tins, no bottles. Foods you can eat without cooking (hard sausage, cheese, fruit leather) are always a good idea. particularly for days when you face a tough trip and could reach your destination very late and very tired.

Instead of carrying mayo, mustard, relish, hot sauce, parmesan cheese, hot peppers,etc. in plastic containers, take packets which can be purchased at Costco or at fast food restaurants. Pre-mix ingredients and carry them in zip-lock freezer bags. This cuts down on weight, trash and the bags have other uses such as holding fish guts or collecting dry moss and twigs for the campfire.

Many of the same principles that are used for car camp cooking also apply to backpack cooking. Here are some helpful hints.

1. Always pack an extra meal or two just in case.
2. Cover your pots when cooking to save fuel.
3. Eat fresh or fatty food first so it doesn't spoil.
4. Eat heavy foods first to lighten load for rest of the trip.
5. To keep weight down, collaborate with other Scouts to share carrying different utensils and food. A spork, knife, pan, water bottle/cup and a pot are really the essentials.
6. Make sure to understand how your stove works and how much fuel it consumes. Spare parts are a godsend if your stove breaks; make sure you have the right spare parts. Want to know more about different types of stoves? Check this out.
7. Calculate a hearty and fulfilling diet for the trail. A well balanced breakfast, lunch and dinner are essential. Make sure to have plenty of trail mix for the times between meals.
8. Fragile items have to be left at home (such as eggs, glass containers, etc.) as no Scout wants to have a mess in his pack!
9. To keep critters out of camp keep food stored away & pick up spills. Never sleep with food (or other attractive items like toothpaste, gum, etc.) in your tent -- hang it in a bag from a high tree limb.
10. What you pack in must be packed out. That means any wrappers, foil, seasoning packets, and food waste.

Hopefully, these tips will help you in trying to figure out what you want to do and how to do it for your next trip into the woods.