Backpacking Food Details

Backpacking requires some special choices regarding food. When you are backpacking you won't have a cooler and you won't want to carry a large number of different pots and pans. You want your food to be lightweight. Likewise, you will need to pack out most of your trash, so you don't want to bring food that requires a lot of clean up. When you are just learning to Backpack, you want to start simply. The following should help Patrols with this.

Since many things menu items often come in 2 person servings and you will probably sleep in a two-man tent, it’s a good idea to think in pairs. Most freeze-dried food comes in 2 serving sizes. Each buddy pair will carry their food split between them and cook together.

This food is the easiest choice and has gotten pretty good in recent years. After doing some research, the Mountain House Brand is the best value and it's cheapest at Dick's Sporting Goods in Pineville. Sports Authority was the most expensive and had the smallest selection. If the Patrol and/Buddy Pairs want to go this route, I've jotted down the kinds that are available and the price to make it easy. The price is pretty good considering that non-freeze dried will cost you almost as much per serving and isn't as convenient. All you need is boiling water.

There are several ways to go here that are simple and easy. Always bring breakfast in a gallon Ziploc bag so you can pack out your trash cleanly.

• Instant Oatmeal Packets (w/raisins and whatever) - just heat water and pour into your bowl - very cheap

• Breakfast Bars - Nutri-grain and about 100 others - about $3.00 a box of 6-8
• Cereal in a 1/2 quart Ziploc bag with powdered milk thrown in. A box of Granola cereal with raisins & dates is about $3.50 and a small box of powdered milk is about $3.00 so this isn't the cheapest option for one meal, but not bad when spread out amongst several people. Use a tough cereal (granola, apple cinnamon cheerios) or you'll be eating crushed flakes.

There are lots ways to go here. Always bring lunch in a gallon Ziploc bag so you can pack out your trash cleanly. Make lunch a mix of small foods you can eat all at once or later. Remember lunchmeat will not stay good without being refrigerated. Here are some items that often work well in a mixed lunch.

• Pita Bread with a can of spray cheese - the can isn't real light, but it's good.
• Lipton Cup of Soup
• Lay's Cracker & Cheese - they come in a bunch of flavors, in a box of 8 and two of them are pretty filling)
• Pringles (half size cans)
• Chewy Granola Bars (remember the chocolate chip kind will melt)
• A bag of Ritz Bites or Mini-Oreo cookies - if you don't eat them all at lunch you can have some at dinner
• Gouda Cheese (anything with a rind) and a Beef Log - bring your pocket knife
• Pudding cups

The availability of canned chicken and pre-cooked ground beef in plastic packets (about $3.20) has really changed our options here. Any kind of flavored rice packets or pasta packets that don't require milk work well. Lipton's cheddar broccoli rice, Mexican rice, 'mac and cheese, etc are all about $1.30 or so. Just make the rice/pasta in a pot and when done, stir in the chicken or beef. These meals do require you to clean up the pot. Again, bring everything in its own gallon Ziploc bag to make trash easy.

Fortunately in the Carolinas we are blessed with lots of available water, which we will need to sanitize before drinking. Either Purification Tablets or a Filter are necessary. Remember to bring water in canteens and think about it before you need it. If you want, there are lots of Kool-Aid products out there. Just get them in 1 quarter amounts so you can make a whole canteen of it at once without waste.

Boy Scout Troop 333, River Hills Community Church, 104 Hamilton's Ferry Road
Lake Wylie, SC 29710