Easy Backpacking Dinner Recipes

So it''s going carbo all the way? Thanks for this post!

I like to glue

These are good ideas! Have you heard about freezer bag cooking? You basically cook the pasta and then use a dehydrator to re-dry it... you can even dehydrate sauce or veggies. You put everything in a quart sized freezer bag. When you want to eat it, you just add some boiling water to the bag (enough to cover everything) and wrap the bag up in a jacket to keep it warm. It is ready to eat after about 20 minutes. It takes a little more effort, but it adds less weight to your pack if you are getting your water from a river.

Also, Fantastic World Foods (usually sold at Fry''s) has dehydrated hummus... it come to life really well in a freezer bag, too!

As for the olive oil - some sandwich shops and delis have little single serving sized packets of olive oil (a little bigger than ketchup packets, but the same idea).

I miss camping :(

Don''t packpack cooked pasta! Well. maybe, if it''s an overnight trip or a dry camp. Serious backpacking = low weight. Dehydrate. My favorite: snow peas. Light, lasts for several days. Hummus, taboule, drtied black beans (soup), dried mushrooms, like shitake, dried tomatoes, garlic, Fettuccine Parmesan pine nuts, dried chili, ghee, dried miso packets (replace lost minerals).

First of all, in answer to the olive oil container question: I just carried about six ounces, or maybe more, in a thick plastic bottle. The bottle may have been for soap but had a good seal. I carried it inside of a zip-lock bag, just in case of leaks and never had any trouble on the entire length of the Appalachian Trail. The most difficult thing about the olive oil was refills. It was great if I was in town with others that needed it too, we could divide a small bottle. When alone I usually ended up giving the rest to the store clerk, it is too expensive to throw away.

As for favorite trail food, nothing beats couscous. It is very high energy and cooks in five minutes. Bring water to a boil, add couscous and remove from heat. This is a real energy saver if using a portable stove, but not an issue if you''re using a fire. Additionally, it is very light and Near East has various flavors. I would purchase the Near East product and then repack it in zip-locked bags to save space in the pack. Meats, veggies, even fruit like raisins can be added to spice things up.

Dennis "K1" Blanchard
Author of Three Hundred Zeroes: Lessons of the Heart on the Appalachian Trail (on amazon.com)