Great backpacking food should be easy, tasty

Have you always wanted to go backpacking overnight, but have no idea how to start?

Well, all this week, I'll be posting ideas from "Backpacking 101," an article you'd find in its entirety in the July 2007 issue of Washington Trails magazine. Features such as this are supported by your membership. If you're not a member of WTA, please take a moment to become a member online. Thanks!

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One of the pleasures (and challenges) of overnight hiking is feeding yourself. A warm meal eaten on a boulder overlooking the peaks of the North Cascades is something you won't experience on a day hike.

Because you're trying to balance nutrition with conserving weight, you'll want to focus on foods with high energy and nutrition content for their weight. Since water makes food heavier, dehydrated foods are easier to pack, and can be rehydrated easily and quickly. There are myriad options of prepackaged backpacking meals. But they tend to be expensive, and meals advertised for two hikers are sometimes only sufficient for one hiker after a hard day on trail.

You can make your own simple backpacking meals much more cheaply. Boxed macaroni and cheese, supplemented with a small can of tuna, is a classic backpacking dinner (rebag in resealable plastic bags to reduce weight, and remember to bring some dehydrated milk powder to mix with the cheese packet). Angel-hair pasta tossed with a package of dried pesto sauce, some pine nuts, a little olive oil and sun-dried tomatoes makes a quick, gourmet dinner. Instant soups are a great appetizer and warm-up while you're waiting for your meal to cook. Find more recipes, food reviews and more here.

Lunches usually consist of dense, calorie-rich foods such as bagels, cheese, nuts, salami, trail mix, dried fruit, powdered hummus, jerky, M&Ms, drink mixes (such as powdered Gatorade) and energy bars. Snack throughout the day to keep energy levels higher and to avoid feeling full.

Breakfast options range from the old standby—instant oatmeal—to more creative ideas such as homemade granola, instant soups, toaster pastries, or even pancakes laden with fresh mountain huckleberries.
For more do-it-yourself meal ideas, check WTA's online Backcountry Kitchen at www.wta.org/kitchen.

Photo by Jason Zabriskie.