Trail Foods?

[ScottD]

On my last hiking trip about a month ago I brought a fatty ham which I ate with a spread of ghee.
I also had pork rinds that I grounded beforehand and put in a plastic container to keep weight and volume down.

I hope you have a nice trip!

birk

Thanks Birk, I was just considering some pork rinds for the trip but completely missed the obvious of smashing them to save space. Did you just eat them with a spoon at that point? They might work well combined into a trail mix.

Have a good trip. My menus from past camping trips was typically heavy in sugar and carbs, so I hope you will share your experiences when back as to menu and energy levels.

Thanks l_autrre_d. After my trip I'll post up what I ate along the way. Since it won't be purely protein/fats others will probably need to adjust accordingly to where they are in their diet.

I see that another has warned of the possible "bear" troubles that can happen if you do not prepare a "safe' camp. I have dealt with the situation on a personal basis when a young man, & do not wish to repeat the situation. Use care.

Thanks Sportsman, after a trip a few years ago to New Mexico I learned how to handle myself and food in bear territories out there. It is a bit different dealing with brown bears in the west compared to black bears here. The black bears are typically near-sighted and usually frightened by noise. However I do use a bear bag if nothing else to keep raccoons and mice out of food and I never keep snacks on me at night. I've heard too many horror stories of people keeping a stash of goodies in their bag and being ripped out of ther tent by a bear just wanting a candy bar.

 

[3DStudent]

Hi ScottD, I think pemmican was mentioned earlier. I wanted to point out this page where you can order bars of it. They're 20g of protein and 400 calories, so basically a meal.

I bought some today and have also tried their 2 pound pail of pemmican. It's kind of bland, but it works as an efficient fuel.

 

[ScottD]

I had contemplated buying from them at one point but many have said it doesn't have much flavor so I thought I would try to do it on my own instead and maybe toss in a few basic spices to it to give it a little more flavor. Plus I'd rather learn the art of creating it should I ever need the skill.

 

[ScottD]

I just got back from my trip (Hey Guardian I waved in your direction from atop Black Balsam! ). I concocted my bacon nut balls with varying success. I cooked up about 6 slices of bacon, took about a cup and a half of various nuts, and 6 dates in the food processor. I ground it all up and kept the processor running while pouring in about 2 tablespoons of coconut oil (I warmed it to liquify it). Afterwards I rolled the mixture into balls and set them in the freezer to harden. Upon hardening I vacuum sealed them into meal proportions. The coconut oil apparently warmed a little too much on the trail so they started to turn to mush but still held a decent consistency to eat. They were successful in that they tasted decent enough but during warmer months I don't think they would hold up as well. I'm not sure what other fat would hold up to higher temperatures, perhaps ghee next time?

I also took the time to create some hamburger rocks with some brown rice. I spiced it with a little cajun spice I had on hand and it hit the spot well. I know the brown rice was cheating a bit but it worked well for where I am at with the diet and really made my mouth and belly happy after 9 hours on the trail.

The rest of my meals consisted of various meat snacks (tanka bars since I didn't have time to prepare pemmican properly), coconut oil, a carob/spirulina chunks I procured from Whole Foods, and nut/fruit mixtures. All in all my energy levels remained very high despite a very tough trail and small portions of food. I hope to have an even better menu on my next outting.