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Thursday, April 23, 2009

Hot Meals are Packed!


photo label

All the hot meals for the hike are completely done, weighed, labeled and packaged. The picture above is 13 hot meals for our hike. We are taking a day off at a commercial lodge and will eat 2 hot meals there, and the last full hiking day we will eat out when we finish for the day.

Each packet is about 7"x10". The weights range from just under a pound to 30 ounces. I'm thinking that I've got too much food in that one, and I may change the dessert. These are all for 4 people.

For some of you who were interested, here is the list:
  1. Eggplant w/tomato sauce and spaghetti
    Chocolate pudding
  2. Spanish rice w/salami, Cinnamon pears
  3. Beef-barley stew, Caraway dumplings, Cranberry-apple compote
  4. Cheesy bacospuds, Olive salad, Tootsie rolls
  5. Mushroom bacospuds, Veggie chips, Peach gingerbread cobbler
  6. Tuckered In (an apple/sweetpotato/sausage dish), Cole slaw, Riesen candies
  7. Buttermilk dill soup, Veggie chips, cinnamon rolls
  8. Tuna-rice curry, Peanuts, Banana pudding
  9. Chicken tetrazzini w/spinach, Pineapple torte (this is the heavy one)
  10. Maple squash w/sausage, Rice cakes, Tootsie rolls
  11. Salmon fettucini Alfredo w/spinach, Grasshopper pie
  12. Broccoli soup, Veggie crackers, Rice pudding
  13. 15-bean soup, cornbread, lemon pudding

photo label

Each pack is labeled with the what kind of meal it is (HOT MEAL for these) contents, weight, date, and number of servings. Sometimes for one reason or another some meals come home uneaten and that way I know just exactly how many they will feed and how old they are. Even dried meals don't last forever. Some things keep better than others. Probably on this trip not much will come home because we are less likely to run into people who want to feed us, since the hike is quite remote.

photo label

This year I am experimenting with the Ziploc brand vacuum bags. For 2 people the meals often fit nice and tight in a quart zip-closure bag. For 4 people they rattle around too much in a gallon. So I'm trying the vacuum bags to conform the bag to the shape of the package. The results are mixed. Some of them are staying sealed well, others not so much. I haven't tried yet to figure out if I've poked some little hole in the bag, or if the zipper seal isn't quite tight enough.

Hike Planning Report
See all of the above

wrote a long email to the hike crew

Walked 1 mile with 42 pounds


See Getting Serious About Hiking Food

7 comments:

Willy said...

Willy needs bacon and eggs.

10-4 Willy

WiseAcre said...

I can learn from you. That sounds better than 13 cans of beans with no opener.

Glynis Peters said...

Gosh how organised, they sound delicious too!

Joe Todd said...

Would really like to know the specific details on how you make those meals then cook them on the trail.. As always wish you well

Secondary Roads said...

You win again. Details on Secondary Roads.

Rick (Ratty) said...

I can see that you were definitely not kidding about liking to be organized. Organization is one of the big reasons I keep my hikes short. Seeing these food packs impresses me a lot.

Sharkbytes said...

Hi Willy- too heavy for backpackin! Nice for basecamp.

Wiseacre- Been there, done that!

Hi Glynis- Thank you! We do try to eat well.

Joe- perhaps I'll give more details for one recipe. Stay tuned

Chuck! That's amazing... I'll come check it out.

Ratty- Taking the time to do it all at home makes the food prep on a trip really, really simple. We like our veggies, and I'm not willing to eat the stuff they sell in outdoor stores as dried meals. They are mostly awful.