I loved camping when I was
a kid. My family would roam
cross-country for weeks at a
stretch, and we nearly died
only a couple of times. Once I
was old enough to camp on my
own, I spent every warm night
outside, looking at the stars,
wondering what was biting my
neck this time.
My irst grand teenage
adventure came when I was 16.
I had fallen for a girl at summer
camp—she had tended to me
after I’d tumbled of a clif—
and we agreed to meet again
in Ontario’s famed Algonquin
Park. I drove up with my canoe
and gear. I had also packed my
weight in condoms, because
I had big plans on losing my
virginity that week. Instead I
ended up in poison ivy. I didn’t
realize it until I’d taken out my
contact lenses and my eyes
had swollen shut. We were
four days in, so four days out. I
portaged blind. My entire body
was in lames. I didn’t need con-
doms. I needed prednisone.
The last time I slept in a tent,
I was in my early 20s. My college
girlfriend and I broke up on the
drive home. Today I’m 44, and
my kids have started asking me
to take them camping. I’ve been
tempted, but my time outdoors
taught me some lessons that
have proved hard to shake.
I don’t know how to explain to
my boys that their love won’t
always love them back.
—Chris JonesWHEN YOU’RE CARRYING your
kitchen and the pantry on your back
for a multi-day hike, every ounce mat-
ters, but so does each meal. “During an intense
hike, like the Appalachian Trail, you’re burn-
ing 5,000 calories a day,” says Zach Dibble, who
leads through-hiking training sessions with
REI in Atlanta. Here’s how to fuel your body
with meals you will actually enjoy eating.
Pack between two and two and a half
pounds of food per day, and a half gallon of
water unless you’re entering a drought area,
says Dibble. Then he’ll carry up to two gallons.
Prioritize weight-eicient foods, like
jerky and cheese, which carry about 120 cal-
ories per ounce. Legumes and nuts are also
good. To add calories to pasta, rice, or a dehy-
drated meal, Dibble recommends coconut oil,
olive oil, or powdered goat’s milk. It’s full-fat,
unlike dehydrated cow’s milk.
To save time, or even forgo a stove, cold-soak
food while you walk or sleep. You can rehy-
TRUFFLED EGGS
□ 2 oz powdered eggs
□ ¼ tsp trule oil
□ 1 Tbsp dehydrated black
olives
□ 1 tsp chopped sun-dried
tomato
□ 1⁄8 tsp dried basil
□¼ tsp kosher salt
In a cooking pot, combine
eggs and water to a slightly
thin consistency. Heat on a
camp stove or ire. When
eggs set, add the remaining
ingredients.
MAKE AHEAD
PITA POCKETS□ 1 Tbsp harissa
□¼ cup shredded carrots
□¼ cup shredded celery
□ ¼ cup shredded fennel
□ 1 oz Moroccan cured
olives, pitted and diced
□ ¼ tsp wild fennel pollen
□ ½ cup instant hummus
□ 1 pita, split in halfMix the irst six ingredients
before heading out. At lunch-
time, follow the hummus
instructions to rehydrate.
Then combine all ingredients
and divide between two pita
halves. If backpacking over-
night, you can assemble and
pack after breakfast.CAMPFIRE RISOTTO□ 1 oz spicy salami, diced
□ 1 cup arborio rice
□4 cups water
□ 2 threads Spanish
safron
□ ¼ tsp Sicilian oregano
□ 1 bay leaf
□¼ tsp dehydrated onion
□ 1 oz pecorino cheese,
gratedHeat salami in a pot until
it starts to crisp. Add rice
and stir until fragrant. Add
safron, oregano, bay leaf,
onion, and 1 cup of water,
stirring until it is absorbed.
Continue adding water 1 cup
at a time. Finish with cheese.Breakfast Lunch Dinner
Recipes
NO, THANK YOU
This writer is just
ne inside.EAT LIKE A CHEF IN THE WOODS Upgrade any camp meal by adding umami,
says Elise Wiggins, owner and chef behind the wood-ired restaurant Cattivella in
Denver. “Trule oil, cured meats, and dried mushrooms, especially porcini, pack
a bold punch.” She also recommends taking a foraging class. “Wild onions grow in
most states and add savory notes.” And instead of carrying a whole spice bottle, use
Ziploc bags and travel-size bottles to carry what you need.
You can also combine dry ingredients that will be added at the same point in a recipe.
Below are three meals Wiggins makes when backpacking.
drate packaged meals or make couscous,
lentils, oatmeal, and even rustic hum-
mus—soak chickpeas, add garlic salt and
oil, then mash.
Resupply every ive days on longer
adventures by mapping out towns and
stores you’ll be passing. In more sparsely
populated areas, like the lands the Paciic
Crest Trail goes through, mail food to gas
stations or post oices in advance.
If you’re hiking in an area with a
known bear population, like the High
Sierra Trail, you’re required to carry a
bear canister. BearVault ofers canisters
with four-day ($70) and seven-day ($80)
capacity in impact-resistant polycarbon-
ate. In northern and mountain states, it’s
still smart to hang your food from a tree
branch overnight. Hang it four feet out
from the trunk of the tree, four feet down
from the branch, and high enough that
you can barely touch it, Dibble says.@PopularMechanics