MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
New to camping at 40 believe it or not I'm walking the WHW next month. I realise I'm not exactly in the wilds for any length of time but what can I cook/heat if I'm left on my Jack Jones? I have a gas fuelled Trangia.
What can you cook? I dunno, what have you learnt to cook? Pasta-based meals are prbably the most popular starting point. My dad regularly regaled us with his story of heading off into the west highlands on a camping trip with a bottle of white wine and some shallots, and picking mussels off the beach.
Uncle Bens rice , comes in packs pre cooked requires a splash of water and a few minutes to heat through. or lots of cup a soup type drinks. This is on the assumption you have somewhere with food to stop most nights.
In my experience you can cook whatever you want within reason in a trangia. It's just a matter of what you are prepared to carry and how much time you want to spend cooking. On longer canoe trips when time and weight are not an issue I like proper, fresh food. On a walk like that i'd be looking at quick dehydrated stuff like noodles and the like.
I once when on a camping trip in North Wales and my companion produced a full roast chicken and bottle of wine from his rucksack. I felt quite inadequate with my packet of 'Pasta 'n sauce'.
Shallots, mussels,wine and cooked chicken would be great but it's more likely boil on the bag rice type scenario.
What about the meal in a bag type deals? Or should I look for Trangia recipes? 🙂
A trangia isn't a bad stove at all and you should be able to live quite well. Bare in mind you have to wash up as well if you do real cooking so take a small tablet bottle of fairy, a scrubber and a tea towel packed in the middle of the trangia.
If it's a short trip or space is tight then mmilitary rations are good, avoid the dehydrated stuff and stick to the proper food that just requires heating.
Everyone keeps saying avoid dehydrated meals.
Going to disagree.
Backpackers pantry make some s
Awesome delicious dehydrated food these days. Add boiling water wait 15 minutes eat and no clean up. We used some recently when riding some of the bigger distances between towns that meant carrying 2-3 days food at a time.
Couscous, boil water pour in bag, leave for about 5 minutes, tuck in.
Ainsley Harriotts are OK, cheap and light to carry.
Army rations are heavy, and shouldn't be available to the general public, if you buy them on ebay then they are stolen, I know a few of my friends when I served would do it and then the MP's and the MOD plod starting clamping down on it and actually buying it to see if they could come and collect.
Although I do believe the menu's are a lot better now.
army ration packs give dehydrated and boil in the bag food a bad name ... its pretty awful stuff by todays standards of whats available.
You won't starve in that distance.
Don't underestimate the value of a big plate of porridge. Take some powdered milk and you won't have to carry liquids. That gets your day started.
On the go, Snickers bars will keep you fueled up if necessary.
And then there's bread. Nice baton of French bread and a goonie bag of red wine is a good way to end a day.
Boil in a bag stuff is handy for meals, but at the end of the day you have time to be a bit more fussy and make something from scratch. Although if it's been a hard day, I must admit I'm more likely to be tonguing for some boiled sliced potatoes wiped in butter, rather than anything fancy. (It's a superfood IMO 🙂 )
Hard routine - MRE - leave the stove behind.
Or maybe not.
Minimal weight means dehydrated stuff. Pasta n Sauce is actually pretty edible these days and the cheesy ones have protein. Or you can add quorn for protein to the tomatoey ones. Waitrose have lots of pretty nice stew type foods (goulash, chili etc) with actual meat in packets that don't need the fridge. Couple those with instant mash or rice and you're golden. Heavier though as they contain water.
If you aren't worried too much about weight then take tins. Loads of stuff in tins nowadays. And don't forget things like carrots and green beans are fine out of the fridge and easy to cook.
For breakfast porridge doesn't need milk and Jordan's crunchy oats/granola is nice eaten dry with a brew of your choice.
For coffee get Starbucks Via sachets, you can get them as 'lattes' with milk powder in or you can also get coffee whitener in little packets as powder IIRC.
Also try tortillas wrapped with Nutella or peanut butter, they last quite a while and are robust.
Basically take a walk down the tinned/dehydrated food section in your supermarket, the one you never normally go in, and have a browse.
And take vitamin pills 🙂
This is all for self sufficiency btw, but you don't necessarily need it. Check out where the convenience stores and supermarkets are, then pick up a roast chicken or fresh loaf etc near your meal time. Or just get a burger/sandwich/pizza etc. You should know where your food purchase options are.
Me personally i think it is a balance, there is nothing to lift the spirits more than some decent food at the end of long hike or walk, but i hate carrying to much weight and really hate having to wash up...
So best compromise i've found is these bags from Lakeland:
http://www.lakeland.co.uk/18319/20-Soup -'n'-Sauce-Press-Seal-Clear-Freezer-Storage-Bags---500ml
They are really strong and they stand upright, so in the weeks leading up to a trip, each time i make a pasta/curry/ chilli i place a large portion in these with a decent portion of carbs.
Place pan on, boil water with the meal in, when meal is hot take out and eat out of the bag, and place on of these coffee bags (best tasting i've found) into the water:
https://www.taylorscoffee.co.uk/coffee-bags/hot-lava-java-coffee-bags/
Then once tea is over, some of my homemade Sloe Gin that i carry in one of these:
http://www.backpackinglight.co.uk/practical/PD102.html
And munch on a Chorizo sausage (not a euphemism) and/ or some nuts, both being calorie dense.
All proper food, easy to carry and no washing up, the cooking bags can be re-used too.
This is excellent advice^^ Thanks a lot, food for thought. See what I did there.
Pub.
small tablet bottle of fairy,
Don't use Fairy or the like out in the wild unless you can carry the waste water home with you. Lots of crap in there that the environment doesn't need.
Decathlon do a good biological soap for a pound or so.
Quick boil pasta with pesto makes for a carb filled tasty meal. One jar of pesto should do you for three or four meals.
Peanuts to munch on whilst walking. Just don't choke on them 😉
Be some aukward length days your doing to eat at the pubs Drac. 1 is very early on and then The otherd are fairly close together
I sort of agree with molgrips. I refuse to carry water around in scotland! Nothing with water in.
I tend to go for pasta and sauce of some variety for main, often one of the dolmio sachets. cupasoup for starters, Halva for pudding
Lunches are oatcakes, cheese and olives. Breakfasts instant porridge
Halva, mixed nuts, peanuts, chocolate, boiled sweets, dried fruit, cereal bars as snacks.
This is what I have refined my trekking food supply to. Its calories dense, good mix of hi and low gi stuff, tasty, not too boring.
Plan some short A road sections on your route and tuck in to nature's pre tenderised bounty
All excellent advice, except from the road kill. Figured I'd fill my platypus with Auchentoshan to numb the pain, whilst saving weight. No artisan hip flask for me.
I've cooked loads of things with my trangia but one thing I never try to be without when touring is chorizo and beans 🙂
Also, since I'll be leaving the shackles of normalcy for a while I doubt my penchant for sartorial elegance and fastidious personal hygiene will lend itself to a long walk in most likely the rain.
So no slip on loafers and Tweed blazer for night time maneuvering.
In seriousness, away for 5, maybe six nights.
A spare pair of trou
5 skants
3 socks
Toothbrush, bar of soap?
I'd take an even number of socks.
OCD
One pair of trousers
Pair of gym shorts or similar - light, can be used in an emergency, to sleep in or whilst you wash your main trousers but only bother with this if you fall in a bog or something.. Two pairs of underpants, one to wear one to wash and dry. Maybe three pairs of socks just in case cos they are important. Two base layers, again wash one wear one.
Don't take cotton underpants, get nice base layer types, world of difference especially if it's damp.
Don't use detergent to wash pots - handful of stream gravel swirled around will wash anything. For clothes get mountain soap from an outdoor shop or there is a make of bio degradable soap that is awesome, will try to find a link tomorrow.
Don't use detergent to wash pots - handful of stream gravel swirled around will wash anything
Doesn't touch grease. We tried it when we had to was up at a lakes edge in Woss campground when we found it didn't ever have running water.
All the foreign material was fond but all the dishes still had a film of grease.
Ecover do an eco washing liquid.
For food I've found [url= http://www.lookwhatwefound.co.uk ]these[/url] to be pretty good, they're in soft packets so they're easy to pack and dont add much extra weight. They're not specifically targeted towards camping and are available from Ocodo, Morrisons, Asda, Booths, Waitrose and they used to be in Sainsbury's but I've not seen them in there for a bit. They are tasty but the portions are a little on the small side so depending on your appetite you might want to add in some extra, veg or carbs to fill it out a little or eat two portions.
On the question of unterpantsies I'm a recent convert to [url= http://www.underarmour.co.uk/en-gb/mens-ua-original-series-23cm-boxerjock/1277240.html?dwvar_1277240_color=091 ]under armours extra long underwear[/url]. They're super comfy, pretty quick drying and don't get all up in bunch so stay comfortable and chaff free all day.
Wait, what? Washing? This wasnt in the plan. Isn't drying an issue?
In nice weather you can clip or strap stuff to the outside of your pack, but you're in Scotland so what I'd do is wash what needed washing when arriving at camp, then wring it out and get changed into damp kit straight away and put on my extra layer when I'm still warm. Then it'll be dry-ish by bedtime, I'd wear it to bed and it'd be dry by morning.
Sandwich bag with a portion of poridge, milk powder and suger to take. Good breakfast.
Lunch. Noodles with an egg thrown in if you are prepared to carry it.
Spaghetti, tube of tomato puree, block of cheese and some sort of dried sausage type thing from lidl. Easy evening meal.
I'd do is wash what needed washing when arriving at camp, then wring it out and get changed into damp kit straight away and put on my extra layer when I'm still warm. Then it'll be dry-ish by bedtime, I'd wear it to bed and it'd be dry by morning.
been to scotland before .... im fairly sure if you tried that today you'd be dead by morning.
balmy 18 daaan saaaf and its a 3 degrees here in the windchill and the sideways rain right now.
Have a look at these for ideas.
Its American so you will need to research some of the brands.
http://www.bikepacking.com/plog/bikepacking-meal-planning-foodpacking-1/
http://www.bikepacking.com/plog/foodpacking-vol-2-bikepacking-food-packlists/
I am working out a new system for overnighting with min cooking. Need to do your research on re supply places and what happens if you get there and they are closed as happened to me in Scotland this year.
WHW days usually begin end in places where food is available.
been to scotland before .... im fairly sure if you tried that today you'd be dead by morning.
I've been to Scotland before and also done this before, pretty sure I'm not dead.
Obv don't strip off and put wet clothes on in freezing conditions, goes without saying.
balmy 18 daaan saaaf and its a 3 degrees here in the windchill
I think the guy's taking a tent? Point is you put the damp clothes on under your suitable outer layer and it warms up pretty quickly and dries out surprisingly quickly. Try it - but not in marginal extreme conditions first.
Ubereats
I'd take a pair of socks a day for 5 or 6 days. As for the rest of the clothes it depends on how much you care abut smelling 🙂 At least one complete change and a spare jumper. Don't forget your woolly hat, sunscreen, smidge, and shit shovel if wild camping.
Shit shovel is a good shout tbf.
Oh yes you'll need one of those. Get a narrow plastic trowel from a garden centre. They are strong and weigh not much.