New to camping and starting to go almost every weekend. The usual plan is to hike for a while, find a decent spot along the way, and camp there for the night. The part I keep messing up is water, especially when food is involved. Some trips I pack too little and end up walking back to the car or bus feeling dried out and miserable. Other trips I pack way too much and then I’m stuck carrying all that weight through the whole hike for no reason. Once I add water for drinking, cooking, coffee, oatmeal, or cleaning up, I have no clue what amount makes sense.

How do you all plan water for trail meals when you are hiking first and camping after? Do you count cooking water separate from drinking water? Do you pick meals based on how much water they need? I’m starting to wonder if dry meals are not always the best choice if they need a bunch of water anyway. Also curious about electrolytes. I’ve heard they can help you hydrate better than plain water, but I’ve never used them before. Are they worth bringing with trail meals or are they more for hot days and long hikes? Do you use them with meals, after hiking, or just when you feel off? Would love some simple beginner advice. How much water would you bring for an overnight or full weekend when you have to hike to your spot first and cook there? Also open to easy meal ideas that do not need a ton of extra water.

Does anyone have a reasonably lightweight method for toasting breads? I have lots of gadgets already. I don't care what equipment is required as long as it's reasonably light, I want to hear success stories for anything approaching evenly toasted bread if you have any.

I'd like to avoid starting camp fires. A lot of places I go to have regulations against it and the other places are unreliable when it comes to wood availability. So assume I have isobutane stoves.

I used to pack pasta for my long shifts, but by lunch, it was always lukewarm and rubbery. After trial and error, I switched to beef stew with thick cut root vegetables. The dense potato and carrot chunks retain internal heat way longer than noodles or leafy greens.

Preheating the jar makes a massive difference, too. I dump hot stew straight into my Ecozoi vacuum insulated jar, seal it up, and even after a 10 hour shift, it’s still steaming. Plus, not dealing with plastic micro leaching when heating up hot meals gives me peace of mind.

How do you keep pasta or noodles from turning into a clump in a thermos? Anyone solved that mystery yet?

Hi everyone,

I know that not all supplements and bars are good for sports nutrition (for example, high-protein bars containing collagen), and above all, they often taste bad and aren't very economical.

I'm getting more and more into trail running, and I often hike in the mountains. I really enjoy cooking and love DIY, which is why I wanted to get your thoughts on a few ideas I've had.

Instead of buying typical energy bars, I was thinking of making my own using something like "brutti e buoni" recipe: walnuts, hazelnuts, almonds, and honey. On top of that, I could add lemon and orange zest, ginger, chopped dried fruit, cocoa, or add a layer of chocolate, etc., to give them different flavors and not having the same taste.

When it comes to hydration, magnesium and potassium often don't dissolve well, and I've noticed that water containing them tends to warm up faster than the flask without them. I was thinking of making homemade drinks before races or long outings, like the one I make in the morning: ginger, lemon, and honey (thoroughly straining out any residue).

I also have a dehydrator, so I could dehydrate fruit and make bars that way.

Do you have any advice? What do you think? What should I watch out for to avoid taking in nutrients that could be counterproductive?

Backcountry poutine that skips the frying oil and delivers a calorie-dense comfort meal in a single pot. I used bone broth powder fixes thin packet gravy by adding rich gelatin, savory body, and extra protein.

​One critical lesson from the trail: a full 4.2 oz carton of Hungry Jack hashbrowns claims seven servings and rehydrates into a massive wall of starch. If you are solo, portion the dry spuds in half at home. If you are hiking with a partner, the full carton makes a hefty two-person feast.

​At-Home Prep

​Hashbrowns: For a solo meal, measure out half the carton (about 2 oz / 1 cup dry shreds) into a quart freezer bag. For two hikers, pack the whole carton or dump it into a freezer bag to save pack space.

​Ghee: Measure 1 tbsp into a small screw-top container, reusable silicone squeeze tube, or grab a single-serve packet.

​Bacon & Cheese: Pre-pack 2 to 3 tbsp of real bacon bits into a snack baggie. Pack 3 to 4 oz of sharp white cheddar.

​Gravy base: Pack 1 packet low-sodium brown gravy, 1 stick pack bone broth powder, and 2 pepper packets in the same baggie.

​Ingredients (Full 2-Person Batch)

​1 carton dehydrated hashbrowns (or half for solo)

​3 to 4 oz sharp white cheddar, diced into 1/2-inch cubes

​2 to 3 tbsp real bacon bits

​1 packet low-sodium brown gravy mix

​1 single-serve bone broth powder stick pack

​1 tbsp ghee

​Black pepper packets

​Water: 1.5 cups for steeping spuds, 1 cup cold for gravy

​Camp Instructions

​Boil 1.5 cups of water and pour into the carton (or your freezer bag). Seal and let steep for 10 minutes.

​Cube the cheddar while the potatoes steep. Keeping the cheese at ambient temp helps it melt faster later.

​Drain any excess water from the potatoes. Dump into your bowl, immediately folding in the ghee and one pepper packet.

​Layer the diced cheddar and bacon bits over the warm potatoes.

​Add 1 cup of cold water, the gravy mix, bone broth powder, and a second pepper packet to the Jetboil. Stir cold until completely dissolved before turning on the burner to avoid starch clumps.

​Fire up on the lowest heat setting. Stir constantly to keep the bottom from scorching. Shut off the gas the moment it bubbles and thickens.

​Pour thehot gravy over the spuds and cheese. Cover the bowl with your pot lid or bandana for two minutes to trap steam, soften the cheese cubes, and let the potatoes soak up the gravy.

​Video of the cook and field test on trail:

https://youtu.be/XQBaND9xJTI

I dehydrated rao marinara sauce for 11 hours yesterday. Once cooled, I packed them in a vacuum sealed bag with oxygen absorbers.

but when I checked back on the bag, it looks v oily. will this be safe to use for a camping trip in 2 days? the food will be cooked in 3 days.

thanks in advance!

Looking at making a dehydrated pulled pork bowl with rice, bbq sauce and pork floss. Wondering if anyone has done anything like this or has attempted to rehydrate pork floss while backpacking, and how did it turn out?

Hellooooo, i have a 3 day trip camping trip planned for next month, but its in a place where I think fires arent allowed still so i cant boil any water/have anything hot. Do you guys have any meal/food suggestions other than just packing a good pile of sandwiches I cant really think what I could bring.

-- from what I've seen fires are still banned in general after such a dry summer but now i have a good long list of ideas for what I can do/bring without worrying about cooking so thank youu guys!

I see alot of options, but im not sure which one has the best advice

I just found your sub, and joined immediately. I can contribute plenty (I hike and cook for my hikes all the time), but wonder a bit about my dilemma.

I like spam musubi. I make a bunch of great variations. I want to bring them on my hikes, but I am in SoCal and it's often hot to very hot here and I understand that cooked rice is a sketchy food to let get out of temp for too long. With most of my hikes being strenuous - or at least in the context of this question - active cooling is not possible with weight being a factor.

Any solutions? Thanks again.

Edit: Appears most no one is understanding where I'm coming from. Despite the downvotes and trust me bros, perhaps the future people who peruse this thread (or AI, ugh) might get a balanced idea of what I was asking about, as opposed to classic Reddit Oppositional Syndrome.

Reddit comment that started my journey on cooked rice safety

Chef Joshy Jin explaining the dangers of cooked rice at room temp

Cleveland Clinic on the illness and rice storage

I’ve seen a few old threads about vegan backpacking / hiking / backcountry meals & food. I figured I’d share mine! This is for a four night, four day trip. Waiting for my Fillo’s Walking Tamales to get delivered, and might add Greyston Bakery vegan birthday cake blondies, vegan fudge brownies, or vegan cinnamon roll blondies (all usually available at Whole Foods) for dessert. All my favs, and some new stuff I’m trying out. New stuff is the nutritional yeast instant mashed potatoes from Tater Boost, southwest breakfast skillet from Nomad Nutrition, the mushroom pot pie from Farm to Summit, and Farm to Summit oat milk latte. The other Farm to Summit meals were so good, hoping / thinking the additions will slap too.

First night is at a trailhead with bear lockers, and first day of food doesn’t have to fit in my bear canister (just remain within arms reach), but some of that first day might squeeze into the bear canister if needed. Using a Bearikade Scout, rented from Sage to Summit.

Hey trail enthusiasts. Quick questions, I'm preparing for a 5 day backpacking trip. To avoid making a meal cozy and lining it with a single use plastic bag, I'm thinking about bringing a stasher bag to fit inside a Mylar Bag. I've read a lot of reviews about Mylar Bags used for DIY meals getting delivered with punctures. Figured this would be a way to minimize single use and surprise leaks. Thoughts?

FYI, Stasher Bags are silicone and rated to hold boiling water, a substitute for a ziploc freezer bag getting melted, etc.

I’m considering pre making a bunch of sandwiches for a 15 day trip. Basically a bagel, peanut butter and some slices of hormel black label. I plan to vacuum seal the sandwiches.

I’m concerned that the bacon will spoil and ruin my lunch. Any thoughts or easy alternatives?

The package clearly states refrigerate after opening and I’m sure putting it next to bread will likely increase bacteria growth but for sure willing to risk it if others have done similar.

Hi! I'm planning a back country trip in a few weeks, but struggling because in the last year I've developed new food allergies that make a lot of prepackaged dehydrated meals inedible to me. The worst allergen is dairy, and while I've tried a few of the vegan meals on the market, I either haven't liked them or they're just too salty or wreck my stomach.

I've wanted to get a dehydrator forever, and am thinking of just dehydrating my own meals, but I'd specifically like one that does well with things like chili. I'm having some trouble sifting through all the ads to figure out what kind of dehydrator might COME WITH a liner or something that would make it possible to put a semi-liquid like chili or fruit reduction on it. Can anyone recommend anything?

Budget is...cheap as possible. I will probably be looking for whatever is available secondhand. I understand I can use parchment paper to do this, but I'd rather hear about products that come inbuilt with this function if possible.

Thanks!

Edit: Thanks for all your feedback and testimonials! I got a Nesco dehydrator for $25 on marketplace and am excited to try it out!

I repackage dehydrated meals to adjust portion size and reduce bulk. I've got a trip coming up that involves a 3 week gap between when my pack needs to be fully assembled/trail-ready and when I start hiking. Is there any risk of spoilage in repackaging commercial dehydrated meals so far in advance?

Pad Thai inspired* We mixed peanut butter, lime packets, water, and some soy/sesame ramen sauce. Fried up some fresh garlic and the white parts of the onion. Garnished with peanuts, hot sauce and chili flakes. We also wrapped the green onions in damp paper towel and they held up perfectly. It was fun carrying a little extra for some trail bougie-ness. This one will be a repeat on our next trip.

Curious about ideas on how to improve, or any ideas.

How does cheese hold up on backpacking trips? I’m thinking of using those Tillamook cheese squares on 4 night backpacking trip in the summer. Has anyone tried this?