Dependable Food For Camping
Food recommendations for camping coming from some true modern frontiersmen.
Our modern world is, of course, very different from the world of the 19th-century frontier. Technology has made our lives easier, safer, and, in many cases better. This is all good. It does, however, come at a cost. Technology has also made our lives more complicated, and, in some ways, more fragile. Take vehicles, for example. I’m not a mechanic, but I’ve heard older people who are mechanical talk about how simple the vehicles of their childhood were. Basically, the vehicles of the 50s, 60s, and 70s, were simple enough that when things broke down, a mechanical-minded person stood a good chance at fixing the problem. Not today. Today’s vehicles are filled with computer chips, sensors, and all sorts of gadgets and gizmos that, in many cases, they have become almost too complicated for the average handyman to work on. It has to go to a professional with the proper computer reader, tools, and equipment. It’s worth noting that cars today have many features that make them better than older vehicles. That being said, you have to wonder how many of the new features just make things more complicated. All of the complexity can make the vehicle more fragile as well. Take the chip shortage, for example. There were thousands of perfectly fine vehicles sitting in parking lots because they lacked a tiny computer chip. One chip almost shut down an entire industry. Does that sound very resilient to you? Our entire society is this way. Everything is fine until the electricity stops or the water system shuts down.
When you look at people of the past, you can’t help but notice how simple their lives were compared to ours. Simplicity isn’t perfect, but it does have advantages. Resiliency is generally one advantage that comes with simplicity. Simple things tend to work. When they break, the problem is usually easy to diagnose and, maybe, even fix. The simple thing might not have as much performance, but it will work. By necessity, frontiersmen lived very simple lives. They didn’t need fancy things. They needed things that worked. Oftentimes, they were so far from help that they couldn’t afford to take a chance on something not working.
I once heard a historian talk about how muzzleloaders stayed popular on the American frontier long after the rise of metallic cartridges. The reason? People knew that every trading post would have basic items like powder, lead, and percussion caps. They couldn’t depend on a trading post having the exact cartridge they would require. If they stayed simple, they knew they would be able to use their rifle. If they went fancy, they might have a great gun, or they might have a hunk of metal and wood (which is what a gun becomes without bullets).
Recently, I reread the book Grass Beyond the Mountains by Richmond P. Hobson. The book recounts the adventure of two cowboys who set out to establish a ranch on the frontier of British Columbia in the 1930s. It is a great book for those interested in learning about the frontier or wilderness living. It can also help teach us about simple and resilient living.
In the story, the two men drove a van as far as they could into the wilderness before reaching the literal end of the road. They ended up where a loose collection of the final frontiersmen were living. The nearest town was a 190-mile round trip through the woods and mountains. As a result, the people who settled in that area were very self-reliant. Hobson and his partner, Pan Phillips, realized they had to take care of themselves. Although they probably planned on hunting for some of their food, they didn’t completely rely on the “bounty” of the land. Instead, they brought a bunch of food with them. They were living deep in the woods, so they needed food that was dependable. It needed to last for long periods without refrigeration.
At several points in the book Hobson details the foods they brought. Here are a few items on the “Grub List” the duo purchased to bulletproof their wilderness diet. You’ll notice there are non-food items on the list. Hobson included it in his “Grub List,” so I include it here.
Bacon
Coffee
Sugar
Salt
Raisins
Macaroni
Flour
Oatmeal
Rice
Cheese
Cornmeal
Beans
Dried Apples
Dried Milk
Chocolate
Yeast
Soap
Baking Powder
Matches
Candles
You might be surprised by the food they brought. However, if you compare this list of foods with foods that other frontiersmen packed, you’ll realize it matches up very closely. Study foods the mountain men ate, and you’ll see some of the same items. The same goes for food on the Oregon Trail and cattle drives. The same goes for food Texas Rangers packed on the frontier. The interesting thing is that these people were in different places, at different times, and with different experiences. However, the same foods show up. If you’ve ever wondered what foods would be best to take camping, you can stop. It’s a problem that people have already solved.
Part of the advantages these foods provide is their shelf life. In a world where we have darn near forgotten how to store food without refrigeration, a list like this only has foods that store well. As long as these foods are kept dry, they will keep for long periods. It’s also worth mentioning that the bacon and cheese they identify are not the same products we buy from the store today. Personally, I’ve purchased traditionally cured bacon that can sit on your shelf without spoiling. It’s the same stuff these guys took, and the same stuff people packed on the frontier. Although it is expensive, it does not need refrigeration.
Another thing that makes these foods ideal is that they contain little to no water. At over 8 pounds a gallon, water is heavy. That’s why historic frontiersmen always dried their food. I once read a story about how Daniel Boone dehydrated everything he took with him. Although it could make the food less desirable to eat, it greatly decreased the amount of weight he would have to pack.
In our modern world, we can still benefit from the dependable camping foods that Hobson and Phillips took with them. In addition to these traditional foods, there are a variety of trail foods available made using modern methods. Brands like Mountain House and Backpacker’s Pantry offer a lineup of quick meals for the backcountry. The benefit of these meals is that they meet all the requirements for backcountry eating. They store well, they are light, and they require little preparation. The downside is that these meals can get a little pricey. Another option that is a little more affordable is the Meals Ready to Eat or MRE. Most people know that MREs are used by the US Army. Although MREs are the butt of a lot of jokes, the reality is that they are a good option for easy backcountry eating. The downside of all these types of foods is the trash they create. Some may scoff, but if you pack it in, you should pack it out. This is particularly important with items that don’t biodegrade. With so many people in the wild these days, it is the decent thing to do. Although littering probably wasn’t a concern Phillips and Hobson had, it’s something we can benefit from these days.
Hopefully, this article on dependable food for camping can help you get your food plans in order. Backcountry cooking is challenging for lots of reasons. However, there are plenty of historical examples of foods that stand up to the challenge. There are also modern options that can provide the fuel you need to keep going. If you keep things simple, you can build a level of resiliency into your wilderness diet.
