Food. It’s one of the most important things to keep yourself going in the backcountry. It’ll lift your spirits, give you energy to climb to that next peak, and allow you to sit and chat with your buddies during dinner. If you go on one of our Stewardship Trips, we provide breakfast and dinner for you. But what does that mean? What can you expect to be eating after a long day in the mountains?
Our meals vary depending on the trip and differ greatly if the trip is stock supported, as this option gives us a lot more freedom in the weight category. Your meals will be prepared by your trip leaders, but they will never turn down a helping hand. When you sign up for a trip, we ask for allergens and dietary restrictions, so make sure you take these questions seriously, because we do plan our meals around these things! After dinner, dishes are washed with biodegradable camp soap and allowed to air dry. Since we carry so much food as a group during these trips, we resort to bear hangs, which are always fun to get involved with if you’ve never tried your hand at one before.
Take a peak of an example of things we may serve you on a 3 day, 2 night backpacking trip:
Day one
Everyone meets at the trailhead in the morning, so we hope you’ve already fueled yourself with a nutritious meal. Depending on the length of the hike, we’ll either stop for lunch on the trail, or stop where we decide to set up camp. Some good lunches that you can pack include tuna packets, crackers, tortillas, carrots, peanut butter, trail mix, protein bars, and fresh fruit.
Dinner
Our leaders typically start cooking after work has ended for the day and hope to have the meal ready to eat around 5:30 or 6:00. For a full group, it will take two people, two stoves to cook for everyone. Tonight, the leaders have planned bean and cheese burritos for everyone. There’s optional shredded beef on the side for those who would like a meat option. This meal consists of a bean mixture, rice, taco seasoning, shredded cheese, tortillas, and your favorite sauce toppings. There will be peppers, onions, and salsa for toppings. Don’t forget about dessert and tea! Tonight we have individual brownies, peppermint tea, and hot chocolate.
Day Two
Breakfast
We like to run breakfasts as a fix-it-yourself since everyone has a different routine in the morning. Our breakfast bars include: oatmeal with a wide variety of toppings (seriously, like pumpkin seeds, craisins, blueberries, brown sugar, pecans, coconut…), grits and granola. We always have your much needed coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and milk as well.
Dinner
Tonight for dinner, we’re having one of Ranger Joelle’s favorites: Thanksgiving in a Pot. If you’ve had it with her before, you can always be sure it’s never made the same as it’s inevitable that she forgets an ingredient, adds something new and exciting, or makes it in a different order. Some things you’re likely to find in tonight’s dinner include: mashed potatoes, stuffing, craisins, chicken, and her favorite, crispy onions. After dinner, as everyone helps to clean up, dessert tonight is a Cup of Dirt! That’s right, pudding, crushed cookies (they were probably full when we started the trip), and gummy worms. Enjoy!
Day Three
Breakfast
We’re hiking out today, so only breakfast will be provided. Your crew leaders whipped up something special this morning in celebration of completing our project. Banana pancakes! Packed with protein, bananas, and cinnamon, this dish ensures you start your day right.
WIth the mules
Mules allow us to live in luxury in the backcountry with the support they provide. On trips with mules, expect to see meals similar to what you may make in your house — we bring in fresh foods, a two burner stove, and other kitchen essentials. Now, it’s just up to our trip leaders to put on their chef’s hats and go to town!
Want to eat with us?
Sign up for a trip today, give back to your public lands with rewarding stewardship work, experience the astounding Great Burn area, and maybe even most importantly, enjoy some wonderful food with your new trail friends!