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Post by digitalnomad on Jul 11, 2016 20:42:11 GMT -8
One thing I find particularly difficult about backpacking in areas with a limited water supply is cooking dinner without using water. I recently went on a trip to big bend in southern Texas and we had to carry all of our drinking water in because there was no water along our 4 day route. We didn't want to waste water for cook dinner, because we needed all we had to drink! I never use store bought backpacking meals, but I found it difficult to come up with meals we could take on the trail without using any water. Most of what I typically make is rice or pasta based which both wastes a lot of water. The best meal I came up with for the trip was "backpacker's fish tacos";
per person
1 can tuna or salmon(for the high rollers)
2 or 3 tortillas
a bag of pre-shredded red cabbage
half an avocado
3 hot Sauce packages I snagged from Taco Bell.
What recipes do Y'all use in the desert and places without a water supply?
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Jul 11, 2016 22:42:51 GMT -8
It may not be intuitive, but in the desert, I like SOUP. The issue isn't using water, it's discarding water. Water in your food is just as hydrating as drinking water. I like soups because it's typically easy, usually made with lightweight dried ingredients, made and eaten in the same pot, and hydrating.
Even with rice dishes, I use the cook-in-a-bag rice, then use the water to hydrate something like dal or a curry. The trick is to plan a meal that uses all the water.
All that said, not sure I'd want to carry water for 4 full days, ever.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jul 12, 2016 5:10:40 GMT -8
I carried 3 gallons on a trail once. I used the water to FBC my dinner, and to drink during the day. Since FBC only uses about 12 ounces of water to make the meal, I had 116 ounces per day to drink. Over 3.5 qts. It was plenty for me, even in the desert. I don't eat hot meals for breakfast, or lunch. No hot drinks either.
One of the advantages of using FBC is it allows you to carry a variety of meals and keep the overall weight of your food low. On a 4 day trip, my food would weigh about 6 pounds, 8 if I am feeling like splurging.
So, 4 gallons of water is 32 pounds. 6 for food. 13 for all other gear. adds up to 61. Maybe when I was younger, and I have definitely carried that much as recently as 10 years ago, but no longer.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 12, 2016 6:53:19 GMT -8
On many of the waterless backpacking trips, I have done, I have cached water on a portion of the route.
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Westy
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Post by Westy on Jul 13, 2016 12:01:14 GMT -8
You asked for it! MRE entrée and sides. They can be eaten cold (no water)since they are pre-cooked real food or hot. For hot, boil water, place MRE into the hot water until heated to taste, eat and enjoy. Water used for boiling returns to its original container. Essentially a hot meal with no water needed.
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jul 15, 2016 8:08:11 GMT -8
Like others, I cook in ways that use all the water. Mostly Freezer Bag cooking, as Zeke mentions. We occasionally do desert overnights, and will also consider taking food that's still got the water in it, as you have to carry that water weight either way. I'm also much happier to eat cold meals in hot country. Most of them require some water to be edible, but at least I can skip the stove and fuel.
If I did boil pasta, I'd use just enough water, and drain it into a cup or something, turn it into soup. In other words, consume all the water, one way or another!
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jul 15, 2016 8:30:58 GMT -8
This is why rice is so good. One only uses the water that will be absorbed.
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Post by Coolkat on Jul 15, 2016 9:03:06 GMT -8
That's why I like couscous. It absorbs the water you add with no waste. Check Sarbar's site for couscous salads. Wow! All I can say is that if you can stomach couscous on the trail you're a better man than I. I've tried it twice now. The second time was to confirm that I didn't like it. I don't mind couscous per say but on the trail it seems so dry it's all I can do to choke down more than 4 or 5 bites. |
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Post by digitalnomad on Jul 15, 2016 9:44:33 GMT -8
This is why rice is so good. One only uses the water that will be absorbed. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like cooking rice the traditional way leads to water being lost due to evaporation. |
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rebeccad
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Post by rebeccad on Jul 15, 2016 10:02:07 GMT -8
Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like cooking rice the traditional way leads to water being lost due to evaporation. Well, you would lose some that way, of course, if you simmered for 20 minutes. But most of us use instant (I make it myself by cooking brown rice and dehydrating it), and "cook" it by adding water to it in a freezer bag and letting stand 10-15 minutes. No water loss that way. I urge you to check out trailcooking.com. |
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jazzmom
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Post by jazzmom on Jul 22, 2016 13:50:23 GMT -8
This is why rice is so good. One only uses the water that will be absorbed. Maybe I'm wrong but I feel like cooking rice the traditional way leads to water being lost due to evaporation. Not if you cover the pot with a lid while cooking. |
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Post by johntpenca on Jul 23, 2016 6:35:25 GMT -8
Why not just go stoveless? Carry food that does not require water. Lots of wall climbers do this with canned food, sausage, etc, which they just eat cold. If you are carrying water for cooking where there are no water sources it does not make much sense.
edit: true, there is not much of a weight trade off, carrying water versus already hydrated food, but it simplifies things.
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BigLoad
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Post by BigLoad on Jul 23, 2016 9:50:04 GMT -8
As others have noted, water is part of what you need. Nearly all my camps are far from water, sometimes more than day away. Whatever I use for cooking is part of the total daily allocation that I'll have to carry anyway, and sometimes being disguised as food makes it easier to get more water into me. That said, I don't do any cooking that involves discarding water afterward, and I use an absolute minimum of water for cleanup, typically a quarter cup or less to rinse my cup and spoon and about the same amount to clean myself.
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Post by dayhiker on Jul 24, 2016 8:02:22 GMT -8
I don't cook at all anymore, in winter I make coffee from melted snow. I would say boiling does lose some water, even with a lid, try boiling for 10 minutes some recommend to disinfect. Still it is probably rather small if you just bring to a boil and shut off. I tend to not want hot food when it is hot as well.
I take tang, as I too find water disguised as food makes me drink and eat more.
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zeke
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Post by zeke on Jul 24, 2016 8:39:45 GMT -8
For those boiling their water to purify it, it only takes bringing it to "fish eye". Those little bubbles that form on the bottom of the pot before it begins to actually bubble up. At sea level. With altitude, it may take just a bit higher temps, so you might want a bubble or 3 to actually rise to the surface at 10K
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