When the Troop is on a backpacking trip, Scouts are responsible for bringing their own meals and cooking gear with them. (Scouts who don’t want to purchase a lightweight camp stove can share with other Scouts and leaders.)
Meals on Backpacking trips can be challenging as they must balance:
- Size Constraints (the food and cooking gear needs to take up as little space as possible to optimize what you can carry.)
- Weight Constratings (an ounce in the morning will feel like pounds in the afternoon)
- Calorie needs (you’ll be burning additional calories because you’re carrying a heavier load than usual and traversing rougher terrain.)
Here are two ways that you can source your meals for a backpacking trip:
Pre-made Meals
The easiest source of food for a backpacking trip is from pre-made backpacking meals available or even military MREs (Meals Ready to Eat). These freeze dried meals just require adding boiling water to cook. The downside is that they generate more waste that must be packed out from the campsite and disposed of in the trash.
There are sever popular sources for these products:
- Public Lands (in-store or online)
- Amazon
- Good to Go Foods
- Pinnacle Foods Company
Many of these pre-made meals are a double portion (i.e., intended for two people) making it easy to share with others.
Backpacking Recipes
Have dietary restrictions or want to reduce waste or just want be more adventurous with your meals? Consider bringing the ingredients to make your own meal.
Here are a few websites that offer recipes geared towards backpackers:
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