Recipes

By: Dave

On: November 3, 2015

Tired of the same old trail fare? No? Well, I know that after several years of being on the trail, I know that we are…So, in order to spice things up, and actually have some meals to look forward to at the end of a long day, we’ve gathered together a few sample recipes that we’ve personally tried, and give two thumbs up to!!! True, there is more prep involved in some of these, but trust us, the results make the slightly increased load sooo worth it!!!!

Gear list for the Wonderland Trail

Kitchen:
1.5 liter pot, from the MSR Blacklite cookset, with the lid and handle. Left the rest at home.
Zippered pouch from the MSR alpine kitchen set, with sponge and bio degradable soap
MSR Expedition water filter.
Lexan spoon
MSR Dragonfly stove, with a 22 oz bottle. Enough fuel for two, for 4 days.
3 32oz Nalgene water bottles. They screw onto the bottom of the MSR water filter, easy to use.
1 Platypus collapsible water container, to haul water from the stream to camp. We never really used this, seemed more of a hassle than anything.
Micropur MP1 tabs. Backup water purification tabs, in case of a filter failure.
Folgers freeze dried coffee, small plastic jar, plenty for 1 person for 4 days.
Lighter
Waterproof matches
Small tie wraps, for emergency repairs
Extra batteries for headlamp, and camera
3 extra freezer zip loc bags for trash, wet stuff, etc.
Tinfoil, small folded up section. Has multiple uses!
Bearbag. I used the Ursack bear bag, a little overkill for the Wonderland. Everyone else just used a stuff sack, with a Ziploc bag as a liner, to keep the scent down.
Food:
4 freeze dried meals, Mountain house variety
Extra food. 3 Top Ramen noodles.
Trail snacks: Jerky, protein bars, trail mix. Instead of bringing one whole bag of each, we broke it down into serving sizes for each trail snack. Approx. 5 pieces of jerky in sandwich bags, two fingers worth of trail mix per sandwich bag, and two Power bars, all doled out for each day.
Breakfast: 2 packs of Instant Oatmeal & a couple of Trail mix Granola bars
1 Gatorade powdered drink mix. The small orange plastic container with the screw on lid will last about 4 days.
Bedding:
The North Face, Cat’s Meow 20˚ sleeping bag
Insul Mat sleeping pad
Therma Rest pillow
Equipment:
Tent: Mountain Hardwear Alcove 3GT. A 3 season tent, packed weight was 9lbs 9ozs. Heavy by today’s standard.
Ground cover for tent. Available pre-cut for the Alcove 3.
Collapsible camp stool. Also, have replaced this with a Therma rest seat cushion. Lots of places at camp to put a cushion on to form a seat.
Trekking poles by Leki. I drilled a hole in the top of one, and inserted a ¼-20 threaded bolt, to use as a mono-pod for my camera.
5 stuff sacks. Great for compartmentalization of your backpack. 1 for clothes, 1 for raingear, 1 for pillow, 1 for groundcover, 1 for campshoes.(these always end up getting muddy, and keeps them from mucking up everything else in your bag!)
Backpack. I used the Gregory Palisades, medium frame. I liked the water bottle holster, and various other compartments. Also, plenty big for 5 days.
First Aid kit. Used the backpackers first aid kit from REI. I added some antacid, lots of ibuprofen, and Spyro-flex for blisters.
Headlamp- Petzl Tikka Plus
Map ( we liked the National Geographic, it’s water proof, and tear resistant)
Compass- Suunto
Raingear- Any light weight pant/coat combo will work, or even a poncho. Only problem with a poncho, is that it proved ineffective in a strong wind.
Journal-waterproof one from REI. I also used this as a way to store a few wraps of duct tape, and the tape held my pencil holder, as well, an empty plastic drill bit case.
Sunglasses-Native RYDE, they came with their own hard case, also useful to protect them when they weren’t being worn. make sure they are up to the all day abuse, and will protect your eyes from intense UV light.

Clothing:
Boots- La Sportiva Glaciers
Campshoes-Nike ACG sandals
2 pr Smartwool socks
2 pr sock liners (While one pair was being worn, the other’s had been rinsed out in the stream)
1 pr NorthFace Convertible pant
1 pr lightweight shorts
2 shirts-80% polyester, 10% cotton, or Spandex. Any of the shirts by Duofold, Nike, Underarmor, or REI that have the ability to wick moisture quickly away from skin, and then dry rapidly. We stayed away from cotton tees. These, too, after rinsing out in the stream or lake, will dry quickly and be fresh for the following day!
1 lightweight pair of thermal underwear. Again, from REI
Hat- Take your pick here. Mainly to keep the sun off. For this trip, I used exclusively do-rags. They also have various uses, so I packed 3.
1 towel- MSR personal pack towel. Very light, and dried fast
Toiletries/Other:
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Vitamins
Toilet paper- When you’ve used up all but the last 3/8” of the roll of toilet paper at home, take it off, and then smash it flat. This works easily for 4 days, and it now has a low profile for backpacking! (When you run out, it can always be “recharged” by wrapping more paper on it when you get home!)
Earplugs-In case your partner likes to saw logs at night…
And, any other medications that you might take, etc.
Sunscreen-Waterproof, with at least a SPF30
Bug repellant-You will go insane swatting at the horde of biting insects, if you do not bring a good repellant! The 20% Deet works best, just don’t get it on your tent!!!
Small bottle of anti-bacterial gel, like Purel

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