Another Food Thread

“(Just for you, Violin)

What was the most memorable meal you have ever had on the trail. Categories are 1) most exotic, 2) most delicious, and 3) worst awful stuff you ever put in your mouth.

NOTE: Car camping does not count.”

“most memorable?

Gotta be the Mountain House chili with magic mushrooms mixed in on a fogged-in day at Lake Constance!”

“I'll take #3.

Someone gave me a recipe for southwestern couscous that sounded pretty good. It had couscous, freeze dried corn, black beans and spices in it.

We got into camp tired and hungry and fired up the stove. After maybe 45 minutes the black beans were still crunchy and everyone was getting grumpy. We finally just went ahead and ate it with crunchy beans. It was awful but we needed the energy bad.

When I got home, I got the email: "Oh, I forgot to mention that those should be freeze-dried black beans"

Doh!”

“Exotic: Ham and lentil curry in Linville Gorge. Lotsa curry!

Best: Corned beef hash and hash browns at Shining Rock with Giant Red Squirrel (no mushrooms).

Worst: Freeze-dried chili with altitude sickness in the Sierra.”

“'shrooms?..

Can I mail order some of those from you Switchback?

*giggle*”

“Tilt: Awesome.. did u bag the squirrel on the trail or before you went?”

“apples with butter and brown sugar topped with brandy and cinnamon over pancakes on the south rim of the Chisos Mts.,,”

“Category 2: Shoney's style breakfast at Siler's Bald. (Was that where it was, SL?)

We had a really good spanish omelet, hash browns, cinnamon raisin bread, coffee, bagels, cream cheese and orange juice.”

“mMmmm.. chili36! damn boy.. you better bring some of that when we hike together!”

“Worst: some form of Santa Fe Omelet. The camp robbers would'nt eat the crap”

“will do TD,,,just hide the brandy from me the night before,,lol”

“heh.. brandy is great for sipping.. I always bring a little metal flask of crown royal with me.”

“Usual first night out is stir-fried marinated round steak strips with frozen stir-fry veggies on a bed of minute rice.

I guess cous-cous classifies as exotic

Worst is any type of freezed dried pre-packaged junk.

Most memorial was a 3-can soup with orzo noodles and summer sausage with pita bread on the side one cold winter night on Mt. LeConte.”

“Mt LeConte is always memorable. I believe I could be eating rag bologna and crackers and still enjoy that view.

But hey.. some of the freeze dried ain't so bad.”

“Worst: Freeze dried dinner that I forgot to stir after adding the hot water - big globs of gooey seasonings clumped together.”

“That squirrel was as big as a Beagle! I though he was going to have US for dinner.”

“hehe.. red squirrels are awesome.. I would always aim for them instead of the greys when I was still squirrel hunting.”

“I don't do freezed dried pre-packaged junk. I just as soon have MRE's.”

“Arn't red squirrels about 3/4 the size of a gray squirril?”

“BS: I hear ya, and in general I agree, but my reasons are more cost-specific. I can eat a whole lot cheaper than paying for someone else's creativity.

Anyways.. hMm.. category #3. I would have to say that cooking has always been one of my better strengths.. even back in the high school camping days.. I was always the guy who brought in the reflector ovens, and cooked with hot rocks buried underground and all that.

Exotic? Category #1? Saving that one for December 1st.”

“Most exotic..
Meal I prepared for some clients who said if I could really surprise them, they would give me a big bonis at the end of the trip....We had steak and lobster with French bread and wine.

Most delicious...
New Years dinner in the Tipi , everyone was told to bring something special for dinner..we had fresh fish (trout and salmon), grinders, scampi, pesto, fresh French bread, sausage, bacon and eggs, omelets, cheese cake, steak, garlic bread, popcorn and more.

Worst...
A mountaineer's stew ( you throw everything you have left in the pot) It was going ok till someone added lemonade to the mix.”

“What's happening on Dec. 1st?”

“mtnsteve: No way.. steak and lobster on the trail? "fresh fish (trout and salmon), grinders, scampi, pesto, fresh French bread, sausage, bacon and eggs, omelets, cheese cake, steak, garlic bread, popcorn and more" ???

Dude!.. can I pay your way over to come hike with me?”

“I quess crayfish would count as "exotic" but would not match mtnsteve's lobsterfest.”

“crawfish are just minature lobsters,,,”

“Giant bugs”

“BS: December 1st is a challenge cookoff. Several of us are going to be there, along with some folks I know in TTA, the Sierra Club, and possibly some corporate sponsorship from Blue Ridge Mountain Sports.”

“Where is this event to occur? (And, I take it you are from the east coast.)”

“Really close to Chattanooga. Most people are flying into Nashville, and making arrangements for us to get them carpooled in.”

“and if you click on my name, BS?.. hehe.. you would know I live in TN.”

“The lobster was frozen rock lobster tail, you just boil them for 8/11 min (I think)...the trip was in the winter so keeping it "fresh" wasn't a problem. I did have to fry the steak though, that seemed kinda wrong, but no one complained.

The New Years trip has been an annual thing for a few years now, everyone try's to out do the others on food (and drink) The snow allows everyone to use real, fresh food! Since the campsite is only about 1 1/2 miles from the cars, some folks have been know to make a couple trips in to bring "supply's".

After your cookoff, head out west and join us at the Tip”

“that was...Tipi for New Years...all are welcom”

“e”

“TD, that was Derrick Knob. I do have to say that was the best I have ever eaten on a bp trip.”

“mtnsteve,
Where/what is the Tipi for New Years? SnowDude & I were just talking about what we were going to do this year. Last year we backpacked into the new year. The year before we snowboarded into the new year.”

“My friends and I pitch it at Silver Snag in Lassen Park, we usually pitch it a few days after Christmas and leave it up till the 2 or 3rd. Some folks come up for a few days, some just for New Years. Most folks x-c ski in, although more and more are snowshoeing. It's a great place to base camp for a climb up Lassen as well as some of the best x-c skiing around. There are some places you can snowshoe to that offer some pretty challenging snow boarding too....like off Lassen or Looms.

Here is a link that shows some pictures, just click on "The Tipi"
Imagestation

This is open to everyone, all we ask is that you bring a good attitude, sense of humor and some good story's to tell around the stove.”

“Oh yea, what is it..

It sleeps 8, you can stand up inside and it has a wood burning stove...no floor, so you don't have to worry about tracking snow inside.”

“I ate an Enertia dehydrated meal this weekend. It was the veggie chowder. It was OK, but nothing to write home about.”

“Barbque chicken and mashed potatoes - freezed dried.
In Philmont you don't make anything seperately. So it was basically barbqued mashed potatoes with peas floating thru it. I have pictures.

The worst”

“On our honeymoon in CO Birch made a "special" pot of spagetti. He went through much work dehydrating tomatoes, mushrooms and onions and peppers. He had it all packaged in one ziplock (including the spaggetti) and added h2o about two hours before dinner so all the veggies could rehydrate. He made the nastiest pastey goop I've ever tried to eat! Our back-up freeze dried meal was pure heaven compared to it!

BS, I bet they mean fox squirrels not red squirrels. You're right, a red squirrel is about the size of an anorexic rat. Fox squirrels get big tho and are red in color.”

“Number 1, 2 and 3

powerbar”

“I have never been out on a trip more than three days where we didn't end up eating at least one undercooked meal. When you have hiked over some 11,000ft plus passes, you sometimes can't wait for the meal to fullly cook. Some of those undercooked meals tasted mighty good.
Best was fresh bass in Quetico. I'm salivating just thinking about it.
Worst was a loaf of white bread that shortened our trip to one night when my brother and I discovered that the other was not packing the provisions like we both thought.”

“Nope! Red Squirrel, twice as big as the greys we get here in East Central Georgia.

Om and the other folks will be up that way in another two weeks or so. Keep yer onions peeled!”

“Joy, they grey squirrels down here are much smaller than the ones in MI. The red squirrels are bigger. And in the ten years I've lived here I have never seen a Fox squirrel.

They really do mean red squirrel.”

“I shot 3 squirrels last weekend. The guy I hunt with eats them all the time.

Can't imagine even attempting to eat one.”

“Are you guys talkin' about the rather large Appalachian squirrels?
In West Virginia I see big grey squirrels that are partly or mostly red on their backs.

A true "red squirrel" is not a lot bigger than a chipmunk and are native to New England.”

“hehe.. I don't know.. all i know is the red squirrels are the ones to shott if you can pick them out.. and yeah.. I have heard them called fox squirrels also.

but it sounds like there are TWO kinds of red/fox squirrels.. No biggie.”

“My guess is they are Appalachian Greys.......kinda country cousins to the smaller grey dudes here who are REALLY busy right now workin' the oak nuts on my street.

Yeah, they are the color of foxes.”

“BS: Here's the stuff on the challenge cookoff.

Tennessee Cookoff”

“

This is a no hunting zone.”