Backpacking Food Planning

As we’re imminently to have a little jaunt or daunder over the hills of the Borders, I’ve just been planning my requirements for scoffing over the walk.

For those who haven’t been paying much attention, or newcomers to reading the tripe that I constantly churn out on this blerg – there’s a small bunch of people, including me, who are about to try to walk from Peebles to Moffat and an even smaller bunch (possibly down to trio levels) who are intent on walking back to Peebles after the fleshpots of Moffat. This will involve some wild camping and a bit of walking (about 73 miles)

So, I’ve just done what I usually do on these occasions – and that is, make a plan.

And this is it.

On Saturday we will gather in Moffat and then redistribute ourselves to Peebles after which we will (after lunch) walk a bit and then eat, poo and sleep.

I will, therefore, only need to carry my dinner on the Saturday. This could well be a packet soup with an oatcake and some smash in it, Katmandu Curry from Backpackers pantry plus a Mountain House apple and custard.

I will also have hot chocolate, tea and coffee available at all times.

And I’ll be carrying 50cl of very cheap whisky. I mustn’t drink more than half of this on the first night.

On Sunday, there’ll be breakfast -Hot cereal start from Pack n Go trail food – oatcakes, energy bars, cheese, chocolate) and Dinner – see above for soup, plus a Real Turmat Wolfish casserole and something for sweet (to be decided – prolly cake and custard) + coffee and the remaining scotch.

Monday breakfast – Breakfast bars and prunes, trail food as per Sunday and dinner in a pub in Moffat.

Tuesday – Breakfast and probably lunch in Moffat. Dinner soup (see above) Backpackers pantry Spaghetti and sauce, cake and custard, more scotch bought in Moffat

Wednesday – Breakfast – Porridge and sultanas by Pack n Go,

Trail food as above (or I may use some army biscuits brown plus chicken and herb pate) – and dinner at Tibbie Shiels Inn (backup supply of MX3 Chicken Columbo and rice

Thursday – Breakfast – breakfast bars and prunes (or Tibbie Shiels if they do breakfast or the late opening nearby cafe)

Trail food as above.

I’ll be home for dinner.

At least, I’ll be home for dinner if my car is still wherever I left it.

And that should be that

I must say, I don’t like the look of the new spring snow thats just been dumped in the Borders. It might melt. We’ll have to be brave…..

I’ll have to go to Durham for Gas and maps very shortly.

The cat, incidentally, who’s name is Trex (cooking fat – gettit..? fnarr fnarr) will not be coming.

Late Edit - More about this walk and some lovely maps on Orla Gogg's Blogg here http://alansloman.blogspot.com/2010/03/forthcoming-walkies-with-pieman.html

TGO Challenge Food and other things

Just taken delivery of a box of scoff from http://www.outdoorsgrub.co.uk/ mainly for the TGO challenge. My food plan says that I need to start with 3 days food and send a parcel to Dalwhinnie with 2 days food – more of that later.

There’s also the little question of a pre-TGO Challenge walkabout. My original idea of walking up the middle of the Isle of man seems to have been replaced by a wander over a classic Borders Oldie walk which goes from Peebles to Moffat – and, probably back again. various other bloggers and walky types have expressed an interest in joining in – so, hopefully, more of that later, too. Should be a jolly jape, I would have thought.

Wot I bought from outdoors grub:

1 Adventure Food rice satay

1 Mountain House Pasta with lasagna sauce

2 Mountain House custard with apple

1 Be Well Chicken vegetable pasta

1 Be Well Thai Chicken with rice

2 Be well Hot cereal start with sultanas

1 Real Turmat Pasta Provence

1 Real Turmat wolfish casserole

1 Backpackers pantry Katmandu Curry

1 Backpackers pantry Spaghetti with sauce

1 MX3 Aventure (?sic) from TITOK (oddly strange name!) Red Curry Noodles and shrimp

I’ll be supplementing this with various packet soups, which I’ll also fortify with instant spuds.

I need more breakfasts – I also usually eat cereal bars at brekkies – eg Jordans, but I could do with more variety. Meusli won’t do. I hate the stuff. I’d rather eat Bruno’s tail just after an incident with a dead sheep. Those instant, flavoured porridges are also off the menu since, whilst they taste quite nice, their energy only lasts me about half an hour – which is rubbish. Any suggestions gratefully received – although I expect that a visit to Asda might solve the problem.

I also need more sweets – same applies, Asda beckons, but any suggestions…. I’ll probably take an MRE chocolate sponge as a treat.

I tend also to stuff in squirty cheese and oatcakes and, of course, the always reliable cheapo whisky.

As for other planning – I’m probably a bit late with it, but I have to ring the bunkhouse in Mallaig to see if they have any beds and I did try to book the hotel at Dalwhinnie, but they’re not taking on-line bookings. I’ll give them a buzz later. I hope there isn’t a problem.

If there is, I’ll solve it by simply carrying another 2 days food!

Incidentally, I ordered the food by phone from Outdoors Grub on Monday morning and it's arrived just now on Wednesday afternoon, which is quite good innit?

Dehydrated Food - A verdict

Well, some long time ago, when men were men and women did the washing up, I seem to remember writing that one rainy day I would do some kind of round-up on my findings with regards to the dehydrated food that I used on my Trans-Cumbria-Not-Quite-High-Level-But-At-Least-I-Tried-But-All-The Teasrooms-Were-Closed-And-It-Rained-A-Lot trip.
Just to recap, this took place last August during the monsoon period and went from Silecroft to Bowness on Solway via Bow fell and, during which, I ate principally dehydrated food bought on-line from Outdoors Grub Ltd. (although I seem to remember also buying a meal from Cotswolds in Durham – this may well have beeen some kind of dehydrated rice pudding. Sorry to be vague, but I’m getting on in years and the nurses keep stealing my underpants….

First of all, what of Outdoors Grub Ltd? Many would-be TGO Challengers, for instance may well be interested in the standard of service and delivery times and things. And other backpackers, too may be interested.

They have a website at http://www.outdoorsgrub.com/

This is easy to use and I ordered 11 items altogether and these arrived safely, together with a complementary choccy bar (I think it was a choccy bar anyway – mind’s a blank….)
The delivery happened a day or two later and I got two tracking emails telling me where the order was. So, I thought that the service was, in fact, excellent.
If I had any gripes, it would only be about the choice of sweet dishes which was a bit limited. This must have been the reason why I bought a rice pudding from Cotswolds, now I come to think about it.
I also supplemented my variety of sweet dishes by buying a small cake and scoffing that ravenously with some instant custard. This lasted two meals.
In addition, I had my traditional supply of cheap whisky and loads of mars bars, lion bars, jordan’s breakfast and othe r fruity oaty bars of that ilk. These, it turned out were quite a bit heavier than the seven dehydrated dinners.
Which brings me to the food.
This is what I took:
BeWell Pack n Go – Chile Con carne £4.85
Be Well Pack n Go Porridge with sultanas £2.65
Be WellHot Pack n Go cereal start with sultanas £2.65
Be Well Pack n Go Rice Pudding ?£2.65
Mountain House Chicken Korma with Rice £4.85
Real Turmat Beef and Potato Casserole £7.99
Real Turmat Game casserole £7.99
Adventure Foods Pasta Bolognese £4.25
Mountain House Spaghetti Bolognese £4.85
Be Well Pack n Go Thai Chicken with Rice £3.45
Mountain House Custard with Apple. £3.85

For each meal, I had three (as you were..four) course.

These were:

Cuppa soup – fortified with an oatmeal block or an oatcake
Main meal
Sweet
Coffee
Scotch
Snoozy sleepy cosy dreamz

Five course…..

Breakfasts were either whatever was on the list above or a couple of Jordans bars or a blow out in Wigton…..

What were the meals like?

Taste – they were all acceptable. The real Turmat meals were fabulous – just like granny’s cooking but without the cat hairs. The only problem one was the Mountain House Spag Bol which I left too long to rehydrate and it tasted a bit fatty…. But, in general, none of the meals were nasty or cardboardy or anything like that. Mostly they were very tasty and, well, surprisingly nice.

Ease of preparation – Just add boiling water, seal the pack and wait for however long it says on the pack. Sometimes you have to search out and remove a gel bag. It wouldn;t do to eat the gel b ag. The meals were generally OK if you put in too much water, and its easy to add more if you don't add enough. Stirring well was very important to avoid any lumps of dried food remaining.

Portion size/calories – Everything was sufficient and no extra carbs were needed to be added. The walking I did on this fuel was mainly slightly less than you’d do in the middle bit of a TGO Challenge, but could be described as reasonably substantial. I never felt weak or hungry. Martin Banfield gave me a butty at one point - he said I looked a little thin (note this , Sloman!)

Pack weight – The whole kaboodle added about 2kg to the pack weight. I didn’t weigh it all and I got rid of the packs, but if you were using this stuff for two or three days, the pack weight wouldn’t be particularly significant. I never weigh my pack, I just seem to know instinctively when its too heavy (being unable to pick it up is often a clue)

Time to prepare – Time to boil water and then to wait from between 2 to 6 or 7 minutes.

One pan? No pans were harmed except when I made custard.

Need to wash up? – Just the spork!

Value for money? – You can see the prices. They not really cheap and the Real turmat meals are, frankly, expensive. But they’re soooo nice. The set of dried food for a week cost me around £60 – which, when you think about it, isn’t really all that expensive.

I doubt if anybody would want to survive on dehydrated food alone for a whole week. You’re more likely to be carrying a couple of days, then having a pub dinner or similar. In a case like that, this stuff is convenient, tasty, sufficient and easy on fuel.

A massive breakfast in a café in Wigton, or Newtonmore, or Aviemore, or wherever, comes as a real treat afterwards, though and it seems normal to lust after a banana.

Happy scoffing.

I must try some of the other meals…….

Best: Real Turmat Beef and Potato casserole. Least best: Mountain House spag bol (but it wasn't that bad , really)