Spike Camp Food/ Meals

[AaronJohnson]

Interested to see what everyone is doing for spike camp meals. Last year I did basic protein bars, peanut butter/ honey / bacon tortillas, crackers, clif bars throughout the day and a mountain house in the evening. Today I picked up several items including single serving MH\'s. Two servings is too much late in the evening by the time I get back to camp. I\'m going to supplement single servings with some instant potatoes ($1/pack) and then on other nights use the $1 packs of Lipton pasta and add flavored tuna. For ease of weight and clutter I will most likely reuse the MH sealable bags for cooking.

Brad is using MRE\'s from eBay he purchased and the one I tried was very good. I\'ll probably pick some of those up.

Also need some input on instant coffee. I picked up some Via which seems to be the preferred taste of most backpackers. The Folgers packs seem weak and I prefer something strong when I\'m hunting. Any other instant coffee that is good?

 

[Zpd307]

I made my own meals last year. ramen noodles with either chicken or tuna or beef. I am going try rice and see if I like it. otherwise those lipton pastas were my 2nd choice. ramen won because it was cheaper. those flavored instant potatoes are good too and have been thinking about adding them to the menu to change things up. I got really tired of the ramen by the time 10 days went by....

 

[AaronJohnson]

Here is a start to the fall 2015 stockpile that I have started to accumulate. I\'m trying to get most of my list items done when I have some down time on the weekends instead of rushing through all of it prior to season. This helps me prep more thoroughly if it\'s continuous throughout the year. I\'ve also been accumulating/ refreshing my first aid supplies for the truck and pack.

 

[iccyman001]

Are canned goods out of the question?

 

[AaronJohnson]

Also, except for two of the Mountain House\'s in the pic I\'m in about $30, pretty cheap. I\'m going to experiment with the potatoes in a few weeks on a scouting trip. I\'ll let you know the pros and cons.

Dan - you could do that. No rule that says you can\'t. I just prefer dehydrated stuff for weight savings.

 

[iccyman001]

I\'m just a bean guy..... I can eat them hot or cold. Bushes backed beans has lots of great flavors.
Sometimes I can use that to flavor some of the other dehydrated nasty stuff.

I know the cans can be heavy and bulky, but they last a while once opened.
Even better when it\'s chilly.



Now I want beans

 

[AaronJohnson]

Also using the packaged containers keeps me from using water to clean bowls which I don\'t want to do. I prefer to just boil water with the pot I bring.

 

[AaronJohnson]

You might have to keep camp away from me if your consuming beans, Dan. Stay behind me on hikes and down wind on set ups. :shock:

 

[iccyman001]

Dehyrdated stuff goes a long way too.

I love apples, bananas, and obviously.... JERKY

 

[JohnFitzgerald]

What\'s for breakfast?

Canned food is too heavy.

I take gallon zip lock bags and put the entire days food into each. My average bag for wilderness hunts includes:

3 packages of flavored oatmeal
1 round of WA Superman
2 Mountain House
3 granola bars
Jerky
1 package of instant coffee
Small zip bag with candy

I would highly recommend the \"Superman\" by Wilderness Athlete( WA Hydrate and Recover + WA Energy and Focus).

Also, consider purchasing a camp water filter by Katadyn and a 10L MSR Dramadary to complement the filter. Nothing better than coming back to spike camp and having your water already filtered.

My 2-cents.

 

[iccyman001]

Candy the only time of the year I eat some!



IS IT HUNTING TIME YET?

 

[cnelk]

I have mentioned these before but I sure do like the APack meals.
They arent that all expensive [~$5 each], no need to heat water for a warm meal, have ~1300 calories, and the taste is pretty good!
I plan on taking a weeks worth of these, plus other supplemental items on our Wyoming hunt this fall.

<!-- m --><a class=\"postlink\" href=\"http://www.readymeal.com/store/home.php\" onclick=\"window.open(this.href);return false;\">http://www.readymeal.com/store/home.php</a><!-- m -->

You can find them online on alternative outlets a bit cheaper than the link above

Here is whats in one of the meals

HOMESTYLE VEGETABLES IN SAUCE WITH NOODLES AND CHICKEN ENTR?E
FRUIT FLAVORED CANDIES
FIG BAR
RAISINS
CRACKERS
SEASONING PACKET
PEPPER
SPORK
TOWELETTE
HEATER
SALT WATER FOR HEATER

You may wonder why the salt water....
It wont freeze...

 

[mtnmutt]

For Spike camps, I do a cold camp. Space is at a premium in my short torso pack, so the stove, fuel & pot were the first to go. I don\'t like messing around with a stove in the morning at base camp, therefore, it isn\'t a big deal to ditch it for my spike camps. I miss it when a hard frost or winter storm comes in. I only spike camp 2-3 nights. I can put up with it for 3 nights.

ProBar Meal Original blend - 360 calories a bar with the right protein/carb/fat combo
ProBar Base 20g Protein Bar Brownie Crisp - 290 calories, also provides a good amount of potassium and carbs
Sandwich wraps
Dark Chocolate Espresso beans are the my caffeine kick

 

[otcWill]

Two servings is too much late in the evening by the time I get back to camp.

I don\'t have any great suggestions for food as I basically eat granola and nuts for all my bivy hunts but my one piece of advice is: eat a big meal before going out for the evening hunt. You won\'t have to cook when ya get home and you\'ll have more time to relax and get some rest. In other words you\'ll be able to drink whiskey and spout off about big bulls and bucks while your huntn buddy bumbles around with his headlamp cooking freeze dried garbage :lol:

 

[AaronJohnson]

Good idea, Will!

 

[iccyman001]

Aaron,


I\'ve been trying to get my hand on some MREs through uncle sam. I promised Brad some, so if I can get a good amount, I can send you some too.
No promises though.... I feel like I have an easier time getting knives and other gadgets than I do MREs lol.

 

[AaronJohnson]

Cool. thanks, Dan!

 

[cnelk]

Here is 9 days of food.
9 APacks and 9 single serving Mtn House.
18 cups of instant coffee and 18 granola bars for breakfast.

17lbs

 

[AaronJohnson]

I need a food saver.

 

[Olympushunt]

I\'m just a bean guy..... I can eat them hot or cold. Bushes backed beans has lots of great flavors.
Sometimes I can use that to flavor some of the other dehydrated nasty stuff.

I know the cans can be heavy and bulky, but they last a while once opened.
Even better when it\'s chilly.



Now I want beans

Dan....who should be offset from whom when we go hunt blacktail? LOL!