In the backcountry, how you pack your food is just as important as how you cook it! Our guides put their heads together to create this list of recommendations for packing food. Try these pro-tips on your next outing for easy cooking and cleanup!
- Use the “meal-in-a-bag” approach, and have all ingredients for a meal in the same gallon-sized Ziploc bag so you can just grab that bag at dinner time, and not be searching for that missing spice or ingredient you need. The gallon-sized Ziploc bag can then be used to store the trash from that meal.
- Package different ingredients in smaller Ziploc baggies, all inside that one larger bag.
- Repackaging your food (taking it out of the boxes and cartons) reduces the amount of waste you need to haul out of the backcountry. Don’t forget to include any recipe instructions that were on the original packaging so you know what to do.
- Label things with a permanent marker so it’s easy to find (Day 1 Dinner, Day 3 Breakfast, etc.) Also label quantities so you know how much water to use.
- Have each person carry a bag of their personal snacks. Keep it easy to access for when you get hungry on the trail.
- Since food will be one of the heavier items in your pack, place it around shoulder-height and close to the body, for better balance while hiking in Alaska.
Now get out there and get cookin’! Everything seems to taste better when you’re out in the Chugach mountains!