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How many people will be on the trip? Men? Women?
Children? Big Eaters? Coffee Drinkers? |
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Anyone with special diets or needs? (vegetarian,
diabetic, etc.) |
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Length of trip and time of year, i.e., hot or cold
weather. |
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If the weather is expected to be warm, always plan to
have chicken or fish dishes using fresh meat at the beginning of the trip. Beef or pork
can be eaten towards the end. We can substitute canned chicken or fish in some recipes. |
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If the weather is expected to be cool, remember to
include hot drinks or soup and stew in your choices. This could help someone on the trip
who is cold. Also, remember to have a couple of alternate dinner choices in the event that
cooking is hampered by rain, snow or wind. |
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Never plan on loaves of bread if you are going for more
than one or two days. Bread doesn't pack well on a river trip. Instead consider pita,
crackers, bagels, muffins or higher density bread such as French, rye or sour dough. |
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When making your fresh fruit choices, remember that
some fruits will keep better than others. For example, never plan on eating a banana after
the first day even if the weather is cool. Good fresh fruit choices include red apples,
oranges, kiwi, mangos, and grapes. (Grapes will usually last until the third or fourth
day). Consider canned or dried fruit as an option. |
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Consider space limitation when choosing your menu.
We've become experts at finding nooks and crannies, but a ten lb. watermelon takes up a
lot of space. On extended trips consider substituting some fresh potato recipes for canned,
dried, or frozen to help save space. |
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When choosing the preferred day for a particular meal,
consider what that day is going to be like. Check with your trip leader to see how many
miles you've got on that day or what time you plan to leave one camp for another. In other
words, don't plan on having a large breakfast with a lot of clean up if your trip leader
wants to be on the river by 9 a.m. You may have an upset trip leader. Also, don't plan on
preparing a difficult meal in the evening if you won't get into camp until 6 p.m. This
could make for a long night of preparation and clean up. |
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Keep lunches simple. Many times you can prepare lunch
and pack it in the morning so it is easily accessible. Cheese, cold cuts, peanut butter
and jelly and fruit are good lunch choices. Chicken salad, tuna salad or egg salad can be
made up in the morning and put in a zip-lock bag for lunch. Using pita bread is a good
choice for lunch because it packs well and is good for you. |
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Conserve ice by organizing ice chest in the cool of the
morning. Keep ice chest closed and covered. |
