Food for Kayak Camping

As summer starts to wind down, I start to get excited about kayak camping trips.  Our favorite "get-away" is to load up our kayaks and go on a wilderness kayak camping trip.  Usually we do a whitewater river trip of a week or so but also we will jaunt off in our sea kayaks to various locations on the coast.  Coming up later this month, we are guiding a sea kayak trip on California's Lost Coast.

Kayak camping on the Owhyee River.

Food preparation for self-support kayak trips can be a daunting task.  I enjoy the challenge and get better with each trip that we do.  Most of our meals are one pot meals a protein, starch, and lots of vegetables.

One pot meals make for easy prep and minimal cleanup.

Many paddlers buy pre-packaged dehydrated meals.  This is a convenient way to plan, pack, and prepare meals in the backcountry.  I usually keep a few pre-packaged meals around for emergency supplies and for extra food on our trips because they are lightweight, don't take up much space, are easily prepared, and have a long shelf life.  The disadvantages of prepackaged meals are that they are usually high in sodium and are expensive.  For these reasons, I prefer to create my own meals.

To minimize dishes, we often eat right out of the pot.  It was a good meal when the pot looks like this.

There are a lot of good resources and recipes on the internet for backpacking food.  One of my favorites is BackpackingChef.com.  This site is helpful because it has directions for dehydrating your own food and serving sizes for dehydrated food.  He also has some good recipe ideas.

My new favorite site for backpacking recipes is Dirty Gourmet.com.  A nice resource that they have compiled is backpacking foods that you can find at the local market.  It is less expensive than the prepackaged backpack specific meals.  It gives you ideas so you can shop for Non- GMO, gluten free, organic or other dietary options.  I also like the Dirty Gourmet's recipes.  When Jeff and I did 10 days on the John Day River this spring, I made a variation of their Thai Coconut Soup.  Jeff is allergic to soy so I used freeze dried chicken instead of soy.  It was delicious!!!

Preparing Thai Coconut Soup on a kayak camping trip.

 When planning food for a trip, planning your menu is key regardless of whether you buy or make your own meals.  I usually scratch out all my menu ideas on paper then mix and match what foods would be best on what day.  If I am packing fresh produce, I plan my meals that need produce at the beginning of the trip.  Planning the menu also helps you with shopping for ingredients and preparing and packaging the meals.

Fresh vegetables are a luxury for us on kayak camping trips.

For food preparation at home, I definitely use my dehydrator.  This time of the year, our summer garden is bountiful.  What we aren't going to eat, share, or trade, I will dehydrate for our future camping trips.  Right now, I am dehydrating zucchini chips for dipping in hummus, ceviche, crab dip, or tuna salad. (Down Home Foods in Fort Bragg carries Fantastic Foods Dehydrated Hummus.  It is tasty and easy to pack and prepare).

Dehydrating zucchini from our garden into zucchini chips.

Kale, broccoli, carrots, onions, roma and cherry tomatoes, apples, pears, huckleberries, and king boletes (porchini mushrooms) are seasonal items in my dehydrator.  Dehydrated vegetables are easily added to soups, mac and cheese, instant potatoes, instant rice, or pasta during the cooking process.   I dehydrate my own spaghetti sauce (homemade or store bought).  One of my favorite wilderness meals is dehydrated spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce and a protein (chicken, beef, or fish).

Dehydrated spaghetti sauce.

Dehydrating spaghetti squash.  YUM!

Buying tuna, salmon, or chicken in packets is an easy way to add protein to a meal.  I also use freeze dried chicken or catch fish depending upon where we are camping.  For eggs, we have found Ova Easy Eggs to be the best.

Using a handline to fish for rock cod on the Mendocino Coast.

Spices and seasonings are essential if you are preparing meals from scratch and want them to taste good.  We carry our favorite spices in our camp kitchen kit and small packets of chicken bullion.  Of course, it is important to plan and pack special treats and snacks - maybe some fresh fruit or vegetables but definitely chocolate.  Huppybars are a staple in my snack bag.  Hot chocolate also is a necessity on chilly nights.

Snacks and special treats.

These are but a few of my backcountry food ideas.  If you enjoyed reading about them, I will share more including some of my favorite recipes.  Please share in the comments if you have other good resources or recipes.

Kayak camping on California's Lost Coast.