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.

Catch of the Day

I have to admit that I am not really into fishing - I like catching and eating.

Go away Mr. Sea Lion.  This lingcod and I have a dinner date.  Photo by Jeff Laxier

Rock cod season opened on the Mendocino Coast May 1.  This week we finally got the conditions and time to get our lines wet.  We decide to fish one of our usual spots.  The lack of kelp is concerning, and we weren't sure if there would be any fish to catch.

As soon as we kayak past the first guardian rocks of the bay, we drop our lines.  Almost immediately, I feel that exciting tug on my line.  "Fish-on!"  Then that tug becomes a pull and I am fighting to keep this guy from heading into the rocks.  (When hooked, rock fish like lingcod will try to escape into the underwater rocks.)  We battle as he tries to escape and I try to reel him in.  He pulls and I pull.  I gain some ground and reel.  Then he dives, the drag on my reel gives a little and my pole flexes a lot.  It holds and he is still on there.  The fight continues - pulling and reeling, pulling and reeling. Once I get him out of the rocks into open water, things relax a little.  I slowly work him closer to the surface.  The water is fairly clear and as he gets closer I can see him.  He is a big one!!!  I've got a lingzilla on the line!

A lingcod has to be at least 22 inches long to keep.  In our world of amateur kayak fishing, any fish over 30 inches that fights and has big teeth is termed a lingzilla.

Lingcod have sharp teeth.

I call my friend over to be ready to help.  For us fishing for rock fish is like rock gardening - a team sport.  We usually fish close to the rocks and have the skill and comfort to be there; however, it is nice to have a teammate there to help out if needed.  Today, the drift is into the rocks.  As I am battling my fish, I am getting pushed closer into the rocks which have waves washing into and over them.  With our rock gardening experience, we are quite comfortable being close to rocks with breaking waves.  Getting washed into the rocks with a fish on the line is a bit harrowing.

With my friend handy to keep me off the rocks, the moment of truth is here.  Can I get him into my net?  When fishing for lingcod, keeping them from escaping into the rocks is the first battle.  The next is netting them.  As soon as you pull them above the surface of the water, they fight like crazy.  When we first started kayak fishing for lingcod, we lost quite a few.  I slow down and keep him just below the surface as I ready my net.  I rehearse the timing and sequence in my mind.  And here we go!

As he breaks the surface, he thrashes about like mad.  He is really heavy.  I bumble a bit with the net and lower him back into the water to reset.  I take a deep breath to try to quiet the pounding of my heart and to reset my nerves and coordinate the catch.  Somehow I manage to land him in my net and get my fish grips on him.  Once I have him on my fish grips, I know that I have him and can go through my process of getting him on my stringer.

After I have my fish in the water on a stringer, I get ready to start fishing again  Then the call of "SEA LION" comes.  Sea lions are notorious for stealing fish off the line.  I struggle to get my fish out of the water and onto my deck.  With fish pulled in, we watch for the sea lion.  We have our paddles ready if he comes too close.  Fortunately he moves on, and we get to continue fishing.

Team Liquid Fusion hauling in the catch of the day.  Photo by Jeff Laxier

Before too long, we are catching fish again.  The bite isn't hot but we are catching fish.  Several are small so we quickly pull them in and set them free  Eventually I catch another legal lingcod, my friend gets 2 and Jeff gets one.  It is time to head in and prepare for the cleanup.

Jeff prepares to throw this small lingcod back.

We have plenty of fish for dinner, the freezer, and to share.

Gail and Cate bringing home dinner.  

For the records my lingzilla of the day was 33 inches and gave over 10 pounds of meat.  Definitely not the largest ling out there but a pretty nice catch.