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#158308 - 12/05/11 10:00 PM Re: New Member [Re: lori]
NavemadaMan Offline
member

Registered: 11/27/11
Posts: 21
Loc: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
Okay well there seems to be a good deal of dissent about sleeping bags, with price and company and a slew of other things but I think I'm going to just go with a more expensive sleeping bag to keep me warm at night. Not having to worry about staying warm at night seems like a really nice thing for me. Plus, I'm a Florida boy, 'nuff said.

I am also thinking about getting a fairly good dehydrator to dehydrate a bunch of food at home before I go. I've read that dehydrated food lasts much longer than its hydrated counterparts, and it weighs much less. And I feel like its a lot healthier than buying pre-dried food out there, most of those foods are full of tons of sodium and preservatives.

Am I in the wrong with thinking of purchasing a dehydrator?

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#158309 - 12/05/11 11:12 PM Re: New Member [Re: NavemadaMan]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Your options are almost unlimited with a dehydrator. A few things are better freeze-dried: peas (which remain the consistency of shotgun pellets after rehydration, even prolonged cooking) and some meats, especially chicken (which, unless you use pressure-cooked or canned chicken, turns into chicken jerky).

This site has lots of recipes and ideas. Also check the "Lite Food Talk" section on this forum. I'm really into "Freezer Bag 'cooking,'" in which you boil water and pour it into your food in the freezer bag it's carried in, using a cozy to keep it warm. Just eat out of the plastic bag, lick and then rinse your spoon--no dishes to wash!

Be sure to try out your meals/experiments at home, first! If they don't taste good at home, they probably won't taste good on the trail, either! You might prevent a disaster such as I had with the dried peas aka shotgun pellets!

Also, label well. My grandchildren still won't let me forget the trip two years ago when (half asleep while preparing breakfast) I mistook chocolate pudding mix for cocoa mix!
lol

Your mom will, of course, greatly appreciate your cleaning up the kitchen after your cooking and dehydrating efforts!


Edited by OregonMouse (12/05/11 11:17 PM)
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

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#158311 - 12/06/11 12:01 AM Re: New Member [Re: OregonMouse]
oldranger Offline
member

Registered: 02/23/07
Posts: 1735
Loc: California (southern)
I'm not sure I would buy a dehydrator right off the bat. A lot of people use an oven set on 'warm" with the door cracked open a bit. You can also get a lot of lightweight food from the supermarket, reducing weight and bulk by repackaging. I sometimes supplement with freeze-dried foods which are reasonably healthy. Like anything else, don't consume them exclusively for long periods.

If you really get into back country cooking, one would make sense.

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#158360 - 12/06/11 09:39 PM Re: New Member [Re: oldranger]
NavemadaMan Offline
member

Registered: 11/27/11
Posts: 21
Loc: Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
I looked up the prices for freeze-dried food and they're really expensive. I feel like buying a good dehydrator would pay for itself in no time. Plus I love jerky. A ton. Really tough and chewy jerky. I know, I'm weird like that. But I think getting dehydrator would be a great investment if its a viable option for generating food for backcountry adventures, instead of purchasing freeze-dried bags of food. Oh and fruit leather, I love fruit leather grin

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#158365 - 12/06/11 10:12 PM Re: New Member [Re: NavemadaMan]
aimless Online   content
Moderator

Registered: 02/05/03
Posts: 3292
Loc: Portland, OR
Well, if you are intereste in dehydrating your own trail food, you've come to the right place. We have some leading experts in that sort of thing. Poke around in the archives of the Lite Food Talk forum.

And check out Sarbar's web site. She's the Queen of home dehydration and freezer bag cooking around these parts. I know I've got a link for that somewhere. (...pats at all his pockets absent mindedly)

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#158368 - 12/06/11 10:36 PM Re: New Member [Re: aimless]
OregonMouse Online   content
member

Registered: 02/03/06
Posts: 6799
Loc: Gateway to Columbia Gorge
Sarbar's website, Trailcooking.com, is the one I linked to in my post above. Lots of awesome ideas, hints on dehydration, lots of recipes using supermarket ingredients.
_________________________
May your trails be crooked, winding, lonesome, dangerous, leading to the most amazing view--E. Abbey

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#158381 - 12/07/11 02:54 AM Re: New Member [Re: OregonMouse]
TomD Offline
Moderator

Registered: 10/30/03
Posts: 4963
Loc: Marina del Rey,CA
Buying gear is a whole hall of mirrors that will make you crazy because of so many choices, both good and bad. Same for clothes/

For a first time gear buyer, unless you have a lot of discretionary income, I recommend going easy on buying "the best" whatever that anyone recommends. As with many things, it is not the answer, but asking the right question that is important.

One way to start is by reading The Complete Walker, considered by many the Bible of backpacking; not so much for choosing any one piece of gear, but for how to look at what you need=as systems, not individual pieces bought at random.

Example-I winter camp so my gear and clothing selection is primarily for that season, although I can adjust my gear list for other seasons in California, where I live. Look at the gear lists posted here (start at the site's home page) to see various lists. I keep my gear and clothes simple as possible, but other people have jackets for every occasion.

Another choice for gear is buying used. BUT, you need to know what you are looking at and what things are worth. However, there is a lot of poorly made stuff on eBay that is not worth the price, no matter how cheap it is. Never buy anything unless you are sure what it is.


Edited by TomD (12/07/11 03:12 AM)
_________________________
Don't get me started, you know how I get.

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