Collins Complete Hiking and Camping Manual: The essential guide to comfortable walking, cooking and sleeping. Rick Curtis
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CHICKEN FAJITAS
16 ounces refried beans
30 ounces canned/packet chicken, drained
3 tablespoons margarine
2 green bell peppers, sliced
2 onions, sliced
12 (10-inch) flour tortillas
16 ounces salsa Grated cheese (optional)
In a large frying pan, heat the refried beans over medium heat until warm, then set aside in a separate bowl. Drain the chicken (save the juice to add to your frying pan as needed). Add 1 tablespoon margarine to the frying pan over high heat. When the pan is hot, lightly scorch the peppers, onions, and chicken until brown but still tender. (For easier frying, cook only 1/4 to 1/2 of the filling at a time, storing the finished filling in a separate covered pot.) If desired, warm the tortillas in a large frying pan; fry 2 tortillas at a time over medium-high heat, adding a small amount of margarine to the pan as needed. Fill the tortillas with the beans and chicken mixture. Cover with salsa and grated cheese, if desired.
Serves 6
DHAAL-BHAT (SHERPA RICE)
Dhaal-bhat, or curried rice and lentils, is a staple for the people of the Himalayas. I grew to love this simple dish while trekking in Nepal.
1/2 cup lentils
1/2 cup barley
Salt
3 cups instant rice
1 onion, chopped
2 green bell peppers, chopped
2 apples, chopped
Curry powder
Ground cinnamon
Soak the lentils and barley for about 2 hours by putting them in a water bottle (you can do this earlier in the afternoon and they will be rehydrated by the time you get to camp). Add salt to a large pot of boiling water. Stir in rice, barley, and lentils. Reduce to a simmer, then add onion, green peppers, apples, and spices. Cover tightly and simmer for 30 minutes.
Serves 6
CURRIED CHICKEN WITH RICE
3 cups instant rice
Salt
1 onion, diced
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon margarine
30 ounces canned/foil pack chicken
2 apples, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
1 to 2 tablespoons curry powder
Boil 21/2 cups water, add rice, and boil for 1 minute with 1 tablespoon salt. Simmer, covered, until done. Drain excess water, if necessary. In a fry pan, sauté onion and garlic in 1 tablespoon margarine until tender. Add the chicken, apples, raisins, and curry and heat for a few minutes. Add chicken mixture to rice and serve.
Serves 6
Baking in the outdoors is an art that requires patience. In order to bake, you need to be able to provide heat on both the top and the bottom of your pan. There are a number of cooking pans and devices that enable you to do this. Another technique is to create a Dutch oven using a pot with a lid. You can do this on a fire (if building a fire is appropriate) or on a backpack stove: place coals from the fire, or build a twig fire, on top of the pot lid. (Lids designed with a rim to contain the fire make this much easier.) Hold your hand about 6 inches above the pot-lid coals. Your hand should feel hot but not burn. Once baking begins, gently remove the lid periodically using pot grips and check your progress, and then quickly replace the lid. You will have to continue to feed the coals to maintain heat.
Here are some common menu items with information on how weight or volume converts to the number of servings:
Hygiene and Water Purification
WASHING DISHES, POTS, AND UTENSILS
Disposing of Tampons, Pads, and Towelettes
COLLECTING AND STORING WATER IN COLD WEATHER
Preventing Your Water from Freezing
Maintaining proper hygiene is a challenge in the wilderness. After hiking down a muddy trail all day you are just covered with gunk. Add sweat, sunscreen, and bug repellant and you can be a mess. While part of the joy of backpacking is returning to a more basic existence, giving up the luxuries of hot and cold running