The Backpacker's Field Manual, Revised and Updated: A Comprehensive Guide to Mastering Backcountry Skills Review

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(More customer reviews)This book was written by Rick Curtis, director of the Outdoor Action Program at Princeton University, one of the most succesful college outdoor programs around. It's not the kind of book you sit down and read, rather it's a good reference to keep handy when you have questions about things. Here's a bit of what it covers:
-backpacking equipment
-cooking and nutrition
-hygiene and water purification
-"leave-no-trace" hiking and camping
-weather
-safety and emergency procedures
-first aid
-trip planning
Every backpacker knows that space is limited and you can only carry the essentials- which definitely includes this book. In 10 chapters, a mid-size font, and 440 pages, it covers it all and will be the only backpacking guide you'll ever need. Hikers suffering with plantar fasciitis might also be interested in The 5-Minute Plantar Fasciitis Solution.

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When it was first published in 1998, The Backpacker's Field Manual set the standard for comprehensive backpacking books. Now exhaustively updated to offer a more complete view of backpacking today, it covers the latest developments in gear—such as Global Positioning Systems and ultralight hiking equipment—first aid, and Leave No Trace comping, and includes a chapter devoted to outdoor leadership resources and basics. Beginners and experienced hikers alike will find this book indispensable for trip planning strategies and also as a quick reference on the trail for:BACKCOUNTRY SKILLS—how to forecast the weather, identify trees, bear-proof your campsite, wrap an injured ankle, and more--illustrated with more than 100 line drawings.TRICKS OF THE TRAIL—time-tested practical lessons learned along the wayGOING ULTRALIGHT—downsizing suggestions for those who want to lighten upEvery traveler knows that space in a backpack is limited, so on your next trip, carry the only guide you'll ever need—this one—and take to the great outdoors with confidence.

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Lipsmackin' Vegetarian Backpackin' Review

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(More customer reviews)My S/O and I took our first serious back-country trip in more than 15 years last week. We relied completely on this book for meal planning and food preparation. We were not disappointed. The recipes are all written in clear language, and are easy to follow. Packable trail instructions are available on-line, which helps with cooking in remote campsites. Of course, we could not try every single recipe -- but here are some of the best ones we tried. We had Olympus Oatmeal for breakfast every day. The Brunswick Stew was excellent, although it took a long time and lots of fuel to rehydrate the dried beans. The Vegan Super Hero Burritos were our favorite. The Whole-Food Granola Bars and Horse Thief GORP (we used unsweetened chocolate chips instead of carob chips) saw us through some long days of paddling and hiking. Our favorite snacks were the Energy Balls. We fought over the last one of those! I would warn others that many of the recipes call for prepackaged foods, such as Zatarain's Red Beans and Rice. People with specific health concerns should check the contents of these items before they use them. Fortunately, Zatarain's makes a low-sodium version of Red Beans and Rice, which we used. Otherwise, this is an excellent book. You can truly trust the recipes. I recommend it highly.

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This collection of more than 150 trail-tested recipes, the meat-free sequel to the best-selling Lipsmackin' Backpackin', features instructions for at-home preparation, packable trailside cooking instructions, nutritional information, serving details, and the weight of the ingredients.

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Fork in the Trail: Mouthwatering Meals and Tempting Treats for the Backcountry Review

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(More customer reviews)A Fork in the Trail: mouthwatering meals and tempting treats for the backcountry
By Laurie Ann March
I have really enjoyed A Fork in the Trail even though I am not a hiker and am rarely in the backcountry. I do, however, have a boat, and the recipes in this book fit my needs as a boater to a T. There is not much space on our boat to store consumables, and in the moist environment at the marina or on the river does not lend itself to longevity for prepared dishes, so the use of dehydrated items and those that are easy to carry and take up little space in storage is perfect for me. I am very grateful to Laurie Ann March for doing the thinking part of meal planning for those long boat trips.
Even though it is winter, and boating season is a few months off, I did try a few recipes from this book. It is my policy to cook from every book I review, and A Ford in the Trail was no exception. I even rehydrated dehydrated items to achieve authenticity. I first prepared March's Salmon Cakes, and found the addition of mozzarella cheese brilliant. We enjoyed them immensely on a Lenten evening with sides of buttered noodles, and green beans. (I had to resort to a fast food restaurant to get the packets of mayonnaise, but the recipe was worth the effort) Of course, people who hike and people who boat collect additional packets of sauces and seasonings whenever possible anyway. March's Breakfast Bread Pudding was an ingenious use of powdered egg mix, and quite good. Prepared in my kitchen it was quite easy. I cannot attest to the outback oven method, but it does seem quite doable.
I do recommend this cookbook to anyone preparing to hit the trails or water this summer. You may want to experiment, as I have, before the season starts so you will have an idea of how the dishes come out.


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Inspired by foods from all over the world and the guiding principle of "if you wouldn't eat it at home, why eat it in the backcountry," Laurie Ann March has created over 200 lightweight, taste-tested recipes to turn an ordinary backcountry outing into a gourmet adventure. In addition to the recipes, March covers menu planning, recipe creation, and meal planning for families and larger groups. Color photograph insert.

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Lipsmackin' Backpackin': Lightweight Trail-tested Recipes for Backcountry Trips Review

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(More customer reviews)We have 8 backpacking cookbooks including both of Christine's books. Lipsmackin' Backpackin' is by far our most used book in our kitchen. The recipes are easy to follow, use easy to obtain foodstuffs, are tasty, quick to prepare, and are even great out car camping where storage space is still at a premium in our little VW campmobile or for a quick busy nite at home dinner.
We bought this book in 2000 just before a 50 mile rim to rim extended hike in the Grand Canyon. Most of our older books dating back to the early 70's called out items that were hard to find early on and next to nonexistent now days. Freeze dried meals may be light but are expensive to use for the number of nites we spend out on the trail every year. Not to add 1 meal isn't enough and 1 for each of us is way too much, meaning that we have always had to repack 3 freeze dried meals into 2 meals or add extra ingredients to bulk them out. Rice mixes and couscous get old.
The recipes in Lipsmackin' Backpackin' were so yummy sounding that we packed a weeks worth of them into the Grand Canyon, without even trying them at home first. Every one of the recipes we tried has been a keeper. Except for a few recipes of our own that we have come up with over the years, or a few favorites, we have hardly used our other books since. It is our gift of choice for Christmas, wedding and birthday presents.
We are the backpacking coordinators for a local hiking club and the first thing we recommend to beginners trying to think of something to eat when backpacking, is to buy this book.
Note that while Christine makes good use of a dehydrator, we have found that preparedness stores carry a wide variety of dehydrated or freeze dried vegies, fruit, or meats to buy in bulk (even peanut butter powder and the ever elusive sour cream powder) so it is possible to produce many of the meals with a well stocked backpack foods pantry. On the other hand, we didn't buy our two dehydrators just to make apple rings with. With a little planning and a spring weekend of assembly line packing each year, we have a whole seasons worth of meals packed and ready to go down in our basement. Then all we have to do is make our minds up on which meals to take when we pack our packs. Cooking our meals usually does not take any longer than it takes our friends to cook what ever red or white glop they are making. Plus we can control portions so much easier and rarely have leftovers to pack out.

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Tasty backcountry cookbook filled with trail-tested recipes providing nutritional information, food preparation and meal-planning tips from experienced long-distance hikers.

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Backpack Gourmet: Good Hot Grub You Can Make at Home, Dehydrate, and Pack for Quick, Easy, and Healthy Eating on the Trail Review

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(More customer reviews)This was the first backcountry cookbook I bought. I was looking for recipes that could be mostly assembled at home, would be lightweight to transport, and were easy to cook over a backpacking stove.
On first glance, this book appeared to fit the bill. Most recipes are assembled at home, dehydrated, and then rehydrated as a one-pot meal. However, I tried several recipes this past summer while canoeing and camping in the BWCAW and found the texture and taste of most of the meals to be disappointing. Many of the same ingredients are used over and over in "different" recipes, so many meals taste the same. Also, since the recipes are twice-cooked, the texture is often mushy.
Shortly after purchasing this book, I also bought Lipsmackin' Backpackin'. I ended up using this book for almost all of our camping meals, supplemented by hummus and candied walnuts, and a few other random recipes from Backpack Gourmet. I don't think that the purchase of Backpack Gourmet was offset by the few recipes that we regularly use.
I would recommend buying a different backcountry cookbook if you are intersted in eating something with flavor and texture. If, however, you aren't interested in flavor, but are simply looking for a meal that can be made quickly at camp and has all the calories and nutrients you need, then this is probably the book for you.


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