Have you ever been on a long hard trail, sweating like a prize fighter, wishing you could have a cool drink of real juice? Well, you can! It’s simple and (almost) fresh.

Last month’s seasonal soup recipe introduced the notion of dehydrated “bark”. Bark is created by spreading any blended ingredients, such as soup, on a solid dehydrator tray (or on baking parchment paper on a mesh tray) and drying it until crisp. Apply this technique to blended fresh fruit and your backcountry refreshment dreams could come true.

The other benefit of drying liquefied fruit is that it does not have to be cooked. It holds all the glorious color and flavor in a little crispy chip. Just add cool water filtered from a mountain creek, let sit for 10 minutes, and drink to your heart’s content.

I love this blend because it is bright red, full of vitamins and minerals, and naturally sweet.

Strawberry Cran-apple Juice Ingredients

• 2 cups raw cranberries, frozen or fresh
• 4 apples
• 1 quart fresh strawberries
• Sweetener to taste, optional

If you have a juicer simply run all the fruit through it until you have a thick blend. If you only have a blender, add cranberries and sliced, peeled apples to hot water and let sit until the berries pop open and the apples soften.

Place the softened fruit and strawberries in the blender and blend until they have the consistency of thin applesauce. I like a bit of tart flavor from the cranberries, but for a sweeter juice add extra strawberries or your sweetener of choice.

Pour the juice 1/8” thick on the dehydrator trays and dry at 135 degrees for several hours until crisp. Check consistency every two or three hours (see tip below). See the TrailGroove article on dehydrating your own backpacking food for more.

When the juice is totally crisp, remove from the dehydrator and store in labeled resealable bags. You can also put the crisps in a coffee blender and make a powder. Either way, your future thirst-quenching treat is ready for your next trip in the wild.

Tip: If you want to remove one tray of drying juice when it is rubbery, you can make fruit leather to add to your trail mix. See more about fruit leathers in Backpackers' Ultra Food on pages 51-52.

Editor's Note: This recipe originally appeared in Issue 13 of TrailGroove Magazine. You can read the original article here.