Fancy Dinners at 9,800 feet

[ppine]

I just returned from a trip to NE Nevada with 6 other guys.  They were older than me in their late 60s and 70s and hard to keep up with. Former marathon runners and bike racers. One night for dinner the "Chef" makes ice for the bourbon with dry ice. Then it is smoked trout and crackers for appys.  Then spring greens with prawns and pecans and balsamic drizzle. Fresh green bean and NY steak cooked in butter with wine reduction and 10 lobster tails.  Then he makes chocolate sauce for ice cream. It was a game changer for me. I am tired of pouch food.

[wspscott]

Sounds like a lot of work, but if someone else wanted to cook for me like that I would not be complaining Note to self, find better cooks to backpack with.

[ppine]

It was quite amazing to experience a meal like that. When you have a chef and 3 sous chefs, it was not that bad. It is a game changer for me, and I will be putting more effort into meal preps from now on.  Going lighter also makes it possible bring some comfort items. A guy brought a chair on this trip, and I will be taking one next time in out in 2 weeks.

[FatherGoat]

While I'm no chef, I find the complexity of my meals on the trail increases as my mileage / exertion decreases.  If I'm really pushing hard for 12 hours on the trail I don't have the energy to carry complex meals or the energy to prepare them once I reach camp.  On the other side of the coin, if I'm just doing a couple of easy miles with the family I don't mind the extra weight on the trail and have plenty of energy to prepare once we get to camp.

Sounds like the gentleman you were with had the energy to carry and prepare some real proper meals.  As was mentioned, you have some good hiking buddies.

Happy Trails

[ppine]

My days of pushing for 12 hours are long gone.  That was 20 years and many mule wrecks ago.  At 67 with some bionic body parts I rarely go more than 8-9 miles in a day.  Less if is really steep.