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Food

Dirtbag/Gourmet: Thai Food

Bring takeout to the trail with these flavorful Asian noodle dishes.

DIY Fall Trail Snacks

Turn fall's harvest into healthy, energy-packed treats.

Recipe: Spicy Pad Thai with Chicken and Veggies

For authentic takeout on the trail, try this spicy Pad Thai.

Recipe: Easy Pad Thai

Craving something Asian on your next trek, but don't want to put in a lot of effort? Try this easy Pad Thai.

Gear Review: Primus Gravity MF II Stove

This reliable camp stove runs on any gas, quick to heat and easy to use.

Winter Camping: Recipes & Menu Planner

These recipes are fortified with extra warmth and calories for winter camping.

BACKPACKER Trail Chef Video Center

From beer pancakes to on-the-go tiramisu, our resident Trail Chef will have your mouth watering in no time.

Dirtbag/Gourmet: Camp Potatoes Recipes

Transform boring old instant potatoes into spicy, hearty meals.

Camp Cooking Tips and Tricks

We'll show you how to be the ultimate trail chef in no time with these tips.

Gear: Backcountry Cookware

Just because you're in the backcountry doesn't mean you don't need cookware. Here, some essentials to make you king of trail kitchen.

Drinks For the Trail

From cocktails to coffee, these recipes and tips will keep you quaffed no matter what.

Snacks for the Trail

Need to recharge with something tasty? These savory snacks will do just that.

Dessert Recipes for the Trail

Finish your meal off right with these treats for the trail.

Dinner Recipes for the Trail

Whip up a four start meal with these trail side recipes.

Breakfast Recipes

Start the day right with these out-of-the-ordinary breakfast treats.

Eat for All-Day Energy

On the trail, when you're snacking is just as important as what you're consuming.

Recipe: Sesame-White Bean Potato Cakes

These potato cakes are heavy on the carbs–and taste.

Recipe: Italian-Style Potatoes

Spice up boring potatoes with some summer sausage, brown sugar, and tomatoes in this Italian-inspired dish.

Recipe: Wasabi Potatoes with Salmon

The wasabi adds a kick to instant potatoes, while the salmon is a perfect protein source.

Recipes: Perfect Pancakes

Batter up for these trail-ready pancakes.

How To Make Perfect Camp Pancakes

From toppings to cleanup, these four tips will enhance the perfect lazy-morning camp breakfast.

Recipe: Blueberry-Hazelnut Rice Flour Pancakes

This gluten-free variation on the traditional recipe serves up superlight cakes.

Recipe: Beer Pancakes

Reason #57 to love a good brew: The carbonation in beer makes for extra-fluffy flapjacks.

DIRTBAG to GOURMET SANDWICHES

Flavor-infuse your lunch menu with these pesto tuna, ham, Gouda & apple, and spicy chicken salad recipes.

Recipe: Spicy Chicken Salad Sandwich

P&J is for amateurs. This spiced up sandwich is just what your taste buds need on the trail.

Recipe: Ham, Cheese & Apple Sandwich

Take your ol' ham and cheese up a notch with this concoction.

Recipe: Pesto Tuna Sandwich

Take your tuna to the next level with this gourmet sandwich.

Desert Recipe: Tiramisu



Desert Recipe: Bananas Flambé



The Manual: Win a Camp Cookoff

Ideal appetizers, perfect wine pairings, desserts, and advanced techniques.

Ultralight Done Right: Food!

Easy, lightweight recipes. Plus quick ways to stay full and happy without hauling extra weight.

Gear Review: Evernew Titanium Pasta Pot

This featherweight pot is great for solo pasta lovers.

Family Camping: Fun Food

Meal-by-meal tips to please the whole family

The Kitchen Sink: Backcountry Cookware Reviews

Everything you need to eat well in the backcountry.

Weekend Planner: Time-Saving Recipes

From dumplings to pasta, check out these three recipes for on-the-go goodness.

Backcountry Tooth Care

Treat dental problems–from minor to major–with these tips.

Trail Chef: Cook Bacon and Eggs in a Bag

Wow your friends with this campfire cooking trick.

Recipe: Quick Pepperoni Pizza

Craving a slice? Get your fix in the backcountry with these easy stovetop recipes.

Recipe: Parmesan-Polenta Pizza

Improve the basic pie with cornmeal crust and fresh basil sauce.

Fitness Special—Hike Forever: The Exercises



Fitness Special—Hike Forever: The Total Fitness Plan

Get trail-fit fast! This 4-week program was designed specifically for hikers by trainers Melissa Racouillat of San Francisco's Stone Clinic and Darren Flagg of Boulder's Animal Strength Human Performance Lab.

Fitness Special—Hike Forever: Age 65 & Up

Stay in shape with these workout tips, and advice from a fitness hero.

Fitness Special—Hike Forever: Age 50-65

Fight the sedentary lifestyle and get a move on with these exercised and essential skill.s

Fitness Special—Hike Forever: Age 35-50

Get ready for the long fitness haul with these skills, workouts, and essential info.

Fitness Special—Hike Forever: Age 18-35

Build your fitness foundation with this essential physiological info, tips on eating right and exercises for staying in prime hiking shape.

Recipe: Spicy Teriyaki Elk Jerky

Elk meat makes for a leaner, more tender–and always organic!–trail snack.

Recipe: Burger Jerky

Say goodbye to rock-hard, overpriced, gas-station jerky with this cheap and easy recipe.

Health Nuts

These tasty nutritional all-stars offer a bounty of vitamins, minerals, protein, fiber, and good-for-you fats. Here are a backpacker's four best bets.

Readers' Choice 2010: Submit Your Favorite Trail Recipe



Editors' Choice 2009 Gold Award: MSR MugMate Coffee Maker

The ultimate solution for backcountry coffee–fast, ultralight, and fuss-free.

Editors' Choice 2009: PackIt Gourmet Austintacious Tortilla Soup

Put this meal on the menu for any trip: It's easy-prep trail food that will wow every palate.

Editors' Choice 2009: Honey Stinger Organic Energy Chews

Our favorite new fast snack proves that healthy can be tasty, too. Oh, and it's not a bar.

Recipe: Campfire Baked Apples

With under five minutes of prep time needed, these apples will please anyone.

Recipe: Creamy Peach (or Berry) Pie

It doesn't get easier than fruit, pudding and boiling water for this simple dessert.

Recipe: Chewy Fudgy Nutty No-Bake Cookies

These simple cookies are perfect for the trial.

Beyond the S'More

Invent your own dessert with these versatile starters from your pantry.

Recipe: Peppered Venison With Wild Rice Risotto

We're serving up gourmet grub from America's top cook. Here Mark Fischer, head chef of Six89 in Carbondale, CO.

Utensils: Primus Meal Set

Freshly grated Parmesan with your fire-side spaghetti dinner? That's not a problem with this easy to clean, full-featured mess kit

Dinner Party: Cooking for a Group

Plan and cook for a group with these time-tested tips.

Recipes: 4 One-Pot Stews

Don't settle for a hunk of ice-hard jerky when the mercury plummets. A hard day of winter hiking or snowshoeing should be followed with a piping-hot stew.

The Tortilla's Many Uses

More than just a hammock for your burrito ingredients, tortillas are very versatile.

How to Do Everything - Cooking

Eat like a pro with our recipes for every course.

Freshen Up with Fresh Fruits and Veggies

Upgrade your trail menu–and lower your carbon footprint–with farmers' market fare.

Custom Training: Exercises for Every Body Type

Get stronger and hike longer with a workout that matches your physique.

Packing Heat: Fiery Southwestern Recipes

These 4 red-hot recipes will warm you faster than any campfire.

Camp Coffee Gear: Make the Perfect Cup

4 backcountry brew gadgets even the snobbiest baristas will love.

Taste Test: Camp Coffee

Whether you're going ultralight or ultra gourmet, it's crucial to pour the right cuppa joe.

Trail Recipes: Portable Pub Grub

We'll show you how to adapt you favorite bar food for the trail: Mushroom-Asiago Veggie Burgers, Spicy Sweet Potato Fries, Hot Spinach & Artichoke Dip, and Toasted Tortilla Chips.

Trail Recipes: Rising Sun Cuisine; Sushi on the Go

4 Japanese meals adapted–and enhanced–for the trail

Eat Better

Want to hike farther, explore tougher terrain, and carry big loads without bonking? To achieve your biggest backcountry goals, you have to change how you eat.

Summer Fitness Special: Hike Stronger, Live Longer

Achieve peak performance on the trail with our complete guide to training and eating like a backpacker.

Better to the Last Drop

A hiker cannot live on water alone. Next time out, try these coffee, tea, and wine updgrades.

Recipes for the Trail: Fish Feast

4 hook-and-cook dinners just waiting to be caught

Taste Test: Best of the Bars

What to grab when you need a boost

Free Food! Trailside Edible Plants

Wild parsnip, burdock, and wild carrot grow throughout North America. Learn when and where they're prime for picking.

Recipes for the Trail: Underground Cuisine

3 tasty, filling trailside finds that could save dinner–even your life.

Trail Food: 3 Edible Nuts

You're lost, hungry, and starting to shiver: Time to play squirrel.

Menu Maker

Not sure how to eat right on the trail? You're in luck. We've taken the liberty of coming up with the perfect plan for breakfast, lunch, and dinner—for just about every situation. So break out your inner chef and get cooking. You'll be eating like royalty in no time.

Eating Well On the Trail

GORP is great...for a snack. Backpacker offers some pointers on keeping your energy up while on the trail.

Reader-Submitted Gorp Recipes

The trail-staple GORP gets a face lift with these reader-submitted recipes

Packing List: Kitchen Kit

When cooking in the backcountry, don't leave home without...

Why Backpackers Need to Eat Protein

Protein helps hikers regulate their metabolism, repair tired muscle, and boost their immune system.

The Workout: Hike Farther, Hike Stronger

Want legs that can tackle any climb, any heavy pack, any mileage? Well, don't work harder–work smarter. We grilled fitness experts and scoured the medical literature to uncover the latest, greatest strategies for building strength, endurance, speed, and flexibility.

Dinner Camping Recipes

Restaurant-quality dining on the trail. Choose from Mushroom and Tomato Orzo with Pesto or Chicken Posole Wraps for your next campfire dinner.

Appetizer Camping Recipes

Unwind after a long hike chilé fondue, French bread bruchetta, or an Asian peanut dip

Breakfast Camping Recipes

Spice up your oatmeal with lemony blueberry sauce. Or go for camp-side blueberry pancakes--topped by more blueberry sauce.

Week-Long Backpacking Menu

Avoid the Pop-Tart rut with Backpacker's seven-day, two-person shopping and menu list.

Weekend Menu: Vegetarian

Eat for energy minus the meat with this three-day, two-person meal plan.

Weekend Menu: Simple Meal Preparation

A three-day, two-person menu and shopping list for those who go camping to escape the rigors of everyday life--including the kitchen.

Weekend Menu: Campsite Gourmet

From cashew-ginger chicken to fruited scones, tasty breakfast, lunch, and dinner options for the trail and the campsite.

Day Hike Menu: Ultralight

What to eat when you're one person spending one day on the trail and looking to travel light

The Essential Weekend Backpacking Menu

Banish blah food with this 3-day guide to quick, delicious meals.

How to Keep Your Food Warm In Camp

3 simple heat shields to keep your meals toasty in the backcountry

Regional Trail Recipes

Four trailworthy variations on favorite regional recipes

Holistic First Aid

A naturopath's top 5 remedies for common backpacking injuries.

Flavor In a Flash: Ultralight Spice Kit

Enhance bland backpacking food with an ultralight spice kit including everything from curry to soy sauce.

Post-Hike Beverages: Hot Trail Toddies

4 steamy drinks to spice up your after-dinner stargazing

Camp Stove Cooking: Curry in a Hurry

4 easy recipes that will warm your whole body.

How to Recycle Spent Fuel Canisters

Different cities have different rules for recycling your used fuel canisters

High-Energy Food: Eat For The Long Haul

Enjoy all-day power by combining these 5 superfoods

Backpacking Recipe: Maple Sweet Grits

A simple twist packs protein into this down-home favorite.

Backpacking Recipe: Savory Corn Fritters

Pack your fishing rod; these biscuits go perfectly with fresh-caught trout or catfish.

Backpacking Recipe: Spicy Trail Pozole

Stuff yourself with this camp-style version of a traditional Mexican stew.

Backpacking Recipe: Rum and Black Bean Soup

Enjoy this hardy and healthy Mexican soup at home or in camp

5-Minute Meals: Cups Of Cold-Weather Comfort

Four new recipes for belly-warming campfire drinks

Dessert Recipes: Sweets For Your Sweet

Sweeten up your next overnight trip with any of these 4 dessert recipes

Dessert Recipes: Beyond The S'More

Make your romantic weekend in the backcountry extra special by inventing your own dessert. Use these versatile starters from your pantry: piecrusts, pudding, and maple syrup.

Freshen Up: Fruits and Vegetables on the Trail

Liven up camp fare with these 35 natural foods.

Taste Test: Beef Jerky

Rich flavors and moist textures take top honors with these trail snacks

5-Minute Meals: Backcountry Breads

Four hearty, ready-in-a-flash bread recipes

Instant Weekend Menu

Cooking tips and recipes for easy backcountry meals

5-Minute Meals: Quick-Prep Pastas

You really want more granola? Get your carbs in a tasty, new way.

Taste Test: Battle Of The Bars

31 flavors, 12 discerning testers, 4 clear energy bar winners

5-Minute Meals: Pack In The Protein

Add four low-carb recipes to your trail cookbook

Trail Cooking: The Low-Impact Kitchen

9 tips for Leave No Trace dining

Trail Bar Review: Snickers Marathon Bars

Keep going-and going-with our favorite new trail snack

Four Top Trail Meals

Testers' favorite backpacking entrees

5-Minute Meals: Backcountry Crepes

Quick and simple crepe recipes for any meal

The Best Recipes: REI/BACKPACKER Camp Cook-off

The best gorp, breakfast, entree, and dessert recipes from our cooking contest: 200 contestants, eight finalists, one culinary king

South Beach Trail Diet

A hiker's guide to low-carb eating

Backpacking Basics

Our 5-step guide to planning, gear, food, fitness, and essential skills

Mars Vs. Venus

Who's better suited for backpacking--men or women?

Water Worries

How much H2O do you really need on the trail?

The Hiker's Diet

Do hikers have special nutritional needs?

Go Light, Not Hungry

The One-Pan Gourmet shows how to eat like a king.

Blueberry Magic

Berries Prove Balance Can Be Sweet

Go Fish

If you can't hook a monster in one of these fishing holes, you better hang up your rod.

Mighty metabolism

Do backpackers have superfast metabolic rates?

Eye Dropper Storage

Carrying around those little extras just got easier with this trick.

Good News About Bad Food

Got burgers on the brain? Learn why some experts say it's okay to indulge.

That Zesty Taste

Liven up your purified water.

Jiffypop Pan

This classic snack offers more then just a tasty treat for backpackers.

Broken Crackers? Keep The Crumbs

Three ways to salvage broken crackers and pulverized bread.

Finding Food For The Long Trail

We tortured 51 trail snacks and staples to pick the longest lasting foods for backpacking.

Make Backpacking Meals Better

No refrigerator, no problem, says this cooking instructor. Here's her secret to making every meal better.

The Hiking Gourmet

The hungry hiker's foolproof plan for eating like a king in the backcountry.

Gear For A Dayhike

10 essentials for long day adventures

Emeril Spices Up Camp Food

Cuisine expert Emeril Lagasse shares eight tips on how to liven up your camp cooking.

Cheap Camping Tools For Eating

How to complete your backcountry kitchen for $5 or less.

Ultralight Backpacking Do's and Don'ts

Jon provides first-hand advice for ultralight beginners.

Fast Food: A Backpacker's Guide To Grocery

A soup-to-nuts guide that'll get you through the supermarket and on the trail faster than you can say "express lane."

The Camper's Grocery Express Lane

These tips will have you in and out of the grocery faster than a runaway cart.

Eating On The Runs

To keep trekking when you have the trots, feed your body the right fuel.

Reader Tip: Bladder Bowl

Try this homemade, ultralight bowl for long distance treks.

Packable Salads

These crunchy, easy-to-prepare side dishes will make your hiking buddies green with envy.

How To: Dehydrate Your Own Trail Food

Make your own dehydrated trail food with these simple techniques.

Good News For Sore Joints

Got a bum knee or ankle? Better treatments for post-hike joint pain are on the horizon.

Camp Cuisine: No Cooking Required

Camping without stove or fire gains you freedom, flexibility, simplicity, and compactness, and sometimes a lighter load.

Retaining Water While Hiking: Don't Sweat It

When water is scarce, minimize the amount your body expends.

Drinking Risky Water

If disaster leaves you deep in the backcountry without any means to disinfect drinking water, what do you do? Follow these methods to stay hydrated without getting sick.

Dry Camping Secrets

If water's in short supply where you're headed, know the secrets of dry camping.

Chicken Soup For The Trail

Some trailworthy soups can even help you heal.

Pilot Crackers

A long-lasting bread that handles the rigors of backpacking.

Trailworthy Cheese Alternatives

With a little creativity, dairy-wary hikers can find tasty and satisfying alternatives to cheese.

The Great Gorp Contest

From "good old raisins and peanuts" to trail mixes spiced with hot peppers, Michigan cherries, beer nuts, and dried carrots, the ultimate backwoods snack comes your way, courtesy of Backpacker readers.

Fight Fatigue With Food

Eat right and you'll hike stronger.

Pasta Power

Put some past in your stomach for good trail food all the next day.

Be A Dried-Food Gourmet Chef

Create tasty trail meals like fish chowder, lasagna, and seafood with pasta.

Foods For Backcountry Recovery

Our medicine man gives his food suggestions for recovering in the backcountry.

Backcountry Menus For Diabetics

Feeding a diabetic hiker takes planning and professional advice, but not necessarily a special menu.

The Mountaineer's Herb

Ginkgo helps with altitude sickness and cold.

Dehydrate Your Trail Food

Who says you need water in your food? Dehydrate your vittles and you'll carry less weight, save money, and eat better.

Yerba Mate: New Trail Brew

Kick the coffee and toss the tea and try yerba mate.

Have Diabetes, Will Travel

Even diabetes can't slow down hikers with these health tips.

Filtering Vs. Chemicals Vs. Boiling Water

Water treatments defined.

Boosting Backcountry Meals

With simple planning, you can turn your bare-bones backcountry meals into satisfying, energy-boosting successes.

Nutritional Yeast: What Is It?

Is this health-food-store item really needed in those recipes?

Millet, Kasha, Quinoa: Against The Grain

Rice and pasta are nice, but if you want variety, add some millet, kasha, or quinoa to your trail menu.

Avoiding Caffeine Withdrawal

Your daily cups of java seem innocent-until you hit the trail and don't get your normal caffeine buzz for a couple of days.

Old-Time Camp Food

Tired of freeze-dried? Try hardtack and corn dodgers for a tasty change of pace.

Dandelion Burgers: A Vegetarian Recipe

This vegetarian burger recipe will suit your palate and clean-up the environment.

Dessert Time: Use Nature's Fridge

Use streams, snow, rivers, and ponds as chilling grounds for enticing backcountry desserts.

Camp Rice: Using The Chameleon Grain

Rice takes on the flavor of whatever you add to it, so no wonder it's such a tasty, versatile trail food.

Pass The Powdered Beans

When it comes to punching up a bland menu,there's a whole world of flakes, granules, and sprinkles waiting to be tried.

Virginia's Berrypicking Paradise

When hiking on Virginia's high, exposed heath balds in late summer, leave gorp and other snacks at home.

Camp Breakfast Tips: Rise And Shine

Eggs on the trail, stoveless oatmeal, and other breakfast miracles from readers.

In Camp, Hit The Sauce

By themselves, noodles are just plain bland. Add the proper topping, though, and dinner takes on a whole new flavor.

Camping With A Fridge

That's essentially what the outdoors is, so use those cold temps to carry tasty foods that wouldn't stand a chance in summer.

Winter Calorie Count

Winter activities demand more of your body's energy.

Tofu, Anyone?

Tofu has been much maligned, but the simple truth is that it's tasty, nutritious, and an ideal trail food.

Camp Pastas: Use Your Noodle

It's tasty, nutritious, and will survive being crammed in a pack. Might pasta be the perfect trail food?

Trailworthy Recipes

How to make dreamy drinks and crispy chicken in camp, and lots of other trail-tested cooking tips from readers.

BACKPACKER Reader Cooking Tips

Cooking tips from readers.

Grow Trail Greens

Time it right and you can harvest fresh greens every day of your trip.

Fresh Backcountry Food

Rather than tearing open an envelope, wouldn't you rather slice and dice something fresh?

Advice From Chef Slacker

Boil, pour, stir, eat. Camp food doesn't get any easier than this.

Food To Fight The Bonk Factor

Choose your fuel wisely to keep your engine running strong.

Trail Calories: Crunching The Numbers

Break down your calorie intake for maximum energy on the trail.

Protect Your Pack Food

The inside of a pack is a rough place for poorly packaged food. Protect your grub so it emerges intact.

Trout Fishing: Reel Fine Dining

When the trout are thick and the ethics resolved, catch-and-eat is the tasty way to go.

Camp Tortillas: Wrap It Up

Wrap your dinner in a tortilla and you've got an appetizing and tidy way to satisfy those hunger pangs.

A Gruel And Unusual Taste Test

Fearless campers sacrifice their taste buds to determine which instant breakfast is best.

The Backcountry Cupboard

Stock these 25 essentials for grab-it-and-go meals.

Spice Up Your Camp Food

Spice is the variety of life, so add ground pepper, ginger, and other taste bud tinglers to your camp meals.

Camp Coffee Explained

Here's how to make your morning cup of joe the best in camp.

Camping Spices To Go

These spices add zest to bland camp meals.

Getting Your Just Desserts In Camp

Just because you're in the woods doesn't mean you have to sacrifice dessert. Here are a few recipes for tasty end-of-the-meal treats that'll satisfy anyone's sweet tooth.

Don't Feed The Animals

A well-intentioned handout today could mean disaster for panhandling wildlife tomorrow.