So we didn't actually go hiking much today -- it was really a quick hike into camp, then many many many trips back and forth along the same trail hauling wood, then a quick hike out of camp. I suppose if you stretched all the walking we did into a straight-ish line, it would definitely be considered a decent morning hike; nevertheless, the quick trip up to camp gave us an opportunity to enjoy what October does to 8000' elevation Sierra land, and to get some really necessary work done to boot.
Today's wilderness meal centered on a terrific alternative to a boring sandwich -- Curried Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Wraps. This is a great way to use up leftover vegetables and random small amounts of this and that sitting around in your fridge. Just about any vegetable or protein works well in these curried wraps -- use your imagination, or cook a little extra the night before and use up those leftovers rather than opting for another lame peanut butter and jelly trail sandwich.
A couple other things to remember:
1. Notice the tablecloth in the photo above? It's very large, very light, and very very very tiny when folded. It fits in the side pocket of my daypack, so there's no excuse to not civilize even a brief meal in the woods. Plus it provides a clean surface for placing food, and as discussed before, designates your chosen location as dining space, not working space.
2. Packing. Four of these little rolls fit nicely into a very small lunchbag, with enough room leftover for a small packet of gel ice. If you're only going out for a couple hours, and if you leave the yogurt out of your curry sauce, you don't even need the ice pack; but if you opt for the dairy, or if you decide to throw some cooked chicken into your stuffing mix, then definitely keep these little things refrigerated.
While you're packing, think about your garbage, too -- the only garbage we had was in the form of apple cores (no, we're not members of that particular club) and the parchment wrappers around our vegetable wraps -- both of which fit nicely back into the little lunchbag. Had we packed additional food, we would have taken some sort of trash bag to keep the inside of my daypack from becoming future bear bait.
Find the recipe for Curried Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Wraps HERE.
A couple other things to remember:
1. Notice the tablecloth in the photo above? It's very large, very light, and very very very tiny when folded. It fits in the side pocket of my daypack, so there's no excuse to not civilize even a brief meal in the woods. Plus it provides a clean surface for placing food, and as discussed before, designates your chosen location as dining space, not working space.
2. Packing. Four of these little rolls fit nicely into a very small lunchbag, with enough room leftover for a small packet of gel ice. If you're only going out for a couple hours, and if you leave the yogurt out of your curry sauce, you don't even need the ice pack; but if you opt for the dairy, or if you decide to throw some cooked chicken into your stuffing mix, then definitely keep these little things refrigerated.
While you're packing, think about your garbage, too -- the only garbage we had was in the form of apple cores (no, we're not members of that particular club) and the parchment wrappers around our vegetable wraps -- both of which fit nicely back into the little lunchbag. Had we packed additional food, we would have taken some sort of trash bag to keep the inside of my daypack from becoming future bear bait.
Find the recipe for Curried Quinoa & Roasted Vegetable Wraps HERE.