McKenzie River Trail Backpacking

Backpacking Food

While fireworks go off all over the neighborhood, I am in the kitchen making chocolate chip coffee biscotti and measuring out portions for planned meals for an awesome backpacking trip which should start tomorrow, if all goes as planned.  One af my favorite things about backpacking trips is meal planning.  I love the creativity behind having to think about weight, how easily the food can be prepared over a camp stove, getting the right amounts of calories, and of course planning something slightly gourmet to make on the trail even more gratifying after a long haul on the trail.  Here's what's cooking this trip:

Chocolate Chip Coffee Biscotti

Cream Cheese Fruit Rollup Wraps

Cheesy Eggs (they cook right in the ziplock bag in boiling water)

I'm really excited to try a new recipe: chicken soup with dumplings using instant chicken noodle soup mix, dehydrated veggies, and biscuit dough (the kind from the can that opens when you knock it against the counter).  This will all be made at camp.  My old standby recipe will also be taken along:  packaged cheesy pasta, canned chicken, and dehydrated veggies.  There is nothing better than a warm meal after making camp.

I can't wait to explore the McKenzie River Trail.  Things to look forward to are, the Blue Hole (where the River returns above ground after a long trek underground, some waterfalls, an old lava bed, old growth forest (douglas firs, cedar), Clear Lake, and a natural hotspring!  I think the trip will be wonderful...and I can't wait to bring home pictures to share.