CANOL Dehydrated Meals

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On our hike, we got to rehydrate and eat all of the food that we had lovingly dehydrated beforehand. Overall, most of the meals rehydrated pretty well, especially when we left them for a few hours in the food thermos for lunch. In particular, ground beef and corn benefited from longer rehydration times. Here were some of our best meals:

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Korean Beef Bowl
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Mung Bean Coconut Curry
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Shepherd’s Pie
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Thai Coconut Soup
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Sweet Potato Lentil Soup

The chili and lentils with couscous were also quite good, but I didn’t take a photo. Here are the “recipes” for the meals I made:

recipes

For most meals, I didn’t manage to get the calorie density that I was hoping for following my round of experimentation, so the meals ranged from 3 calories/gram (jambalaya) to 6 calories/gram (sweet potato lentil soup), with most falling in the 4-5 calories/gram range. The split pea soup came in too low on caloric density so I didn’t end up bringing it on the trip.

Packing for the CANOL Trail

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In addition to all the food prep that we did for our CANOL hike, we also had to assemble and pack all the gear that we would need for the duration of our trip. In addition to food, here’s a photo of everything I carried on the hike:

 

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  • Bear spray
  • First aid kit (contents tailored for this specific trip)
  • Waterproof camera (Nikon COOLPIX W300)
  • E-reader loaded with books (Kobo)
  • inReach (satellite communication device)
  • Water purification tablets
  • Sunglasses
  • Headlamp (it was just starting to get dark at night)
  • Knife, small multi-tool, lighter, whistle
  • Hair elastic and lip chap
  • Small tarp
  • Paracord
  • Ursack (a bear-proof food bag)
  • White gas stove (MSR WhisperLite) and fuel
  • Food thermos for lunches
  • Pot, mug, bowl, spork
  • 65 L backpack (a bit larger would have worked better)
  • Packraft (Alpacka Scout with inflation bag – in the blue bag) and repair kit
  • Paddle
  • Sandals
  • Hiking boots
  • Hiking poles
  • Pack rain cover
  • Gaiters
  • Drybag and compression drybag (both 15 L)
  • Sleeping bag (MEC Delphinus -9 C down)
  • Sleeping mat (the foam kind to save weight)
  • Tent (Eureka Solitaire AL)
  • Rain jacket (Arc’teryx)
  • “Dry” clothes, including down jacket, fleece sweater and pants, undershirt, hat, gloves, and socks
  • “Wet” clothes, including undershirt and pants, long-sleeved shirt and tights, socks, and underwear

Cooking with out-of-town ingredients

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On my way back from my hike, I went through Yellowknife and was able to pick up some deluxe “big city” ingredients, which we have been making good use of.

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Eggs Benedict with portobello mushrooms, goat cheese, avocado, eggs, and hollandaise sauce
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Crepes with ham, brie, and avocado
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Naan bread pizza with portobello mushrooms, fig goat cheese, arugula, and a chocolate porter craft beer
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Grilled chicken and portobello sandwich with brie and arugula, with a side of sweet potato fries and chipotle mayo, and craft beer (from right next to my old place in Vancouver)
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Chipotle scramble with chicken, corn, rice, peppers, and avocado