Camping cuisine: How to pack light and eat well

Helpful tips
• Don't throw away the plastic bags that you use to transport your food in. Rinse them out or just seal and bring them home with you to wash. It's environmentally responsible! (Whenever I refer to plastic bags throughout the book, I mean the resealable zip-lock ones, especially those designed for use in a freezer; they tend to be stronger and more useful for transporting food items.)

• In recipes where water is required, first pour the water into the plastic bag the other ingredients were stored in in order to get any residual spices or oils that might be left behind. It will make your meal that much tastier.

• Canned goods will keep longer if you take the cans with you and don't open them until you need them. But please clean them out and take them home to recycle.

• Write down the contents of plastic bags or the name of the recipe on the bags themselves. Use a magic marker or felt pen that won't rub out. Nothing's worse than not knowing what's in your bags!

• Thanks to developments in plastic technology, portable egg-carrying cases are available at outdoors stores or department stores. These allow you to bring fresh eggs with you on your trip (but be aware that eggs are considered a "high risk" food and that spoiled eggs are a prime candidate for salmonella poisoning). If you're hiking during summer or other times when the weather is predicted to be hot, opt for alternative breakfast ideas.

• Use your camping cup as a measuring cup. Before you leave on your trip, measure a cup of water and place it into your camping cup to see how much it holds. You can then use your cup to measure out liquids on your various trips. Your cup is also useful when preparing rice for cooking. Use 2 cups of water for every cup of rice.

• One big mistake I've made is bringing more food on my treks than I need, thinking that I will be hungrier than my stomach will allow. Before you leave on your trip, get to know yourself and your eating habits, which will allow you to estimate how much food you will need on your trip. If you still aren't sure, try bringing enough food for regular-sized meals and then light extras that you can have just in case you're still hungry, like cheese and crackers, trail mix, muffins or extra veggies and fruit. If you still end up with too much food, the best thing to do is to return home with it (don't dispose of it on the trails).

Animals
When I was travelling around Australia, where nine of the world's 10 most poisonous snakes reside, backpackers often asked me how I could trek around Canadian backcountry "with all those bears." I had just finished thinking the same thing with the snakes and spiders and other creatures lurking around the land of Oz, but I laughed and replied that it is rare if you ever see a bear in the North American wild.

In truth, however, they are out there, they are hungry more often than not, and if they smell your food they will want to eat it, without question. If you don't believe me, visit the campground in Banff, Alta., and take a look at the ravaged cooler the rangers have on display as a warning to tourists. Be careful! There are many important guidelines that one must follow when forging into the woods -- remember, you are entering the animals' home turf, not vice versa, and learning to cohabitate is best for everyone (and everything) in the long run. Do your research before embarking on any journey, even day trips, as to what dangerous wildlife might be present, and what you should do in the event you encounter something. Think of it this way: would you tease a snake?

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