OK. We're sick of granola bars, gorp, and beef sticks. For long days of paddling and portaging, what are some other ideas for relatively light no-cook trail food?

I'm assuming you will stop somewhere, take a break and find the food. If your looking for something strictly when you are on the move, it is gorp, granola bars, power bars and water for me.

If you actually sit down somewhere or stop paddling for a few minutes, but don't want to cook there are many options. bagels. cheese, sausage and crackers. Tuna salad on crackers (foil pouch of tuna, some packets of mayo and a little seasoning). Salami in a tortilla (can add cheese, mayo or whatever), peanut butter and jelly, etc. I'm sure many can add to this list. be creative.

Try making a few Cache Lake fry breads the day before. Wrap them in cloth (cotton) napkins or towels so they don't get soggy.

Another idea - one that takes some advance planning - is freeze-dried chicken.
Cut up a pound or so of chicken breasts into bite-size pieces.
Cook them as though you were going to eat them on the spot, with whatever flavorings you like.
Drain well, place on a screen of some sort, and put in your home freezer.
After a week or two, you'll have freeze-dried chicken that can be rehydrated by soaking in a little cold water for an hour or two. It'll taste just like cold cooked chicken, only not quite as tender. It also goes well as a supplement to other freeze-dried or dehydrated foods.

Together with the fry bread and maybe some cheese, you'll have a tasty lunch.

My favorite is crackers (or bread or bagels etc) with plenty of butter and cheese. I discovered while doing a 15 mile hike that there is nothing like it for stoking the furnace for an extended period.

Not a big fan of gorp myself. I tend to over eat it and I feel weighted down.

Dehydrated fruit, trail mix and jerky are my "on the move" staples.

One of our favs- foil-packed smoked salmon and/or slices of parmesan cheese on Akmak sesame crackers. While on the move we eat a lot of gorp, nuts, dried fruit, granola bars. Have taken buffalo and elk jerkey the last couple of trips as well. Penaut butter smeared on anything also works.

quote serenityseeker: "I'm assuming you will stop somewhere, take a break and find the food. If your looking for something strictly when you are on the move, it is gorp, granola bars, power bars and water for me.


If you actually sit down somewhere or stop paddling for a few minutes, but don't want to cook there are many options. bagels. cheese, sausage and crackers. Tuna salad on crackers (foil pouch of tuna, some packets of mayo and a little seasoning). Salami in a tortilla (can add cheese, mayo or whatever), peanut butter and jelly, etc. I'm sure many can add to this list. be creative. "

I did this on our last trip. I brought Bagels, a brick of Pepper Jack cheese, and a stick of jalapeno and cheddar summer sausage. It was great, but heavy. In the future I would bring half as much if at all. If weight is a factor, this is not the best option.

I just completed my first trip ever to the BWCAW over Memorial week. CLIF bars. I consumed one before a known difficult/longer portage and on days when we were paddling for sometime. They come in a variety of flavors, packed with protein and are easy to store in your pocket. They are filling and NOT messy. Not to mention they definitely weigh a substantial amount less then your traditional trail mix. Believe me on the weight thing......ON our trip I was told to make a large zip lock bag of trail mix. I swear it weighed at least 10 pounds.

Clif Bars are good. I also like ProBars for a lunch since they have almost twice as many calories. It's true that trail mix is heavy, but it's also calorie and nutrient dense. Nuts have a lot of calories per ounce - check the label on the can - and a mix of protein, carb, and healthy fats. Very few things have as many calories per ounce as nuts and dried fruit.

A favorite no cook lunch of our group is PBJ on a tortilla. Get the squeeze jelly and squeeze peanut butter and it is an easy lunch. Just roll it up.

One of our favorite no cook lunches was foil packet tuna salad on a bagel thin. It was very good and the pouch was just the right amount.

All suggestions sound good. I like a sturdy cracker like Triscuts with cheese or salami or hummus. There is dry hummus mix that you add a little water and oil (optional). Whips up in seconds.

Nuts are good - peanuts, cashews, or almonds.

M&Ms - especially peanut M&Ms. :)

Koda suggested dehydrated/freeze dried chicken, but you could also buy foil packed chicken in the suppermarket. That is very good and I use it the basis for many suppers, but it is good unheated as well.

OK, just got back from our trip late last night. We went with PB sandwiches, Clif bars (assortment from Sam's Club), Quaker Oats chewy bars, beef jerky, and a great trail mix assortment from Sam's Club called Back to Nature Nantucket Blend. This assortment includes almonds, raisins, pistachios, and dried cherries and cranberries.

It was an improvement over the last 20 years of gorp.

Not the lightest option, but delicious: apple slices with peanut butter.

Bring twinkies, they are ambrosa and will never spoil, additionally they are made with trans fat and this is a key ingredient to feeling full in the wilderness.