Eastern Great Lakes Hang - Spring 2011 - Canoeing into Algonquin

[ofsjason]

For anyone who can only come up Saturday morning, do you want to carpool? I'll be about 15 minutes from the 404+401 intersection that we'll be taking North to get to Algonquin.

[[o]TTeR]

I was thinking of Bailey's n Brownies and/or Strawberry-apple pie.

Bailey's n Brownies is an awesome suggestion, gets my vote

[Kasuko]

I would love to get in on the group meals, however I am not a very good "meal planner" as I have been hiking only once, I don't really know what keeps and what doesn't. That said, if someone needs help "acquiring" some food for a meal I would be more then happy to help!

[Chard]

No Probs Kasuko..

Personally, I think the meal planning and preparation is a big part of the fun of getting into the backcountry. It's the fuel that keeps you going. If you're interested, there's tons of sites online that talk about meal planning and recipes for camping. (check phpCanadian Canoe Routes - Food and Recipes). As a starting point, walk through the aisles of your local supermarket and look for anything that sparks your interest and doesn't require refrigeration or come in cans/bottles. Try to balance you meals with carbs (beans/rice/pasta) and proteins (beans/meats).

My biggest challenge has always been portion control. I always seem to bring too much food, even though I know my appetite goes down when I'm in the bush. As a solution, keep track of exactly what and how much you eat over a couple of days. Canoeing is not as strenuous as hiking, so portions can be closer to what you'd normally have at home. Do you eat only one sandwich during lunch, or would you be much happier with two or even three? I know that I prefer two small packs of Ramen noodles for a meal, or that I'd like four 8" pancakes for breakfast. Measure out the powder you use to make those pancakes and there you go.

I can send you some sample meal plans if you like, or point you to some other sites and look at theirs.

Chard

[Kasuko]

Thanks Chardpp,

I agree, I have tons of fun experimenting with meals, I have a couple books on the topic and a couple recipes I was going to try out on this trip. I've been pestering my roommate so much with running all the ideas

However I do NOT like experimenting when other people are on the line (aka Group Meals), I don't like that idea, I think I will stick to tried and true methods. I also don't really understand how these group meals are working, is this like a potluck or something?

[Jiblets]

However I do NOT like experimenting when other people are on the line (aka Group Meals), I don't like that idea, I think I will stick to tried and true methods. I also don't really understand how these group meals are working, is this like a potluck or something?

I personally don't experiment with the main meals on the trip, but do this at home. Small meal and dessert testing is fair game for me.

I too am curious as to how the group meals will work out, but it's still a month a way so I'm not sweating it yet. My meal plan for a trip usually depends on what is on sale the week before. On that note, I was surprised to find some Nestea Singles (6 Sachet/packs) at Dollarama for $1 (Pomegranate Blueberry / Summer Peach / White Cran-Raspberry) YMMV.

This weekend I'm supposed to get a used dehydrator so can dry some of the ingredients for the goulash.

Chardpp - Want to post your goulash recipe or list of ingredients? No rush, I'm going to want to play with my new toy. I've wanted one for ages... My mind is swirling with potential dehydrated meals. I guarantee you that any fruit I find on sale is going to end up in the dehydrator.

Jiblets

[Chard]

Hey,

Well we haven't really finalized anything about the menu, but I thought that it would be fun to do a couple of breakfasts and then the goulash as a group. We just need to know who's intersted so that one or two volunteers can do the shopping. Let's just get the portions right, erring on the side of too much instead of too little. After all, we are canoeing. Bringing home extra isn't a bad thing.

1. Friday Dinner - BBQ/Steak - Instant Potatoes and Mushrooms - Bring your own meats/seafood/kebabs/custom sides and we can have several boxes of instant potatoes and sauteed mushrooms on hand.
2. Saturday Breakfast - Take a headcount and bring enough pancake mix, syrup and bacon for all
3. Saturday Dinner - Huge pot of (Hungarian Goulash) - One person can get the ingredients and others can bring extras like bread, etc...
4. Sunday Breakfast - Take a headcount and have enough eggs, pancake mix, syrup and bacon for all
5. All other meals - You're on your own

Oh, and with any luck, we can add some fish onto the menu!! Fish'n Chips (minus the chips), chowder, whatever.

[Bubba]

Well I don't know about the rest of Ontario but right now its snowing in London and part of me is thinking this may mean we'll not have any bugs for our trip.

24 more days...

[[o]TTeR]

Just started snowing here to Mate, getting tired of the white stuff but anything that keeps the bugs at bay isnt all bad!

[bcaron]

It's cleared up enough today to get a look at the satellite shot of the park. The lakes look more solid than they did two days ago. There is snow on the ground up there again also.