Hunt Camp menu ( no electricity or running water ) Bush camp anybody have one? 10 day

[drakehunter]

Hi guys we are heading out in a few weeks on a 10-12 day bush camp hunt. We are doing the wall tent set up. The first 2-3 days are fine for keeping meat and fruit fresh but after that what would you recommend? Id rather not eat canned spaghetti, beans etc. Im trying to think of a way to avoid making a trek into town every few days for ice. What have you guys done in the past?

Thanks & good luck to everyone this fall

[f350ps]

I always take a good 7 day cooler for frozen food only. Keep the lid closed and outta the sun and it'll easily last 10-12 days. I minimize the empty space with block ice. K

[Sasqman]

When I'm camping, I use a cooler (a good one) with ice blocks and frozen meat, use that meat for the second half of the trip. The key is to also ice that cooler for a day before you leave so its already cold. Try not to open that cooler and keep it in the shade until you need it.

Have fun on the trip and good luck!

[Fella]

Last trip I was on we ate perogies and kielbasa for every meal. I've never been so constipated in my life.

[Darksith]

yeah, get better coolers. I can load my cooler up with block ice and frozen meat and eat moose steaks from last year for 2 weeks. Don't leave any room in the cooler, block ice is important, and only open it to get something, then close it right away. Don't store cooler in the sun, should be fine. Even veggies will last on ice for 2 weeks. Carrots, corn on the cob, beats, potatoes, green beans, lots of different veggies will keep for a long time. No different than a cold cellar. 1 cooler for meat, 1 cooler for veggies, both with ice blocks. I also freeze 2L plastic milk jugs full of water, then you don't have a dripping mess in the cooler as the ice melts. Separate cooler for drinks, but hopefully you have a river or something rather than trying to keep beer on ice.

[Hellfish Hunter]

Get dry ice just did a 5 day hunt, 30 lbs block kept everyone frozen and I mean frozen, it is -80! For a10 day hunt by 2 blocks $50 each but it works.

good hunting!

[Darksith]

Get dry ice just did a 5 day hunt, 30 lbs block kept everyone frozen and I mean frozen, it is -80! For a10 day hunt by 2 blocks $50 each but it works.

good hunting!
so overkill for 2 weeks let alone 5 days

[coach]

We pre-cook most of our meals and then freeze them. Lasagne, spaghetti, chicken, ribs, etc. Some block ice and a couple good coolers and we eat like kings. We always have a stash of canned food - just in case. Canned potatoes work great to compliment a number of different meals. It's pretty easy being comfortable and eating well when you aren't back packing in.

[dime]

First off, do not use ice blocks. Freeze 4 litre milk jugs that you wash out and fill with water. Secondly, you take a bunch of frozen meat like last years moose roasts or chilli that the wife makes. That stuff will slowly thaw, you can eat it 7-8 days later with no problem at all. As well, smokies, bacon and eggs or other cured meats will last up to two weeks no problem. Finally, if you want to really man up, bring very little food at all. IF YOU DO NOT KILL IT YOU DO NOT EAT! I have never been on a trip where grouse, rabbits, deer/moose/elk tenderloins and heart do not make up at least half of the food, and we have to gorge ourselves silly because we brought too much food from home. Anticipate success, you can always run into town if needed.

[Drillbit]

We pre-cook most of our meals and then freeze them. Lasagne, spaghetti, chicken, ribs, etc. Some block ice and a couple good coolers and we eat like kings. We always have a stash of canned food - just in case. Canned potatoes work great to compliment a number of different meals. It's pretty easy being comfortable and eating well when you aren't back packing in.

Pre cooked it the way to go.

I freeze meals in pie plates. Have a frozen food only cooler. Separate veggie/ketchup/jam style cooler. Separate drink cooler. Sometime a spare iceblock cooler for top-ups. I use washer fluid jugs instead of milk jugs, they pack better in my coolers (shape).

ICE MANAGEMENT IS KEY!!

For just me, I pull out 2 batches a day (brunch and dinner), and heat the pieplate right in a pan with a paper plate over it. If you are feeding more people, use bigger tins. On group hunts we usually all take turns for a day to be the cook.

When you figure out a good system for your coolers, and learn some Ice Management, you'll have popsicles after packing up camp!

[allan]

I eat dried fruit, power bars, candy and mountain house. I don't freeze anything and rarely take very much fresh food past two days. By the time I get back to camp, all I'm usually eating is just for calories. I don't care much what it tastes like.

[Drillbit]

I eat dried fruit, power bars, candy and mountain house. I don't freeze anything and rarely take very much fresh food past two days. By the time I get back to camp, all I'm usually eating is just for calories. I don't care much what it tastes like.

Really? For 10-12 days in a camp/wall tent?

Sounds like more of a backpack diet

[Redneck Rocket]

For meats, put them in a freezer bag with all the air taken out, cut the top off a 2L pop bottle, put the bagged meat inside, fill with water and freeze. When it is solid & you're ready to go you can pop the solid block of ice out with the frozen food inside. Keeps it frozen longer, and means that you need less room in the cooler.

[Redneck Rocket]

Also, and I know this is possibly the wrong forum for it lol... you can make some pretty killer vegetable curry. The curry paste/spice mix will keep very well, and a lot of stuff like dried lentils & beans will keep forever. You can put it on the fire with water & curry paste and maybe some onions & canned tomatoes and let it simmer for a few hours while you're out scouting or hunting. If you find grouse/hares etc., just throw them in the pot! Little bit of rice & you're good to go.

[Darksith]

I eat dried fruit, power bars, candy and mountain house. I don't freeze anything and rarely take very much fresh food past two days. By the time I get back to camp, all I'm usually eating is just for calories. I don't care much what it tastes like.
you gotta enjoy camp food a bit. One of the best things IMO about hunting out of a camp is sitting around with the boys enjoying a great meal and bevy. Harvesting an animal and having fresh liver or heart is the dessert, but the important thing is the time in camp IMO. Don't get me wrong, I hunt hard and long everyday, but its nice to get back to camp thats for sure.

[Big7]

Invest in a cast iron "dutch oven".....every dish from pies to yorkshire puddings, pancakes to baked chickens can be cooked in the dutchie! If you are wall tenting, weight usually isn't an issue so...bring on the dutchie!

A staple...Buck a roo Potatoes:

1lb of bacon cut into bits...fry in the dutch oven until desired crispyness!
Add (a ton) chopped potatoes
1-2 chopped onions
Salt and pepper to taste

Bake in the dutchie near the campfire with coals underneath and on the lid, turning dutchie every 10min for an hour or so and....voila!

Sweet goodness in a pot!

[Gun Dog]

At the cabin we take a small freezer full of food. Even in the summer it'll stay frozen for a week. When the generator's running (to watch a movie or charge batteries) the freezer gets plugged in which adds more storage time. If there's no electricity a good cooler lasts a week or more. Plus, like others said, precooked meals. Lasagna, Chili, stews, casseroles, there's lots of choices.

[Kudu]

Invest in a cast iron "dutch oven".....every dish from pies to yorkshire puddings, pancakes to baked chickens can be cooked in the dutchie! If you are wall tenting, weight usually isn't an issue so...bring on the dutchie!

A staple...Buck a roo Potatoes:

1lb of bacon cut into bits...fry in the dutch oven until desired crispyness!
Add (a ton) chopped potatoes
1-2 chopped onions
Salt and pepper to taste

Bake in the dutchie near the campfire with coals underneath and on the lid, turning dutchie every 10min for an hour or so and....voila!

Sweet goodness in a pot!


What he said. :mrgreen:

[blackwater moose]

I always take a good 7 day cooler for frozen food only. Keep the lid closed and outta the sun and it'll easily last 10-12 days. I minimize the empty space with block ice. K

instead of block ice , fill 2 liter bottles with drinking water and freeze them, now you have ice and potable water

[pnbrock]

milk jugs aswell ,pre cooked meals ,dutch oven and some briquets prepped at lunch leave till you return from evening hunt to a hot meal nothing better!!

[MB_Boy]

Dig a hole....put cooler in it with everything pre-frozen and cover it with a slab of moss....lasagna, meats, pasta sauce, stew, bacon.....no need for ice. On day 10 of a fly in hunt we are a still pulling frozen food out to thaw.

[FirePower]

Freeze your meet at home pack in Ice, then purchase Dry Ice place it on top and seal the cooler with duct tape and plastic wrap and do not open it until the 4th day. This will guve you an extra 3-4 days of fresh meat Also a 12 volt cooler turned all the way down will keep pre frozen food for a long time if you insulate it with blankets.

[mots]

I am from the island however I head to Region 5 for 10+ days every year! I am luck enough to have my aunt prepare all our meals for us! What she does is pre make soups, chilli, Swiss steak, clam chowder and well anything that can be frozen in a 4L ice cream bucket! We toss what ever we feel like that day on the wood stove in the morning or at lunch! We cook up some potatoes and about 10 min after sun down we have a hot cooked meal ready to eat! I think I eat better hunting then I do at home!

[RiverOtter]

While digging the cooler into the ground does help, it also makes it vulnerable to bears.

Pre-cooked meals that are frozen work great and greatly add to the lifespan of the food, compared to raw uncooked. Did just that last year for 2 week early September hunt.

A big X2 on the dutch oven, they work awsome. Sliced taters, bacon, onion, light cream, cheddar and salt'n'pepper and you got the best scalloped taters known to man.

[ramron]

Make a big batch of chilli or spaghetti sauce freeze in large zip loc bags, and add it to the cooler with meat and ice blocks. Just heat and eat.

[aggiehunter]

slightly off topic....put each steak or whatever in a zip lock bag and if you have a little leakage it won't kill the cooler....

[Ian F.]

On top of what others have said, I prep sauces, chili base and bring spices in small containers, makes a huge difference. We had ptarmigan burritos on my recent trip to the Yukon, the frozen meat stayed that way for 6 days till we got back.

Did learn a new one from a buddy, pre-cooked rice (homemade not store crap), worked awesome stayed good for days and really not that much extra weight.

very best,

ian

[martyonthewater]

In our group there are 5 sometimes 6 hunters walltenting. we pre make stews, chilli, meatballs, cabbage rolls ,pasta sauces etc and freeze in alum. lasagne pans with lids. Stacked in a cooler these dishes easily stay frozen for a week if left reasonably undisturbed. Thrown in pan of water on woodstove in morning these dishes are piping hot n perfect at dinner hour.

[RBH]

x2 on the plastic water jugs (frozen) - no water slopping around the freezer. Also x2 on the precooked meals unless someone just loves cooking and can do it good and do it fast. Don't like waiting until 10 pm to eat. If you must cook, James barber has a great little cook book, likely available at your local liberry, called One-Pot Wonders, James Barber Recipes for Land and Sea. Great recipes perfect for hunt camp, like this recipe for corned beef hash for four: Ingredients: Can of corned beef; 2 large potatoes; 1 egg; Pepper; 1 tsp dry mustard; could add onions (sauteed). Nice served with cabbage. Method: Chop up 1 can corned beef & place in a large bowl. Add 2 lg. potatoes (grated),1 T. pepper, & 1 egg. Mix-up. Heat oil in fry pan. When hot, put in the beef mix, pat it down some with fork into a cake shape, sprinkle with 1 tsp. dry mustard, turn down heat to medium, cover it. When brown underneath, put a plate on top, flip it onto the plate & slip it back onto the pan & fry it on other side, leaving lid off. When done, slide it onto plate and serve.

[v-king]

Last trip I was on we ate perogies and kielbasa for every meal. I've never been so constipated in my life.

Haha, that's what you get for hunting with Polaks

[Getbent]

We pre-cook most of our meals and then freeze them. Lasagne, spaghetti, chicken, ribs, etc. Some block ice and a couple good coolers and we eat like kings. We always have a stash of canned food - just in case. Canned potatoes work great to compliment a number of different meals. It's pretty easy being comfortable and eating well when you aren't back packing in.

Same with us...I freeze stews, chili, spag in large ziplocks...they lat flat and last easily long enough for the time you need...

[Glenny]

Lots KD and side kicks. Pepperonis too. A box of eat mores and oreos are great too.

[elknut]

When I used a wall tent I bought a used propane fridge ...It had a small freezer in the top..Hooked up to a 20# propane tank..No more runs from tainted meat..Also bought a propane wand...Ran the stove and lantern..Worked great..Hope this helps for future hunts...Dennis