Camp Food

Needless to say, we eat differently when we are hunting than we do at home. We are getting more exercise so we tend to consume a lot more calories. Part of getting the camper ready for the season is stocking it with plenty of snacks. Probably more candy is purchased for hunting than for Halloween at our house. We look for things that can be easily packed into wherever we happen to be hiking that day. Who has the best snacks is a source of fun and ribbing of the hapless hunter who forgot to restock his or her pack from the day before. One morning I ended up with my husband’s pack instead of my own. After I hiked to my spot alone, I discovered not only the error, but that my snacks were far better than the ones in his pack. I haven’t made that mistake again.

But by far the best part of the day is the evening when everyone gathers back at camp for dinner. Dinner is a BIG deal. Getting dinner prepared when everyone is tired requires a good plan and division of labor. We have found that a couple of weekends in the summer preparing freezer meals to take hunting is time well spent. We always hope that someone will be busy with an animal after a successful hunt, but even if that isn’t the case, it is still a lot of fun. Everyone, including the three year old, has a job. Last year she helped gather fire wood. Someone builds a fire. We try to have one of the teenagers do this, because they get practice with survival skills in the safety of camp. Someone starts getting food ready. Everyone else gets their gear ready for the next day. Finally we have hot food and either gather around the fire or around the table and regale each other with stories of our day.

The elk or deer is always bigger when described from the campfire, but what really matters is that everyone participates. Everyone saw something or did something worth talking about. We try to use our phones for pictures, not texting. Sometimes we have a signal and can’t help ourselves, but we do try. One of the things I am most looking forward to this year is my granddaughter being old enough to stay up just a little later and join us by the campfire.