I've seen ramen recommended as good backpacking food before. It's lightweight and easy to cook -- just add water and heat! The problem, for me, is the lack of nutrition. I've seen it dressed up in various ways. But often those additions end up negating the "light" and "easy" qualities that might've caused one to consider ramen in the first place. This sort of mock pad thai seemed like a reasonable middle ground to me. And, just as importantly, it's quite tasty!

Backpacker's Pad Thai

Ingredients

• 3-4 c. water
• 1 packet ramen¹
• 1 can chunk chicken breast²
• 1/4 c. dried veggies
• ~1 Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter³
• ~1 Tbsp. sriracha
• ~2 tsp. fish sauce
• 1 packet True Lime crystalized lime (optional)
• 1 handful bean sprouts (optional)⁴

Directions

1. Fill your pot with enough water to cover the noodles and place over a hot stove or fire.
2. Add ramen noodles, chicken (no need to drain), and dried veggies and bring to a boil.
3. Check noodles for doneness after 4 minutes or when water boils, whichever comes first.
4. Once noodles are cooked, drain all but a couple Tbsp. of the cooking water.
5. Add peanut butter, sriracha, and fish sauce to taste. Add a little seasoning from the ramen packet if you like.
6. Mix well and sprinkle on TrueLime/lime juice if using.
7. Add bean sprouts if you have them.

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¹ Any brand or flavour is fine. You'll be using little to none of any of the seasoning packets that come with it. ^Back
2 Feel free to substitute shrimp here if you'd prefer. ^Back
3 If you want to save even more weight, you can use 2 Tbsp. peanut flour instead. ^Back
4 Bean sprouts aren't really practical when backpacking since they're generally highly perishable. That said, if you happen to be close to a resupply point and can get your hands on a few they're really, really nice here. ^Back

If you're car camping, things like Tuna Helper can make for a nice easy dinner. It's still doable as a backpacking meal, but you'd either need to divide the noodles and sauce and only cook ~1/2 at a time or make sure you have a fairly large pot. I cooked mine over the fire this time. I think next time I'd attempt it in my little cooking pot. Easier to control the temperature and cooking time that way. I ended up overcooking the noodles in my big cast iron pan and it picked up a distinct smoky flavour from the fire which, while welcome in many other applications, did not jive particularly well here. I'd also double the tuna next time. Despite what the package says, one tin does not provide nearly enough tuna for one box of Tuna Helper.

Tuna Helper: Creamy Pasta

Ingredients

• 3 c. water
• 2 tins tuna (packed in water)
• 1 c. milk
• 1 box Creamy Pasta Tuna Helper
• 3 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 c. dried veggies

Directions

1. Combine water, tuna (no need to drain), milk, pasta, sauce mix, butter, and veggies in a pot.
2. Bring to a boil.
3. Simmer, covered, for 5-10 minutes.
4. Uncover and remove from heat.
5. Let stand 5-10 minutes.

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Variations

Backpacking Version

Ingredients

• 2 c. water
• 1 tin tuna
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. skim milk powder
• 1 1/2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1/4 c. dried veggies
• 1/2 box Creamy Pasta Tuna Helper (1/2 the pasta + 1/2 the sauce mix)

I was initially planning on just making this with a box of Kraft Dinner, but then I found I had a bag of Mountain House mac & cheese left over from a camping trip a couple of years ago and figured I might as well use it up. I wasn't expecting much from a "just add water" dehydrated meal, but it was actually really delicious. It came out a lot more saucy than KD normally does, but the sauce tasted rich and unctuous and it meant that the extra SPAM and broccoli that I added in got a generous coating of sauce as well and everything merged into a deliciously cheesy glop.

The procedure for this is a bit simpler when you're using a Mountain House-style dehydrated meal, but it should be easy enough to adapt to standard Kraft Dinner-style boxed mac & cheese options. The main difference will be cooking the pasta in the pot and bringing along some milk and butter for the sauce.

Mac & Cheese with Broccoli and SPAM

(Serves 2)

Ingredients

• 1 can reduced-sodium SPAM
• 3 c. water
• 1/2 c. freeze-dried broccoli
• 1 bag of Mountain House (or similar) freeze-dried mac & cheese
• black pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Cut the SPAM into 1cm cubes.
2. Add SPAM to pot and cook until it begins to brown and crisp.
3. Add water and broccoli to pot and bring to a boil.
4. Pour ~2 c. of boiling water into the bag of mac & cheese and mix well.
5. Seal bag and let stand for ~10 minutes.
6. Drain excess water from broccoli and SPAM.
7. Empty bag of mac & cheese into pot and stir to combine with SPAM mixture.
8. Season with pepper if desired.

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Variations

Kraft Dinner with Broccoli and SPAM

(Serves 3-4)

Ingredients

• 1 can reduced-sodium SPAM
• 5 c. water
• 1 c. freeze-dried broccoli
• 1 box Kraft Dinner (or similar)
• 1/3 c. milk¹
• 2 Tbsp. butter²
• 1/4 c. Cheddar cheese (optional)
• black pepper (optional)

Directions

1. Cut up and fry the SPAM as above. (1cm cubes cooked until slightly crispy.)
2. Add water to the pot and bring it to a boil.
3. Add broccoli and pasta and cook for ~7 minutes.
4. Drain.
5. Add milk, butter, cheese sauce mix, and extra cheese (if using).
6. Mix well.
7. Season with pepper if desired.

Vegetarian Version

Ingredients

• 1 package veggie dogs or extra delicious tofu
• 5 c. water
• 1 c. freeze-dried broccoli
• 1 box Kraft Dinner
• 1/3 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/4 c. Cheddar cheese (optional)
• black pepper (optional)

If using tofu, add at end of cooking (with sauce ingredients).

Spicy Asian-Inspired Mac & Cheese

Ingredients

• 1 can spicy Mala SPAM (if you can find it)³
• 5 c. water
• 1 c. freeze-dried broccoli
• 1 box Kraft Dinner
• 1/3 c. milk
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 1/2 tsp. ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp. Chinese 5-spice powder (optional)
• 2-3 green onions, chopped

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¹ If you don't have access to a cooler powdered milk works just fine here. Skim/fat-free milk powder will keep for longer than whole milk powder. Just add 1 Tbsp. of milk powder and 1/3 c. of water along with the other sauce ingredients. ^Back
2 Salted butter will keep better than unsalted butter without refrigeration. Ghee will work just as well as butter and keep even better still. ^Back
3 If you can't find any spicy Mala SPAM, just use regular or reduced-sodium SPAM and add ~1 Tbsp. of sriracha and 1/4-1/2 tsp. Szechuan peppercorn powder. ^Back

Nut/Seed Butter Sandwiches

I normally go with the classic PB&J when camping because it's easy and the Kidlet and I both like it. That said, there's lots of room for variation on the theme for a bit of variety.

Peanut Butter and Jam Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. peanut butter¹
• ~1 Tbsp. jam²

Almond Butter and Banana Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. almond butter
• ~1/2 a banana, sliced
• ~1 tsp. honey (optional)

Snickers Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of toast
• ~2 Tbsp. crunchy peanut butter³
• ~1 1/2 Tbsp. Nutella

Peanut Butter, Apple, and Bacon Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• ~1/4 of an apple, sliced thin
• 2 slices of bacon

Ants on a Log Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• 1 rib of celery, chopped
• ~2 Tbsp. raisins

PB&M Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter
• ~2 Tbsp. marshmallow fluff

Peanut Butter S'Mores Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• ~2 Tbsp. marshmallow fluff
• ~1 Tbsp. Nutella

Cherry-Almond Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. almond butter
• ~2 Tbsp. cherry jam

Chicken Pad Thai Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. peanut butter
• fresh veggies⁴
• fresh herbs (optional)⁵
• ~50g cooked chicken breast pieces
• 1-2 tsp. sri racha (or similar hot sauce)
• 1/2 tsp. lime juice

Pumpkin Seed Butter and Cranberry Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. pumpkin seed butter
• ~1 1/2 Tbsp. cranberry sauce/jam

Pistachio Butter, Goat Cheese, and Apricot Sandwich

Ingredients

• 2 slices of crusty French bread
• ~2 Tbsp. pistacio butter
• ~1 Tbsp. marmalade
• ~2 Tbsp. soft goat cheese (eg. chèvre)
• 2 dried apricots, chopped

Apple-Pecan Sandwich

• 2 slices of bread
• ~2 Tbsp. pecan butter
• ~1 Tbsp. granola (optional)
• 1-2 tsp. maple syrup
• ~1/4 of an apple, sliced thin

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¹ I prefer crunchy "natural" peanut butter (as in no added sugar, salt, or oil). ^Back
2 I like either grape jelly or raspberry jam. Strawberry jam also works well. Feel free to experiment with different flavours! ^Back
3 For most of these sandwiches feel free use whatever type of nut butter your prefer. For the snickers sandwich though, it really does work better with crunchy peanut butter. ^Back
4 Try bean sprouts, grated carrot, sliced cucumber, and/or red onion. ^Back
5 Try cilantro/coriander and/or Thai basil. ^Back

Snacks

I didn't really want to make a separate post for each snack since they're all simple, no-cook, one- or two-ingredient deals. Initially I wasn't going to bother posting them at all, but I figured it might be nice to have a sort of quick-reference list to refer to when planning trips. "Camp" snacks involve items that require refrigeration/a cooler. "Backpacking" snacks are largely shelf-stable and appropriate for either backpacking or car camping.

Camp Snacks

• cheese & crackers
• hummus & crackers
• applesauce¹
• carrot sticks
• cucumber coins
• grapes

Backpacking Snacks

• granola bars
• protein bars
• pepperettes/salami
• jerky
• GORP/trail mix
• dried fruit
• roasted chickpeas
• applesauce (packets)

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Vegan and Vegetarian Options

Most of these snacks are or can be adapted to meatless diets. Soy or nut cheeses can be used instead of dairy cheese. Many vegan protein bars are available these days. There is also at least one good vegan jerky available here in Ontario. Just about the only thing I can't think of a vegan or vegetarian option for is the pepperettes. I think everything else is pretty veggie-friendly.

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¹ I usually like to bring a whole jar of applesauce. It's shelf-stable while sealed, but requires refrigeration after opening. Single-serving pots or packets are more appropriate for backpacking as they don't require refrigeration. The packets are especially easy to pack and more resistant to rupture/failed seals than the pots. ^Back

Grundy Lake -- White Pine

Our stay at Grundy Lake ended up getting cut a day short, so I didn't get to see quite as much of it as I'd planned. And I've come away with mixed feelings about the park. The park is pretty. There are lots of trees, bird life seems abundant, and the lakes are beautiful. I especially appreciated the wonderful rocky beaches. That said, Grundy was also by far the most difficult to navigate park I've stayed at thus far. I spent much more time than I would've liked either being unclear on where I was and where I was supposed to go or trying to backtrack because I'd missed my turn. I found it incredibly frustrating. There didn't seem to be nearly enough signs and what signs there were often ended up being unclear.

I like that checklists for various types of park wildlife are offered at the gatehouse. And, like Killbear, they offer plenty of children's programs. They also apparently host both "learn to camp" and "learn to fish" programs, which is kind of neat. That said, I also found the park had a somewhat run-down feel to it. The discovery centre looked fun, but also quite small and somewhat dated (although I didn't get a chance to take a close look as the Kidlet was too tired to go in). The Swan Lake Trail was very pretty and the floating boardwalk was cool, but it also looked somewhat dilapidated and seemed like it was in danger of losing the "floating" descriptor at points. The dip stick that's meant to measure the water level in the wetland (as part of the iWetland project) was missing. I also couldn't find any of the interpretive guides that are supposed to go with the hike at the trail head. And, even if there had been some, they wouldn't have been much use since the only stop/post I could find along the trail was #4. The trail itself was, at least, very well marked. When convenient trees weren't available for trail markers to be attached to, yellow arrows had been spray-painted onto the rocks to mark the path.

If you're into, as the song goes, "blue lakes and rocky shores" Grundy's got 'em in spades! I'm usually not that into swimming that doesn't involve a mask and fins, but the pull of Grundy is strong. It's a four-hour drive to a labyrinthine park with campsites that are fine, but not spectacular. Oh, and the water tastes kind of gross due to the high sodium content¹. And even with all that I still kind of want to go back to Grundy just for those beautiful, beautiful rocky shores!

The Campground

White Pine seemed like a pretty typical car camping campground. It offers a mix of electrical and unserviced sites as well as a couple barrier-free/accessible sites. There's easy access to a comfort station featuring the usual flush toilets and showers as well as laundry facilities. The bathrooms are gendered, but they also have a couple large, "single stall", accessible, family/gender neutral bathrooms available as well as a bunch of gender neutral showers.

There's also a path down to one of those nice, rocky beaches I keep going on about. The water seemed reasonably warm although I didn't get a chance to actually go for a swim while we were there.

If you want something a little more secluded, it looks like the Balsam campground has a bit of separation from the others. The trade-off is that it doesn't have a comfort station.

And if you want really secluded, there are 10 backcountry sites available. Most of them are paddle-in sites with no portage required. (Another reason I might want to go back to Grundy someday.) They also come equipped with food lockers so you don't have to worry about hanging your food to keep it away from the bears, which is really nice.

The Site

We were on site 555. I didn't find anything particularly noteworthy about this site one way or the other. It wasn't too far from the comfort station or the water spigot. The ground was reasonably level and not too hard packed. There were a lot of sticks and twigs on the ground that had to be cleared away before we could set up the tent. No real complaints beyond that though.

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¹ They actually have warnings posted that if you're on a low-sodium diet you should find an alternate water source. The Kidlet took one swig and then declared that she was not going to drink the water here anymore. (This was one of several reasons we decided to come home a day early.) ^Back

Killbear -- Lighthouse Point

Killbear was wonderful. We ended up staying for five nights and had a great time. There are plenty of swimming areas, good hiking trails, well-treed sites, and an interesting visitor centre. The naturalists were all very helpful and knowledgeable. They have fun children's programs running almost every day throughout the summer. And everything is well-marked and signposted so you can easily find your way around the park.

The beaches are all sandy, so if sand's not your jam, you might be disappointed. Great for kids who want to dig and build sand castles. Less good for people like me who hate how it clings and gets into everything. I much prefer rocky shorelines.

The water can be cold as it is Georgian Bay. That said, it wasn't too bad this year. Surface temperatures were around 20°C, give or take. And the weather was sunny and warm, so it didn't take too long to warm up again even if you did get a bit chilly in the water.

If you like to be on the water rather than in it, Georgian Bay is a great place for boating and paddle boarding. I saw lots of canoes, kayaks, and sailboats while we were there. Quite a few people had hauled their sailboats to the campground to go sailing off the Lighthouse Point beach. We also saw a few stand-up paddleboards, although they didn't seem to be as popular as the various boats.

I'm not really that interested in the water when I can't be diving, or at least snorkeling, so my primary focus was on the hiking trails. We managed to do all three of Killbear's hiking trails during our stay (some of them multiple times). We skipped the 6km "recreational trail" as it simply runs parallel to the main park road and acts as a thoroughfare for cyclists and pedestrians since they aren't supposed to be on the main road.

I really enjoyed all three trails. The Kidlet particularly liked the Lighthouse Point trail as it was short and easily accessible from our campsite and involved some fun scrambling over huge rocks as well as pretty views of the bay and some of the nearby islands. I think the Lookout Point trail was probably my favourite. It was a nice length (3.5km) with a beautiful view at the halfway point and relaxing walking through hemlock forests and wetlands. It even featured a couple Indian Pipe flowers along the way (which have always held a special fascination for me).

The Campground

I really like the Lighthouse Point campground. It's all the way at the tip of the tiny peninsula the park is located on. It's radio-free and all the campsites are unserviced, so it's a relatively quite campground filled with mostly tent campers (and a few people with small trailers). The campground uses a simple layout and is easy to navigate. And, just in case you do manage to get turned around, everything is also well-signposted.

The campground features a comfort station with flush toilets, showers, and full laundry facilities as well as several sets of vault toilets. Water spigots are located at frequent intervals throughout the campground. And each campsite seems to have not one, but two picnic benches! (I got quite spoiled by this during our stay.)

It's a short easy walk to the beach and the Lighthouse Point trail from the campground. If you have a bike with you, the recreational trail gives you easy access to the rest of the park. (If you don't have a bike with you, you can still use the recreational trail, it'll just be a bit slower.)

Loaner life jackets and firewood are both available from the Harold Point gatehouse. Firewood is $8.50/bag. I don't believe kindling is available. Sometimes you'll luck out and get some smaller pieces in your bag of firewood, but sometimes you get mostly huge logs. Also, the second bag I bought from them was pretty damp and didn't burn as well as I would've liked. Firewood is also available for sale at several locations outside the park. The Detour Store sells both firewood and kindling and claims to have the best, driest, longest burning firewood around Killbear. They charge $9.00/bag for their firewood, but I will say it was very dry and did burn extremely well.

I've stayed at the Granite Saddle campground before (probably ~25 years ago now) and I have very fond memories of that as well. If I recall correctly, it had slightly easier access to the beach. That said, Lighthouse Point didn't exactly require an arduous trek and I quite enjoyed its location at the end of the road. And the presence of a comfort station was a big plus for the Kidlet. I guess it depends on what you're after and what your priorities are, but I'd certainly be happy to stay at Lighthouse Point again. Especially if I could grab the same site we had this time! It was great!

The Sites

I booked this trip pretty late (only about 2 months out), so a lot of the sites were already booked up for our dates. That said, I'm really happy with where we ended up! We got site 1197 and it was great! It was nice and shady. Not too far from the comfort station. And it had a convenient spot to hang both the clothes line and the water filter.

The ground was flat and dry, but still soft enough to easily drive the tent pegs in by hand. And yet it wasn't so soft or loose that they felt like they'd shift once they were in. Basically, it looked and felt like the ideal place to be pitching a tent. Easy to set up, but seemed secure once you'd done it.

Originally I'd only booked us into Killbear for two nights. I ended up going out to the park office on (what was supposed to be) our last morning and asking to book three more nights. Miraculously, we were able to stay on 1197 for an extra night. But after that we had to move to 1185 for our remaining two nights. 1185 was fine, but I definitely liked 1197 a lot better.

1185 was fine. I was a bit closer to the comfort station and the nearest water spigot. That said, it was also a lot sunnier and more open. The ground was sandier and the site had fewer trees and less privacy. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't as good as 1197.

Bass Lake -- Lakeview

I don't really feel like I got the full picture of Bass Lake as we only really used it as a jumping off point for the rest of the trip. We were only there for one night and most of it was spent trying to stay out of the way of the emergency vehicles that showed up to help someone who'd fallen and injured themselves. (He was okay in the end.)

I didn't really pay too much attention to the park itself when booking because I knew we weren't really going to be spending any time there. I just wanted somewhere to pitch my tent for the night to break up the drive out to Killbear. That said, it actually looked pretty nice and I wouldn't mind going back sometime and exploring the park a bit. It only has one hiking trail of its own, but it's very convenient to Wye Marsh and Saint Marie among the Hurons as well as Springwater Provincial Park. And since, Springwater is day use only, having somewhere nearby to camp is handy!

So, although I don't feel like I got the full Bass Lake experience, it did leave a favourable impression and I like that it's not too far from home and close to lots of other interesting stuff. I definitely want to go back to Wye Marsh and we didn't even have time to check out Saint Marie among the Hurons or Springwater. There's also apparently another nature reserve in the area that offers free admission, so that might be worth checking out the next time we're in the area too.

The Campground

The Lakeview campground is pleasantly tree-filled which gives most of the sites a bit of privacy. There is a centrally located comfort station with flush toilets and showers, which is a nice luxury when camping. There are also vault toilets (aka outhouses) at either end of the campground. The Kidlet isn't a huge fan of the outhouse though, so I normally try to book something reasonably close to the comfort stations if I can.

(If you value privacy and quiet more than running water, it looks like the Cedar campground is the place to be. No comfort station, but there are only six campsites and they look to be more widely spaced than on the other campgrounds. They're also closer to the water. I didn't get a chance to head down and check them out myself, but the online maps and photos certainly make them look appealing.)

Firewood is sold at the camp office. I can't remember how much it cost. I think it was $8.50/bag. I forgot to ask if they sold kindling, but there were enough small pieces in with the normal firewood, that I didn't end up missing having separate kindling.

The Site

We were on site 243. Nothing particularly remarkable about the site in one direction or the other. It's close to the comfort station, flat, not too open, and a quick walk to the nearest water spigot. The soil was quite hard and I ended up having to use the back of my hatchet to drive the tent pegs into the ground. (Bent a couple of them too.) But it was nothing unmanageable.

The fire pit had a metal ring with a permanently attached (fixed, rather than hinged) grate. The grate was quite small, so it's worth bringing your own if you want to be able to cook more than one or two items at a time. The fire ring did at least have some ventilation holes in it though (unlike the one at Rouge), so at least the fire could breathe properly. And the ring wasn't too tall, so the food does end up a reasonable height above the flame as well.

I didn't have time to scope out the other sites too much, but I didn't see any that stood out as significantly better or worse than the one we were on. I'd happily stay there again.