UKC

I am off on a 6 week trip around Europe as part of an organised climbing trip and am looking forward to all it involves, including camping for the full 6 weeks! I have found an appropriate tent, sleeping bag etc now all I am looking for is advise on the essentials to take for cooking breakfast and making lunch for one person. Any recommendations on a certain stove or equipment to take? This may sound like a silly post but I have never been on a long term camping trip and although I am well prepared to do so I would like to know whether I am going to be eating out of cold tins for 6 weeks or not!

In reply to jonboi15:

Car camping or back packing?

In reply to jonboi15:

Where are you going? How are you travelling?

Forget about all fancy gear, just go dead simple. Substitute or take a spare for something you can't fix on the road and is highly dependable. A gas stove is a good example - substitute with a solid fuel stove (where nothing can break) if you are staying in a warm place and will not need to cook too much. Otherwise, it might be worth to take a spare lightweight canister/stove, but I wouldn't do that. Some of my mates managed to set both the gas stove and the canister on fire in front of a church. I managed to extinguish it, we did not have a spare stove and one of our party members insisted on being able to have some hot water - had to stay in cheap places for couple of days. If you have a self-inflatable mat, some duct tape or McNett tape is definitely recommended.

Talking of fancy gear, I once bought Lifeventure fabric wash leaves ( https://www.lifeventure.co.uk/product/washgear/soaps-accessories/washing-an... ). They are completely rubbish and they never worked for me - I just use shower gel instead.

Get a microfiber towel as they dry out quicker (one can be enough for two people, though probably not recommended).

95ml Listerine mouthwash bottles are ideal for shower gel. I am really proud of this discovery and keep telling that to everyone! No one wants the shower gel to be spilled in the rucksack...

I can't imagine carrying 6 weeks worth food (the longest I've done successfuly was 9 days and had some food left, but failed with a 19 days expedition last year), but if you have to, try to experiment with some foods before you go (or even try some diets before!). I never thought I am so addicted to some sort of sweets (even 20g of chocolate a day makes me way much happier) when I am on my own. I had some digesting problems and it's never fun.

Having a decent first aid kit is worth it. Being able to rotate ibuprofen and paracetamol every two hours is handy (looks like Scots involve whiskey with that, too). I was on a road trip with some Romanian friends and they once started to panic because one of their friends had a headache and none of them had painkillers. Half an hour later I enquired what's the matter and once I learnt that all that hassle was because of painkillers. I handed some painkillers which I had. Simple solution, but not having simple drugs can be quite bad. Also, a small sachet of foot powder might be quite useful as well as sometimes feet get quite bad.

In reply to scott titt:

backpacking essentially, It is a 6 week trip round Europe with each week being at a new destination so there is oppurtunity to restock on food, water etc between destinations

In reply to jonboi15:
Camping Gaz is popular in Europe, and not compatible with the screw-on canisters most gas stoves you see in the UK use. You can get an adapter, so you can use Camping Gaz canisters with a regular gas stove.

In reply to jonboi15:

It might be worth getting a stove that runs on liquid fuel as that seems to be easier to get hold of reliably in Europe (certainly was in France anyway).

In reply to jonboi15:

I would go for a petrol stove as its always the easiest fuel to find even if a camping shop is closed. Make sure you get a service kit to take with you. Maybe a spare pump?

I don't know which to recommend as mine is 10+ years old and there must be newer ones.

In reply to jonboi15:

Is that a week of hiking between resupplies? If not, how do you move about?

What sort of weather are you expecting?

In reply to jonboi15:

Sound like an exciting trip! For long term food preparation you need:

1. Stove - use one of the mix gasoline/canister options such as the MSR Whisperlight International, Optimus Polaris Optifuel, Primus OmniLite TI and others. The ability to use both fuels will give the flexibility to have fuel even in remote area and still offer the convenience of gas canisters.

2. Pot - A 1 liter pot will be enough for all needs. Don't get tempted to start using a whole range of utensils as it will become heavy and cumbersome. Alpkit make a great range of titanium pots in a very good price (I've been enjoying them).

3. Mug (make sure it has some lip protection to not burn your lips) like the Esbit aluminum mug.

4. Bowel will be enough for all meals to be eaten from, I use the MSR Alpine bowel - it's light and robust (and was on sale)

5. Spoon - make sure to get one with a long handle in case you choose to eat dehydrated meals straight from the bag.

6. Knife - a small pocket knife makes things very convenient as you will be able to get cured meats, cheese etc in Europe.

7. Fire starting - for the stove you'll need a good spark. Keep a simple lighter around but having a flint in hand means that you can light your stove at all times, even if wet.


As for food:

Breakfast will be best to be oatmeal with a bunch of dried fruit and nuts - it is easy to cook and to digest for a long day. Don't be tempted to get into very big meals as you will be wasting much of the morning preparing and cleaning.

Lunches can be soups with crackers (if cold) or just have spreads of nice things you pick on the way. Europe's country side is dotted with farmers selling fresh produce in the spot, just get some and have a daily picnic, that way you also support the local economy and learn more about the place you are visiting.


Enjoy the trip and eat well!

In reply to Gilad N:

I'm going to disagree with you on a couple of things. If I was going for 6 weeks eating everything from a bowl with a spoon would annoy me. For the extra weight I would take a plate as well and a knife and fork. Also means you can have pudding in your bowl.

Oats for breakfast is all very healthyl but needs washing up. A fried breakfast will give you protein to keep you going until lunch and you can just wipe the pan.

A pot with a frying lid means you can have hot water for a brew as well as food.

In reply to Gilad N:

Don't fancy that, it'll probably taste of sh#t

In reply to Run_Ross_Run:

Me too! I'll stick with my bowl instead I guess.....

In reply to marsbar:

That is completely fair enough. I found that mixing what I have for breakfast indeed makes a difference, but my back and knees don't like it when I carry the extra gear, so my taste buds end up compromising.

So I will add to your disagreement that you can also pick a full set of tools for some really nice cooking on the go. You can also find some great recipes on this site: http://www.wildbackpacker.com/backpacking-food/recipes/ mixing more than just my utilitarian breakfast..... Now that i think about it, my wife also hates my backpacking breakfast and insists on more!