TP Trails

Front Country Camping

We shopped exclusively at Walmart and ALDI across the country. There were less than a handful of times where we had to shop at the local grocery store when Walmart and ALDI were not nearby. Our cooler was an Engel 50, which seemed to hold ice for about 5 days, more if we used a block of ice instead of cubed. We also had two baskets that held items above the ice. This was useful for those ingredients that could not be submerged in water. We stuck to mostly buying vacuum sealed meats so that these items could be placed in the bottom of the cooler. There were several items that we were sure to keep stocked throughout the trip as well. Items on our shopping list are below. Let us know if you have other suggestions or easy snack items that you keep on hand when camping!

Cooler (baskets, above the ice):

1. Taco sauce (typically Ortega brand or Taco Bell, whichever was available), only in cooler once opened
2. Sour cream
3. Shredded cheese
4. Eggs (had a camping egg holder so they wouldn’t break)
5. Hershey chocolate bars (s’mores are a must)
6. Meats/Fish (hard to find packaged as vacuum sealed, so we would buy and cook within the next couple nights)
   • Sausage (ground and regular)
   • Chicken (sometimes would buy chicken pre-seasoned with cut veggies for fajitas)
   • Fish (typically salmon or tilapia)
7. Jelly
8. Butter

Cooler (below baskets, could be submerged):

1. Vacuum-sealed meats including
   • Pre-seasoned pork loins ($4/lb at Walmart)
   • Ground beef (purchased the grass-fed beef to get vacuum sealed)
2. Lunch meat (pre-packaged, vacuum-sealed, typically Hillshire Farms)
3. Bacon
4. Hot dogs (always good to have a pack of these available for an easy dinner if arrive after dark)
5. Broccoli, peppers (green are cheapest), mushrooms
6. Mayonnaise
7. Mustard
8. Syrup (for pancake breakfasts, didn’t use much)
9. Barbeque sauce
10. Beer or other drinks (e.g., La Croix, milk)

Food Bin (no refrigeration needed)

1. Almonds/raisins (buy separately and make your own snack packs)
2. Peanut butter or cheese cracker packs (great for hiking!)
3. Granola bars
4. Tortillas (eventually replaced all bread, smaller to store, can’t get smooshed, and less prone to mold)
5. Hot dog/burger buns
6. Peanut Butter
7. Onions (keep for a while)
8. Apples
9. Bags of Walmart brand chips (can get for less than $1, so cheap!)
10. Pasta
11. Tuna packets (single serving packets in a variety of flavors – great for a quick lunch)
12. Canned tomatoes (Rotel brand, usually used half a can for a meal, so saved the rest in a small container and added to top of cooler) – great substitute for salsa!
13. Instant mashed potatoes (variety of flavors)
14. Welch’s fruit snack packets (added a little sweet when we needed it and don’t melt!)
15. Seasonings (whatever you use most, we used salt, pepper, garlic powder and salt, chili powder, cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, oregano, paprika)
16. Macaroni and cheese (ALDI carries a boxed mac and cheese that you don’t have to drain the water which makes it easy for camping)
17. Rice
18. Coffee (ground and instant for backcountry) and tea
19. Marshmallows
20. Graham crackers
21. Olive oil
22. Pancake mix

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Common Dinner Meals

1. Pork loin with mashed potatoes and broccoli
   1. Seared pre-seasoned pork loins purchased at Walmart in pan
   2. Either cooked broccoli in foil over the fire (if we had one) or cooked in pan before pork (kept warm in foil)
   3. Instant mashed potatoes cooked in pot when pork loin almost ready
2. Pasta with sausage, peppers, and onions
   1. More difficult to make when at a campsite with no place to dispose of pasta water (especially in bear country)
   2. Used ground sausage with chopped peppers/onions, sautéed in pan together
3. Sausage, peppers, and onions on hot dog buns
   1. Cooked sausages in pan, added a little bit of water and covered initially before searing
   2. Peppers and onions cooked before sausages and kept warm in foil
   3. Easy clean-up
4. Beef tacos
   1. Cooked ground beef in pan
   2. Added shredded cheese, sour cream, canned tomatoes (great salsa substitute), and taco sauce (or whatever other extras you want)
   3. Easy clean-up
5. Chicken fajitas
   1. Would buy pre-season chicken and veggie packs from grocery store. If not, then cook chicken and chopped peppers/onions in pan
   2. Added shredded cheese, sour cream, canned tomatoes (great salsa substitute), and taco sauce (or whatever other extras you want)
6. Fish tacos
   1. Tilapia is usually cheap, added a mix of our seasonings (see list above) and cooked in pan
   2. Added shredded cheese, sour cream, canned tomatoes (great salsa substitute), and taco sauce (or whatever other extras you want)
   3. Lime is a great addition as well!
7. Bacon and egg tacos (mostly cooked for breakfast)
   1. Added shredded cheese, sour cream, canned tomatoes (great salsa substitute), and taco sauce (or whatever other extras you want)
8. Hamburgers
   1. Can make over the fire or in the pan
   2. No clean-up required over the fire, but need buns
9. Hot dogs
   1. Great to make over the fire if arriving late at a campsite
   2. No clean-up required, but need buns
10. Wraps of any kind (tortillas much easier than sliced bread)
    1. Lunch meat (sliced turkey, chicken, ham) with favorite accoutrements (mustard, mayonnaise, etc.).
       1. Can make extra bacon in the mornings and add to the wrap
    2. Tuna wraps (tuna packets come in a variety of flavors, great backcountry meal)
    3. Chicken (make extra if cooking for dinner)
       1. Add cheese
       2. Add BBQ sauce

Backcountry Camping

We also ate a lot of granola bars, nuts/raisins, tuna wraps, fruit snacks, and peanut butter/cheese crackers in the backcountry. For dinner, we ate the freeze-dried meals from Backpacker’s Pantry, Mountain House, and Alpine Aire. Our favorite backcountry camping meals (we just purchased the pre-made ones) are below. We found that Alpine Aire backcountry meals were much better when we added some lime and salt/pepper; otherwise, we didn’t care for these much. We also carried a small hot sauce (find one that doesn’t need to be refrigerated).

Backpacker’s Pantry

1. Chana Masala
2. Fettuccini Alfredo with Chicken

Mountain House

1. Chili Mac and Beef
2. Beef Stroganoff with Noodles
3. Mac and Cheese
4. Chicken Fajita Bowl

Alpine Aire

1. Kung Pao Chicken
2. Mac and Cheese