Camp food; at the intersection of yummy and easy

Okay, it is a given that most food tastes better when eaten outdoors.  And eaten next to a lake in the Pacific Northwest with a view of Mt. Hood adds a bit of flavor.  But there is a challenge to the perfect camping food; balancing convenience, durable for either hot car or watery cooler storage, and ease of preparation.

I tend to the side of convenience, perhaps to a fault.  Some of my standbys include bagels, lox and cream cheese, cut fruit, veggies and hummus, cheese and crackers.  I do like this stuff as it is easy for us to eat at different times.  By the time the teenagers get up for breakfast, its about time for my lunch. 

The long and happy hour; pull out some salsa and chips, maybe whip up some guacamole, cheese, crackers, hummus, carrots and olives.  A leisurely graze, grab a beer and wander down by the lake.  This is my favorite non-dinner, dinner.

Perhaps our yummiest camp meal is salmon on a cedar board, over the grill.  yum!  But even that is pretty simple.  We have camped with folks who are very accomplished camp cooks; the gal who does some sort of blackberry pastry thing in a dutch oven in the campfire!  Or folks who labor over a stew all day. 

Okay, I don't want to spend my whole day cooking.  There is a canoe to paddle, trails to hike, Mt. Hood needs to contemplated, conversations to be had, naps to take, dishes to do and beer to drink. 

But maybe I could step it up a bit.  We have a three burner stove, propane grill and of course a campfire. We eat fish, but do cook meat for Emma now and again.

Any suggestions?  What is your favorite camp meal?

Rain Camping

Some hearty folks partake in snow camping; digging snow shelters or pitching the tent on top of the snow.  It is said that snow camping really isn't all that cold (if you have the proper gear) as it can actually be cold enough to be dry.  I have never snow camped, but imagine it is beautiful.

And then there is rain camping.  This may be a uniquely Oregon activity.  People who have warm, dry houses pack up a bunch of gear (and not necessarily the "right" gear) and head to the mountains where it will most surely rain; for example Timothy Lake on Memorial Day weekend.

Activities while rain camping include erecting tarp villages with no ladder (and being sure NOT to get them too close to the fire), lighting and keeping a fire going in the rain, managing puddles and pools that collect in the tarp city and of course, drying shoes and clothes without burning or melting them.  As a parent, an additional activity is trying to keep your kid from getting irretrievably wet, while they she is hanging out with friends not too close to you.

Benefits of rain camping include sparsely populated campgrounds; who in their right mind goes camping in the rain?  Another benefit of rain camping is the exquisite pitter-patter of rain on tent, )as long as you are completely secure that no water is getting in the tent), and the close bond you establish with your co -campers as you endure, err I mean enjoy, the weekend together.

This weekend will mark our family's ninth (and last) Memorial Day weekend camping with the terrific families from Winterhaven School.  There have been drops of rain all none years, and all but two of those years it has poured.  Next year I expect will gather with some of the families we have camped with over the years in a warm, dry, sunny, spot.