Tag Archives: camping tips

Top Five Mountain House Meals

April 6, 2021

I love Mountain House, so much that coming up with my top five Mountain House Meals was a difficult task. Mountain House Meals are quick and easy to make, as well as clean up. Not only that but they are delicious and sometimes a warm meal is just what you need. Here are my top five Mountain House Meals.

Lasagna with Meat Sauce – The noodles are cut into bite-size pieces so you don’t have to try and break up the lasagna in the pouch. Mountain House’s meat sauce has good chunks of ground beef and isn’t too tomatoey. Also, one can’t go wrong with melty mozzarella cheese. Mountain House’s Lasagna with Meat Sauce is sure to be a favorite.
Biscuits in Gravy – Number two comes in with this hearty breakfast staple that is sure to fuel you for outdoor adventures. The gravy has a perfect creaminess to compliment the soft biscuits.
Chicken and Dumplings – Something about a warm, creamy sauce over some type of bread just makes for the ultimate comfort food. The Moutain House Chicken and Dumplings are also loaded with vegetables to help round out the meal.
Chili Mac with Beef – Chili Mac with Beef is a classic, and for good reason too. Mountain House’s Chili Mac with Beef as a spicy tomato sauce that adds some good flavor to the noodles with big chunks of ground beef. This one is sure to please everyone on your camping trip.
Chicken and Mashed Potatoes – This is another classic, and simply is what it is – chicken and mashed potatoes. It’s a good comfort meal for a cold night, delicious, and warms a person right up. This Mountain House meal is also gluten-free, for those with dietary restrictions.

These Mountain House meals are all classics, but Mountain House is always coming out with new flavors. Let me know in the comments what your favorite Mountain House meals are, or if there’s another brand you want us to check out.

Six Games I Want to Take Camping This Year

February 16, 2021

Another day with temperatures below 0 degrees Fahrenheit has me dreaming of six games I want to take camping this season. While I enjoy camping, another hobby I have is board gaming. What is a better way to pass the time than playing a board game, and why can’t we enjoy board games outside? Well, I have news for you, there are games you can bring camping with you!

Check out this video here for games we have taken with us. Small games are great to bring with you camping, and most small games are inexpensive. The six games I want to take camping this year all come in at under $20! That makes them great to give as a gift for the camping gamer in your life.

1. Point Salad

This is an entertaining card game for 2-4 players, where you will draft cards. These cards will represent different vegetables and scoring scenarios, and as you go you create your “point salad.” This is a quick game, made up of a deck of cards, making it a good choice for camping.

2. Bang the Dice Game

A dice chucking western game, the plays in under 30 minutes. You’re just rolling dice, trying to be the last one standing. This is another quick game and the components are dice and a few cards making this game portable and compact for travel.

3. Shards of Infinity

This is a head-to-head deck builder for the competitive ones out there. Very portable, thanks to being a deck of cards, you build your deck and battle your opponent for the victory. The art on these cards is amazing and adds to the theme, making this a game I hope to get lost in.

4. Kingdomino Duel

This is a roll-and-write strategy game, where you roll four dice and use them to fill in your kingdom. Certain dice rolls will earn you special abilities, possibly leading you to victory. While the game consists of dice, a writing utensil, and a pad; you could laminate the sheets off the pad and lighten your load further.

5. Taco VS Burrito

Taco VS Burrito looks like a super funny game, that would be a great way to pass the time. You take turns picking cards with gross foods to make your taco or burrito with, there are also cards that help score more points. It just looks like a fun way to pass the time.

6. Age of War

Another dice chucking game on the list, because they are portable, fast-paced, and fun. In Age of Wart, you and your opponent are batling to conquer each other’s castle. This game plays in under 30 minutes.

I am so looking forward to picking up these six games that I want to take camping this year! Have you played any of these or brought them camping with you? What games do you love to bring camping? Let me know in the comments below!

Canister Stoves for Camping

September 1, 2019

Food is always on my mind when prepping for camping. The minute I start planning a trip, it’s usually “mmm, what are we going to eat?!” With food being such a big part of the experience making sure you are able to make it is pretty important! My favorite way to cook our food while camping, second only to fire, is a canister stove.

Stoves for Camping.

Sure, there are many types of stoves: alcohol, canister, solid fuel, woodburning and even solar-powered. Each fuel type has its pros and cons, which is a lot to unpack and we will save that for another day! Today, we are going to dive into canister stoves, and what makes them a great choice for your outdoor kitchen!

Space Saver

Canister stoves can be packed inside things already packed, such as a pot! This means you don’t have to find the room for a cooking container and a stove. A built-in perk to this (as if having more room in your pack wasn’t enough!) is that when prepping for a meal, just pull out the pot and the portable kitchen is ready to go!

Weight

We all know that space and weight are two things that are highly treasured when it comes to your pack! Canister stoves along with their space-saving convenience, are lightweight! A great stove when weight is a big concern is the BRS 3000T! This tiny stove heats quickly. The BRS 3000T is small, light, and also has three pot support legs with teeth that do a great job stabilizing pots.

Convenience

Honestly, this is the category that makes the canister stove a real winner for me. Canister stoves are so easy to use! All that is needed is the stove and the fuel canister. A great starter stove is definitely the Etekcity, this stove even has a piezo ignition so you don’t HAVE to carry a lighter (even though it’s always good to have one on hand!) Another perk to drop in the convenience category is that when it is raining, you can actually put this stove inside your vestibule. Ensuring a nice warm meal in the wet and chilly rain.

Cons

Everything has a con to balance out the pros, and the canister stove is no exception. There are three major cons that come along with canister stoves:

There can be issues with stabilizing the pot/pan that you are cooking with. The pot/pan can make it unstable depending on what size they are and the weight that added to the pot/pan. Generally, pots are easier to stabilize on this stove type. Issues can be avoided by knowing beforehand what will be prepared on the stove, finding a flat spot to place the stove, and above all paying attention.
One downside to a canister stove is that the canister is a set amount. The amount cannot be adjusted for longer trips, to compensate you will need to bring another canister. Which takes away from the space-saving advantage.
Canister stoves can also be finicky when the temps drop below freezing. This fuel type is not ideal when winter camping, as it is not reliable to give flames. Winter camping is when reliability is non-negotiable.

Canister Stoves are a Great Choice for Camping

While canister stoves have their cons: stability, set amount of fuel and not being ideal for winter the pros balance these out. You can also compensate these cons by planning your trip so you are prepared with the right amount of fuel, know what the temp will be and having the right pot or pan for the job! The overall size and weight, and above all convenience of a canister stove cannot be beat!

Make sure to share stories of using your canister stove, as well as recipes down below!

Get Your Gear Ready For Spring

April 2, 2019

Ahhh, spring is in the air! The itch to get back on the trail is definitely getting stronger, and while, there is still snow on the ground, there are a few things to get gear ready for the year. Here are four pieces of gear I look over every spring: pack, sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and pillow. All of our gear can be found here.

Head over to your closet and let’s pull your gear out!

Check for any damage

The first thing when pulling your gear out of storage for the season is to look it over for any damage that may have been missed when putting it away for winter. For instance check your sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and pack for holes or tears. Subsequently, if you find a hole it can be patched before being in the middle of the woods, on a sinking sleep pad. Always keep extra patches on hand for inflatables. A sewing kit is also good to keep on hand for sewing straps back on securely or sewing a tear in a sleeping bag up.

get your gear ready - check for damage — half of the sternum strap is missing

Check for gear left behind

Secondly, it’s always good to go back through your sleeping bag and pack to make sure nothing was left behind. There could be a Darntough sock hiding in the sleeping bag or a spork in the bottom of the pack, for example. Finding something thought to be lost in your gear can be like Christmas in spring.

get your gear ready - check for left behind gear — Darntough sock hiding in the sleeping bag

Air it out!

Your gear has been locked away in a closet all winter, hang it outside (when rain isn’t in the forecast!)! I like to hang our packs, bags, and pillows over the porch railing to let the spring air freshen it up. It feels cleaner, no longer smells musty and builds the anticipation for the first campout of the year!

get your gear ready - airing out — Sleeping bag freshening up in the spring air

These are three tips to get camping gear freshened up and ready for the year! Let me know in the comments below what you do in the spring to get your gear ready! Also, don’t forget to check out other tips and tricks here.

Planning a Camping Trip

March 1, 2019

If you’re reading this chances are you love camping, and would like to go on as many camping trips as possible. Life is busy, so to fit in a camping trip it helps to plan! As much as I love the idea of an impromptu trip to the forest, I know that for me it wouldn’t end up happening. Here are a few tips on how I plan out camping trips.

Pick your days in advance!

Pick a block of days about 4-6 weeks in advance for the camping trip. I pick which days we are going BEFORE narrowing down where we’re headed. Knowing just how much time helps me pick somewhere within a reasonable distance, and not one that is going to put us on a time constraint and stress us out. We planned on 3 days and 2 nights for our George H. Crosby Manitou trip, the furthest trip we’ve taken. We were able to account for stopping to see some of the touristy sites and grabbing some food, while not feeling rushed.

Small cascade at George H. Crosby Manitou State Park

Where will the camping trip be?

Picking where you are going to go camping gets narrowed down quite a bit when you know just how many days you have for your camping trip. If you only have time for a quick overnighter, pick a new spot or even a favorite one within an hour of home. This ensures time for stress-free setup and tear down. If you have half a week? Travel to the other side of the state and take in those sites. When picking a campsite and we have more time on our side I like to pick places with things we have never seen. Two examples would be Itasca State Park has the headwaters of the Mississippi, while George H. Crosby Manitou has a secluded and gorgeous waterfall.

Pick Your Gear!

You’ve decided where? Great! When you are going to a hike-in site, you’re going to need lighter gear and to fit it all in your pack. If car camping with the whole family, you can bring all the entertainment and the big luxury tent. Bringing your dog? here are three things that will make the trip even better. Another thing to think of when picking your gear is the forecast. Take a look as you get closer, but also remember that weather changes and to be prepared. Our store has tons of gear ideas for beginners and experts!

All in all, camping is a great way to enjoy the outdoors by yourself or with those you love. The best way to do that is to plan and be prepared!! Let me know in the comments below your tips for planning a camping trip!