Food for Drop Camp

[matt345]

A group of us are doing a drop camp this year and I am looking for ideas as it relates to food. I have Backcountry Hunted but this is my first Drop Camp, usually I am backpacking so this will be the first time for many of us to have the ability to ride into camp and to have some one carrying our gear. I am curious what people like to bring for food that is convenient and what they feel are the essentials for a drop camp. The Outfitter is just in charge of the tent, we are responsible for the rest! Our group is likely 6 guys and 4 kids.

[bobcat]

When I did a drop camp, for food we pretty much stuck with the same food you would use when backpacking. We had a weight limit per person, so I thought it was more important to bring extras such as extra boots, extra clothes, two sleeping bags, a cot, etc. I also wanted the simplicity of backpacking type foods (Mountain House, instant oatmeal, trail mix, etc). I was there to hunt, not cook and do dishes.

[matt345]

Thanks Bobcat,

I assumed that would be the case. Our situation is different because two of the guys are older and won't hunt far from camp and will cook for the group, etc! But the same fact remains that we can only bring so much stuff in with the weight restriction. As well as the lack of ability to keep stuff cold. We will likely do your typical backpacker foods, and maybe a steak dinner or two. If we are successful, maybe a TENDERLOIN meal. 

Did you use a particular cot that was extremely packable??

[JLS]

Roll A Cots are very packable.  I've packed surplus GI cots and they work well too, although they are a little bulkier and heavier than some options.

For food, you can pack frozen food by freezing it very hard before you leave.  Pack it tight in a cardboard box and fill all of the gaps with crumpled newspaper.  You can also get the little soft coolers and pack meat in there with dry ice.

Your biggest limitation will be cooking equipment.  When I used to horsepack I would take a Coleman white gas stove and a couple of frying pans and a pots.  We did simple stuff that we could cook on the gas stove, such as spaghetti, sweet and sour pork, stew, etc.  We also fried some cheeseburgers and did stuff like french dips.  Breakfasts were usually pretty hearty and involved a lot of eggs and freeze dried hash browns. 

I would suggest you talk to the outfitter and find out what your weight restrictions and size restrictions are.  My buddy and I would go in for one week.  Two horses were pretty much dedicated to our camp (wall tent, cots, stove, chairs), a third carried all of our clothes and gear, the fourth our food, and the rest would carry horse feed.

You could do easy stuff like Hamburger Helper, and other types of pasta meals that are easy to cook.  A Colemen propane stove should be pretty easy to take along.

[dreamingbig]

Unless you want to spend more time camping and less time hunting than I would keep the food fairly simple. I have zero time in the day to spend a hour or two cooking and then doing dishes.  My  .

By simple, I mean mountain houses or similar for dinner and lunches for each day prepared of time in individual zip lock bags.

[sirmissalot]

I'd take advantage of the packers mules and eat well. Steak and potatoes one or two nights, and pre cooked and frozen foods the rest. We have one mule dedicated to food, two 65 quart yetis keep food easily for a week. It sure helps boost moral when you have good food in camp. Chili and cornbread, spaghetti, lasagna, chicken fried steak with gravy, stew; just a few things that freeze well and fill hungry bellies. The last thing I'd do is rely on freeze dried meals on a hunt like this, even of you gotta pay a little extra for another mule.

[matt345]

Thanks guys for the feedback its helpful!

[Smossy]

Whats a drop camp?

[kentrek]

Whats a drop camp?

basically having a dude pack you and your gear into the hills with hoarses and drop you off..he then comes back and picks you up after a week or so

[Smossy]

Whats a drop camp?

basically having a dude pack you and your gear into the hills with hoarses and drop you off..he then comes back and picks you up after a week or so

Ohhh, Gotcha! Thanks Sounds interesting. Im still young though, I can haul my own crap.. Maybe

[MtnMuley]

I'd take advantage of the packers mules and eat well. Steak and potatoes one or two nights, and pre cooked and frozen foods the rest. We have one mule dedicated to food, two 65 quart yetis keep food easily for a week. It sure helps boost moral when you have good food in camp. Chili and cornbread, spaghetti, lasagna, chicken fried steak with gravy, stew; just a few things that freeze well and fill hungry bellies. The last thing I'd do is rely on freeze dried meals on a hunt like this, even of you gotta pay a little extra for another mule.

Good advice there.

[kentrek]

we do a drop style camp every year and if you can def get away from mtn house,esp if ya have some one that doesnt mind cooking while others are out hunting...nothing better than coming back into camp only to see you ol man pulling fresh ribs off the grill...i swear you can smell a good dutch oven meal at least a mile from camp 


a favorite quote from my dad is "you need a guy to kill elk and a guy to take care of camp...thats what makes elk camp"

[kentrek]

Whats a drop camp?

basically having a dude pack you and your gear into the hills with hoarses and drop you off..he then comes back and picks you up after a week or so

Ohhh, Gotcha! Thanks Sounds interesting. Im still young though, I can haul my own crap.. Maybe

its just two different styles of hunting and two different experiences...im finding the drop camp to be better since i get to hang with my older family more, which is priceless

[Smossy]

Whats a drop camp?

basically having a dude pack you and your gear into the hills with hoarses and drop you off..he then comes back and picks you up after a week or so

Ohhh, Gotcha! Thanks Sounds interesting. Im still young though, I can haul my own crap.. Maybe

its just two different styles of hunting and two different experiences...im finding the drop camp to be better since i get to hang with my older family more, which is priceless

I dont know a single soul that hunts

[kentrek]

i am very luck to have grown up in the family i have, but it sounds like you have at least made some partners on here...a good hunting partner is nearly as good as family 

[vandeman17]

The benefit of a drop camp is you can pack more in on a horse or mule then you can pack on your back. Instead of carrying in everything and having to go really light, you can pack in more of a comfortable camp and bring more food, gear etc

[Smossy]

i am very luck to have grown up in the family i have, but it sounds like you have at least made some partners on here...a good hunting partner is nearly as good as family 

No partners, few friends on here. No dead set partners yet though. No trips planned. Notta. Just lots of good advice.
Good enough for me though. 

[matt345]

I am definitely thinking that the luxury's to consider that I have not been able to bring when backpacking are as follows:

Frozen precooked meals that can be reheated, and a few steaks.
A packable chair
Packable cots

Anything else that you guys would bring that you normally cant pack on your back ??

[vandeman17]

I am definitely thinking that the luxury's to consider that I have not been able to bring when backpacking are as follows:

Frozen precooked meals that can be reheated, and a few steaks.
A packable chair
Packable cots

Anything else that you guys would bring that you normally cant pack on your back ??

I think having the options to pack some different fluids would be nice along with backup stuff like boots, jackets whatever would be really nice.

[kentrek]

I am definitely thinking that the luxury's to consider that I have not been able to bring when backpacking are as follows:

Frozen precooked meals that can be reheated, and a few steaks.
A packable chair
Packable cots

Anything else that you guys would bring that you normally cant pack on your back ??

camp shoes !
cribbage board !
extra clothes & scent wipes (used for showering)
booz ??

never needed back up boots.,if you think you need a back up then go buy a better pair of boots

[fillthefreezer]

BEER! potatoes! wood stove! chainsaw?

[vandeman17]

I say back up boots incase my primary boots get wet or really sweaty and I don't have enough time to get them dried out. I really hate putting on damp boots on a cold morning! 

[actionshooter]

Precook meals like stews, pastas, casseroles, and  vacuum seal and freeze in individual servings. Then reheat in boiling water.
 Its super fast, no mess (eat it right out of the bag) and acts as ice for your other food that needs to be kept cold. Been doing this for years.

[bobcat]

The best thing about a drop camp is having a cot!

[CMG]

The make-up of your party will determine what you will bring.
   Some years we only had two or three of us, left camp @ 3Am never came back until well after dark if at all. Quick easy boil water food worked well.
  Most years we had my Dad and his Friend who where a little older and liked to cook and keep camp.
 here are a few things we would bring/do: (Keep in mind we had 6-8 in our group).

- 12-18Lb Cryovak (SP?) of ribeye, bought at Costco. Freeze really well, insulate and place in cooler. This acted as our ice, so we didn't have to pack wasted frozen water. The meat unthaws after a few days, slice thickness to your liking and grill over the fire. 
 
- Our base camp was @ 6500', so finding a secluded snow bank was only a mile or two away if your cooler needs replenishing. Also used to keep the deer cool if unusually warm up there, and someone drops something the first day.

- Take a sharp bucksaw, spend the first day (We went in prior to opening) with everyone cutting wood. Lot's of wood! It goes fast and nothing more frustrating then to waste good hunting time cutting wood.

- You will go through a lot of water with a larger group. Finding a good water source can be tough if in high Elev. We would take (6) 5Gal. collapsible. And three short sections of PVC pipe to set in the stream. Use a 1", 3/4" and 1/2" pieces so you can fit them inside of each other and use as a spigot.

- If you are going in style  use grain alcohol instead of beer. gets the job done quicker and a lot less weight. Although my Dad had to have his homemade Irish creme in the morning coffee to ease the aches. Which reminds me - If you think you have enough coffee, double it!

- We only rode horses one time a year, during the high hunt. So after 20+ miles of riding you will feel it! the first year I went I spent 3-4 days trying to sooth the chaffing on my inner thighs. Not fun! I wore bicycle shorts under my jeans for the ride up and back after that and never had anymore problems. 

 Be ready to improvise, the first trip we took some of the bags were not evenly weight distributed. the packer went through the bags and found my dads hidden 6 pack of Pepsi (he was a pepsiholic) a six pack of Coors and (4) fifths of whisky. The packer set the Pepsi and Coors on the tailgait and proceeded to crack each one of the cans open. Turned to us and said "Anyone thirsty?" He turned to the whisky, put (3) of the bottles in wool socks and Said "These need to be protected" Cracked the last bottle, threw away the cap, passed it around and said "This ones for the road"  Used this packer for the next 15 Yrs.  Great guy, and always brought some packer grease for the ride in!

  Have a great trip!

[vandeman17]

Great tips CMG. I like your thoughts! 

[CMG]

Forgot:
- Onoins for the liver
- Bacon for the backstraps
- Lawry's for the heart
- Salt/Pepper for the acorns
- ibuprofen for the hangover

[matt345]

Thanks for all the tips guys, these will come in handy as we are planning!

[fillthefreezer]

"These need to be protected" Cracked the last bottle, threw away the cap, passed it around and said "This ones for the road"  Used this packer for the next 15 Yrs.  Great guy, and always brought some packer grease for the ride in!

  Have a great trip!

bwahahaha! 

[matt345]

For those who have packed in frozen food, have you used soft collapsable cooler bags or hard sided coolers??

[CMG]

Hard sided coolers.
 Used two to equal out the weight, but paid extra for the extra mule. Not sure if the food in a collapsable cooler would hold up well in a tied up manny?
 Talk to the packer.

[vandeman17]

Hard sided coolers.
 Used two to equal out the weight, but paid extra for the extra mule. Not sure if the food in a collapsable cooler would hold up well in a tied up manny?
 Talk to the packer.

With how tight you need to strap everything down on a mule I would prefer a hard sided cooler if it was me. I have eaten enough smashed sandwiches in my day to not want to have my suppers be the same. 

[JLS]

Hard sided coolers.
 Used two to equal out the weight, but paid extra for the extra mule. Not sure if the food in a collapsable cooler would hold up well in a tied up manny?
 Talk to the packer.

I have packed a lot of food in banana boxes from the grocery store.  I mantied all of my loads and never had any issues.

This saves you from having to pack out coolers, burn the boxes and use that horse to pack out meat or run him empty.