Camp Food

     If you've ever gone camping, you know that real camping involves very little in regards to modern home-comforts.  My wife and I decided that if we were going to camp, we were going to keep it as low maintenance as possible, in regards to packing.  Given that, we decided to not buy a gas powered camping stove to cook our food, neither did anyone else that we camped with.  We used our campfire to cook all of our meals, heat water for oatmeal, coffee, tea, and of course, S'mores. 
     Since it's a National Forest, we were not allowed to gather fallen wood from the surrounding grounds.  In fear of receiving a fine, we had to buy what was supplied by the Park Rangers.  It started to get cold fairly early so we would get the fire started to warm up and eventually cook some food.  When out in the middle of the woods, it would be an unwise decision to eat a very large meal of foods that can potential upset your system.  At the same time, you have to be very smart in your decisions.
      As you can see in the photos below, we had a mixture of items on the fire brought by different people.  One brought the sausage, another the beans, and we brought the corn in the husks.  Yes, the beans were in a can but who cares, it was very easy to cook while still in the can and just as easy to eat.  One less pan to clean as well.  Same for the corn, still in the husks to keep the corn kernels from burning and it all came out great.  We finished the night sitting around the fire telling some crazy stories, as per usual for this type of setting.
      Having ready-to-eat foods are also a necessity.  When hiking, we had various items such as trail mix, granola bars, peanut butter sandwiches, cliff bars, and a lot of water.  Same as mentioned before, it's important to not eat a lot of food before starting a hike that began at an elevation of 9,520 feet with an incline of 600-700 feet.  You need something light and nutritious but satisfying at the same time.  Difficult, yes but you have to know what works best for you.
     All in all, great camping trip.  The first photo below was the view that we woke up to each morning and it was breathtaking to say the least.  In my opinion, it was very fulfilling to wake up in the morning and start that fire you see in the second photo to be able to eat or make coffee and the same goes for dinner.  If it had rained during our trip, we more than likely would have never had hot food, and there's only so long that you can go without that.