In The Wild Chef
By: Stephen Weston
Many a hungry backpacker has arrived at camp to the dismal sight of an over-priced, freeze-dried meal..... and resolved immediately with intense conviction that the menu must be improved.
The outdoor experience provides a myriad of different satisfactions for participants, but there is a constant for us. If we are going to stay some duration in the wilderness, we must pack food with us (unless your friends will tolerate the sight of a llama's backside all the way up the trail) that means, your food is on your back. And so the great debate is born. How much weight should we be willing to pack to enrich our high-elevation cuisine? Has any subject been hashed out more than this one over the ol' campfire?
The weight vs. taste argument is one old and worthy. Multi- day backpacking circumstances demand that people reasonably determine whether he or she shall either consume dehydrated muck, or pay dearly through the quads, hamstrings, calves, etc., in order to dine well in the mountains. The author is among those of us who found himself at this same perplexing crossroads only to discover and admit that he is simply a prisoner
to his very distinguished taste buds. This
crossroad became the embarking of his odyssey of research
and experimentation toward the medium between
weight and flavor.
Some damaged cartilage and a few backpacks later,
Stephen Weston has been successful in finding a number
of combinations that explode with flavor and they
won't herniate you carrying to camp. (so successful,
that some big name brands have paid him to come along
on back-country ski filming excursions as a cook) His
passion for simultaneously bagging peaks and eating
like royalty outruns his logical ability to settle for
one or the other- and our palates can be the beneficiaries
of his efforts.
Friends and I have welcomed the sight of recipes prepared
by the author on a snowy, windy slope or two.
Especially that salmon dish! Weston has provided
something wholesome to the people around him, and
that's all any of us can try for. Eat well and climb
high.
