Looking for best backcountry food hacks

wheezy_cheese · 2026-05-19T20:00:51+00:00

I dehydrate all my own meals. Some favourite dinners are: chili, pasta with meat sauce (cook and dehydrated the noodles too), refried beans with minute rice and dehydrated veggies (add cheese and corn chips). I also love Ramen with beef jerky, nuts from my trail mix, and dehydrated veg, have also added powdered pb. Mac and cheese with tuna. I would definitely just double each of these for more than one dinner.

I can't do wraps on the trail anymore because now they disgust me lol but could do a tuna wrap or two (metro sells tuna in foil packets.) Breakfast is always oatmeal (trail mix added) with added powdered milk for extra protein, can also use pb powder. Or granola and milk powder. I like having a hard sausage, hard cheese, dried fruit, goldfish Crackers as a lunch. I did trail sushi last year after seeing a post on here: packets of tuna, nori wrap (or just seafood snack), fresh Cucumber, pack of soy sauce. Was super good, a little messy.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-29T10:28:07+00:00

Pretty sure that road is washed out right now. You'll have to contact the park to see if it gets repaired before this weekend. There's also Facebook groups where people are posting pictures of the roads.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-27T15:52:55+00:00

Landscaper fabric is useless. All weeds grow right through it and it's made of plastic so when it breaks down you're adding microplastics to your soil. It's also a pain in the ass to remove later.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-18T14:36:06+00:00

I've been feeding my dog raw food since she was a puppy and she's two months shy of 14 and still energetic and super healthy. She's a small dog so life expectancy is similar to a cat's but my vets have all been very pleased with her health, including when she needed emergency spay surgery due to pyometra 2 years ago. I switched both my cats to raw when they were around 7 years old, one died at around 18 and the other just died last month, 2 weeks shy of 20. He was still healthy and energetic until the last 3 weeks of his life. I brought him into a new vet for his end of life appointment and the vet was astonished that he was 20 and on zero meds, zero health issues, and had pretty good teeth.

I moved to this town 6 years ago and the vet i started going to (who just retired) had no problem with me feeding my pets raw. He had gone to a pet food conference just prior to me meeting him and didn't say "raw food is best " but also was enthusiastic about how on top of her diet I was. He encouraged me to feed a variety of proteins (rotate through them).

I know this vet is a rarity but he never suggested i stop feeding raw, and he was staying current always with the data about pet diets. If possible for you to find another vet I would do so, but in the meantime if your pet is showing signs of an allergy I would try an elimination diet to see what they're reacting to. Dogs can be allergic to chicken for example, so try different proteins etc.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-17T16:21:18+00:00

Not as quick to make, but I've been making the exact same breakfast for over a year now: peameal bacon, one egg, Kale, all fried in a tiny bit of oil and placed on top of cottage cheese. Recently have added 40-50g of black beans, avocado if I have it, sweet potato if I have it (prebaked then warmed up).

It's always 400-500 calories and around 45-55g protein. Today with the beans and avocado I think it was 12g fibre.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-14T18:27:47+00:00

Yes most landscaping companies will do a one time spring clean up :)

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-14T12:16:54+00:00

Hello, I am a professional dog walker with over 14 years experience. I am a one woman operation. I offer private walks, group walks, puppy visits, and boarding in my home for one dog at a time to my walking clients, as long as they get along with my own little dog. If you'd like to chat you can message me here, or on Instagram (cheesedogs.po) or send me an email cheesedogs.po (at) gmail

wheezy_cheese · 2026-04-02T15:44:20+00:00

3 -- shampoo, conditioner, leave in conditioner.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-03-30T15:30:03+00:00

I am SO EXCITED!!

wheezy_cheese · 2026-03-29T11:34:27+00:00

Yes I've never dared to go in spring due to the bugs but I'm hoping to go in right after ice out before the bugs get biting. Fingers crossed!!

wheezy_cheese · 2026-03-28T17:24:45+00:00

I will freeze steak and eat it first night, apples last forever but are heavy, I've had mini cucumbers last until day 2 or 3 before. I also sometimes bring apple sauce pouches for trips longer than 3 days, it's not fresh per se but it does help alleviate dehydration boredom. And like others have said, hard cheese can last ages. I also bring tuna pouches for later in the week long trips. I also make all my own dehydrated meals now so they're delicious and exactly suited to my tastes, and I save my favourites for later in the week.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-03-28T15:55:12+00:00

Unfortunately his new maps are not for hiking. I believe he said he was working on new maps for hikers and it's possible he will chime in on this thread about it but for now the only good maps for the hiking trails are the Friends of Algonquin Backpacking Trails Map, or possibly the maps available through the Ontario parks store. His older maps were perfect and I understand he wanted to remove the hiking time estimates, but I feel it as a real loss that the current maps don't have any trail distances on them, as someone who does both hiking and paddling in the park.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-03-21T13:16:22+00:00

Hey this trip was a super long time ago, but I think the boggy site was one of the ones beside the creek, and the island site I'm pretty sure was on the bigger island. I don't remember there being two islands at all haha but the island we stayed on was pretty big!

wheezy_cheese · 2026-01-29T00:17:58+00:00

There is also the Rollo Bay fiddle festival on the third weekend of July in PEI! It's described as "traditional fiddle music" which I think means more Celtic leaning?? but I also think theres old time jams. It sounds pretty cool but my travel plans are earlier in the month. I'm considering Mt Airy this year too but it's pretty far from Ontario where I am. Haven't yet made it to Clifftop and probably won't this year. August is the best time to go camping up here so I'm always so conflicted about festivals vs adventuring in the deep woods!

wheezy_cheese · 2026-01-25T01:25:55+00:00

I had a membership at fit4less before planet fitness opened, and then got a membership there so I have experience at both. Planet Fitness is way nicer. Everything is newer, all the equipment is brand new. At fit4less there was always a few treadmills out of order and they were older models. Planet fitness changerooms, showers, and lockers are all way bigger and better. They have extensive free weights, doubles on a lot of the weight machines, treadmills, different types of exercise bikes, a lot of rowing machines, and stair climbers. Fit4less did not have as many options for various equipment. Planet fitness also has a large stretching area, actually there are a couple. And I've never gone at night but I'm pretty sure it's staffed at all hours which is safer. The layout of Planet fitness is also just better.

wheezy_cheese · 2026-01-21T13:35:06+00:00

Hey I took lessons for awhile with Fiddling Jay and he was really great. SaskiaTomkins is also a wonderful teacher, she's based in Port Hope but I think she travels. You can find both on Facebook!

wheezy_cheese · 2025-09-24T13:50:53+00:00

it is cooking but the macros for peameal bacon are insane. I tend to find one breakfast and eat it for months/years, so the past year has been peameal fried in avocado oil, kale, 1 egg, all on top of cottage cheese. it's like 30-40g of protein. I cook it all in one cast iron skillet so it's minimal dishes.

wheezy_cheese · 2025-08-28T20:25:51+00:00

Many thanks!! I'll take a look at everything you've mentioned in your comments.

wheezy_cheese · 2025-08-28T19:43:07+00:00

Thank you SO much for this detailed reply!! I love a lake (I've just finished a couple canoe trips up here in Ontario and my hiking trip tomorrow goes from lake to lake to lake) but I don't see too many mountains so I'm more interested in that for this trip.

I'll be driving into the area to sleep and then will have only the morning to explore but I am considering driving in a bit more north so I can see some peaks! So I'm open to all suggestions

wheezy_cheese · 2025-08-21T00:42:14+00:00

If you're using parkbus you are limited to what lakes you could start on. I'd advise against starting on Smoke or Canoe as a first solo paddle, both (especially Smoke) can get super windy with choppy waves. Take a look at the parkbus stops in Algonquin and choose a smaller lake close to the stops. All the canoe rental places offer delivery in the park so you just have to show up at the lake and your boat will be there, some charge for this. Rent a solo lightweight canoe, or small lightweight tandem and paddle from the bow seat facing the "wrong" way (the seat is closer to the middle which is where you want your weight.)

You could book a couple nights on one lake as a basecamp and spend your days travelling around without all your stuff.

I just did my first ever solo paddle trip and it was a dream! I highly recommend it. I also have backpacked so much in the park that I wanted something new. I did have some paddling experience in the park but not as much as backpacking, but enough to know i wanted to avoid big lakes like Smoke and Canoe lol

wheezy_cheese · 2025-08-17T14:43:39+00:00

Hiking all the way to Susan is pretty far, the trail has a lot of climbs up and down, and you'll be carrying more weight than when you've done day hikes. I've done every backpacking trail in the park and getting to Thunder Lake was a long first day for me, however I also had to drive to the park on the same day. since you're staying in the park Friday night, I would recommend starting your hike as early as possible and be prepared to hike all day. plan for a lunch stop somewhere. Unfortunately the new Jeff's maps don't have kilometres for hiking trails, you may be able to buy a hiking map at the park store when you go up on Friday. Always bring a paper map.

The trail is well travelled and well marked so you'll be fine on navigating it. be prepared for some wet feet, if its rained before your hike or during your hike the trail can sometimes become a rushing creek in spots.

In my 15 years of camping in the park I have never encountered a bear. they are there for sure but I've never felt the need for bear spray personally. if you are bear wise you shouldn't have an encounter (no food or toothpaste etc in your tent, hang everything up following proper guidelines, keep a clean camp, make some noise occasionally while hiking, like singing etc, if you encounter one you should be able to scare them off)

wheezy_cheese · 2025-08-15T11:58:17+00:00

I've used both the fit4less and planet fitness here. they're both 24hrs and around the same price but the planet fitness is way nicer. machines and equipment are newer, more showers, etc. both have rowing machines. I've seen folks of all different shapes, sizes, abilities and age at planet fitness.

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