Strange things you've seen eaten on the trail

[fiddlehead]

I've eaten and also have seen eaten some strange things while hiking that most people probably would not eat if they had more choices. If you've seen (or eaten) other strange things, please share your experiences.

ps. i couldn't believe it when i saw people eating raw pork (that sat in the sun for more than a day) and beef and not get sick here in Thailand but that's not the trail so i didn't include them. Also many different kinds of bugs are eaten here as a delicacy, some alive, some fried. (my girlfriend loves beetles when she's drinking beer)

[neo]

i love dry ramen noodles out of the bag,they are great neo

[Nean]

Does clone, I mean con, excuse me, corn paaausta count?

[Nameless]

Dry oatmeal? Its the only way to eat it!!!! Mix up some noninstant oatmeal with brown sugar and eat strait. Just keep lots of water next to you. I hate the texture of regular cooked oatmeal, but tried it raw one day when young and never looked back... I usually have cous cous for breakfast though

Pink
Twinkie

[Icicle]

It's not strange....but my husband (Snowman - currently still hiking) is known for his trail pizza. It's proper pizza too! He buys pizza base mix and fries that - then covers with cheese and pepperoni....it's LOVELY! (He carries a tiny bottle of oil with him for this too.)

When his boys were hiking with us for two weeks, we even bought a camping frying pan with a fold up handle at Wal-Mart (I got to carry that!) and made larger pizza's. We also made quesadillas....FAB trail food!

[Smile]

I carry cut onions in a small white nalgene bottle (fits a medium size onion) some folks looked at me strange...but olive oil, sautee the onions and add any kind of pasta with parmesan chees - excellent! They last about 6 days in heat of summer in there....then turn slimy.

[Icicle]

I carry cut onions in a small white nalgene bottle (fits a medium size onion)

That reminds me...we carried cut onions too (not always cut up - gave me something to do when the boys were hunting for firewood for the campfire)....we also carried 12 eggs in a Gatorade bottle. They lasted for two days and didn't even break up. (yolks still intact.)

We had scrambled eggs at the shelter one morning for breakfast and fried onions with hot dogs on the top of Tinker Cliffs for lunch.

[Jack Tarlin]

Around five years ago, there were a couple of hikers who were putting out snares for critters, mainly squirrels and rabbits. However, they were determined to eat anything, and I mean ANYTHING that got caught.

So, to make a long story short, I was present that night at Piazza Rock shelter in Maine the night they caught a chipmunk. Yeah, they did what you think they did, and so did about eight or nine other folks, including yours truly.
In fact, I received a "choice" cut of blackened cajun haunch, as I had donated the use of my spice bag, which is fairly large. I was also presented a few days later with a magnificent pelt, which had been dried and stretched. Looked kinda like one of those bearskin rugs, if you can imagine a bear that was only three and a half inches long.

It's been several years now, and I haven't eaten chipmunk since, but you know what? It wasn't half bad.

[Lone Wolf]

This post will bring the PETA nut bags out of the closet.

[justusryans]

Hey, as long as you eat what you catch....

[rickb]

And so long as you obey all the trapping laws.

Unless you are a free spirit who believes that certain laws should be ignored, that is.

[jlb2012]

Unless you are a free spirit who believes that certain laws should be ignored, that is.

Lets _NOT_ jump off that bridge --- OK???

[Brock]

Trying to save weight on a stove and fuel, I've seen a gram-nazi eat ground up potato chips with a spoon out of a ziplock bag. Note that this was while it was snowing and the rest of us were eating our hot Ramen and sipping hot coco. It was her main course.

[Jack Tarlin]

Ah, Rick, you do enjoy your smug little jabs. First off, I didn't carry or set the traps in question, I merely happened to be present when they were examined. And no, I don't approve of people violating trapping or hunting laws, nor do I encourage people to do this, nor do I post things on the Internet on how this can best be achieved. As to offering my spice rack to the chefs, and as to accepting the gift of the pelt days later, this was merely common courtesy, something you might wish to display yourself one of these days.

[rickb]

Fact of the matter is that setting illegal snares on the AT is not cute. Its not cool. Its wrong.

When this goes on all the way to Maine, its worse. I can only hope that no spruce grouse made it into the pot. How many hikers have gone after them over the years?

Jack, it is not my place to suggest that you had an affirmative duty to make any objection when you saw this illegal activity. That' was your choice.

But snaring animal on the Trail isn't about eating and it isn't about PETA.

And isn't cute.

Rick B

[Jack Tarlin]

So who ever said it was "cute." Or "cool." I don't recall using either word. What I do recall saying is this: "I don't approve of people violating trapping or huntiung laws, nor do I encourage people to do this."

That seems pretty straightforward. Sorry it wasn't clear enough for you. And nowhere do I imply that it was "cute." And likewise, Rich, how do you know I didn't make any objection, or how do you know I didn't point out that this behavior was wrong or discuss the matter? Fact is, you don't know, because you weren't there.

You mention that it's "not your place" to comment about this matter.

Yup. I couldn't agree more. Yet you insist on doing so anyway.

Not very cute, Rick.

[Tha Wookie]

There's nothing wrong with snaring, IMOP. That has been going on here in North America for well over 10,000 years. Why would it be ok to eat foiled tuna from some distant ocean but not the squirrel on the tree?

Answer: If it was endangered or threatened.

But if you know it's not, then ***?

The legal thing is a different issue. Those laws are necessary. It's highly illegal to get caught.

I remember on the PCT this infamous hiker and his sidekick bought air-rifles and shot a rabbit. This was in the Sierras, around the time they tried to climb Mt. Whitney and got lost for three days.

Anyways, I saw them in a town and I asked them about that story, if they had really killed and eaten a rabbit. They said they had, and it was the most disgusting thing they'd ever eaten. They traded in the rifles in the next town for walkie-talkies. Last I heard they were doing mostly hitching. Maybe they hitched to some place else eventually. I don't think they finished. We were nearly last that year.

[Alligator]

Plain, yet interestingly good. Lipton's Butter noodles spread over the top of roasted garlic mashed potatoes. Combined from two hikers food bags.

The squeeze parkay reminds me of when I went through the Smokies. My hiking buddy had brought along a squeeze container of jelly and a full jar of PB. By Clingman's Dome, he was ready to ditch the weight. So we sat at the base of the observation tower on the benches and did jelly shots in front of the tourists.

Other than that, my meals are pretty well planned.

[rickb]

Wookie--

People who set snares along the AT are not doing it because they need the meat. Besides, its my meat they are eating!

In part, anyway.

The laws that are in place are there for a number of reasons. One of the things that is so repulsive about the story Jack posted is revealed by the fact that those traps were catching all manner of critters. Whether ANY of the 8 or 9 sheltermates "enjoyed" the bounty on a given day is beside the point.

I can understand how one could get caught up in the novelty of all this. Not to mention the blood lust. But lets not romantacize the experience. Nor fluff it off like Wolf and Justusryan and yourself do.

Subject to some restrictions I can fell trees on my own property. That's the way it should be. I can't do the same on the AT. And that's the way it should be to. Same idea applies to snaring animals.


Rick B

[SirReal]

Jack...

I was also presented a few days later with a magnificent pelt, which had been dried and stretched. Looked kinda like one of those bearskin rugs, if you can imagine a bear that was only three and a half inches long.

We would like a picture!!!!!!