Tramping Food: Nongshim Udon Soup

 ...prepacked Udon for tramping meals...

Here is another potential meal idea for when you are out on a outdoor adventure. These are the Nongshim brand prepackaged Udon Noodle Soup meals. 

Nongshim Udon Noodle Soup

There are a multitude of pre packaged meal options available in Asian food stores and this is a good example. It contains everything you need to make a decent noodle meal with the simple addition of boiling hot water. 

A look at the Udon pack:

The Nongshim Udon soup is a self contained meal wrapped into one package. Inside the package you will find :

Udon noodle pack

Liquid soup mix

Dried flakes pack

A plastic serving dish

Udon noodles are pre-cooked so they just need a short boil (2 minutes is sufficient) or a longer soak (5-10 depending on brand) in boiling water to be ready to eat.  Adding the soup mix and dried ingredients package brings the flavor. 

Front of the Nongshim Udon Soup packet

Nongshim sounds Japanese but it is actually a Korean company and this pack is produced in Korea. Korean people eat a number of dishes that are similar to Japanese food due to their interactions over centuries past. They make some good food including snacks, Ramen, Udon and packaged all in one meals. 

Nongshim include a liquid soup mix and dried flavor pack

Most people know what Udon are but if you are new to them they are thick wheat noodles about the size of a pencil around. They are soft and often come as part of a thin soup (like a consume) with vegetables added to it for flavor. Common vegetables used are onions, mushrooms, carrot and radish.

...best cooked and eaten from the pot...

These Udon packs are perfect as they are but if you wanted to make them a bit tastier and more nutritious you can add items to them. Off the top of my head I would think about adding cooked meat or fish, cheese, fresh and dried vegetables and condiments like garlic, ginger, soya sauce, vinegar, pepper and chilli sauce. A small packet/spoon of Miso paste will also make for tastier noodles. 

Udon Soup pack and cooked soup

I always added a small measure of Soya Sauce when I am eating these Udon and a small shake of S&B brand chilli powder. One of those small soya sauce fish you get with a sushi meal is enough for a single bowl of Udon. Add soya to taste but just remember soya sauce is very salty so I would taste it as I went. 

...a small fish of soya sauce is a good additive...

Anyone who is a fan of Ramen or Udon will know what S&B powder is...it is an essential addition to both these noodle dishes. S&B is a Japanese brand of powder specially manufactured for soups. It has a mix of ground chilli, garlic, seaweed and other herbs and spices meant to improve the flavor of your soup. A good Ramen shop will have S&B powder readily to hand for their customers. 

S&B brand chilli powder for noodle dishes

You can buy your own S&B at most Asian food stores have a look in the section for Japanese food or the sauces section. I brought mine from the Japan Mart in Riccarton Mall. Decant it into a small bag as the bottles are glass and quite heavy. 

Dont add too much as it is a bit spicy...just a pinch on top is good!

...just a dash of S&B enhances the flavor...

Nongshim include a plastic tray for mixing your Udon in but I would tend to leave this at home. It is just extra rubbish to haul around for the rest of your tramp.  I just put all the packets into a sandwich sized Ziploc bag and cook it in my cook pot. Udon is much better eaten from a bowl or pot. 

Try the Nongshim Udon Soup out for yourself!

You are going to need either a fork or chopsticks to eat the noodles. 

Where can I find these?

You can find these noodles at good Asia supermarkets and shops selling Asian and Japanese food items. I brought some from the Japan Mart at Hornby Mall but I have also seen them at Kosco Shirley, Ken's Mart on Colombo Street and at V-Mart in the Bush Inn Centre. 

Kosco Asian Supermarket in Shirley, Christchurch 

I love noodles and this pack is a pretty good riff on a bowl of Udon. With a few ingredients added they make an excellent lunch or dinner meal and they are tasty and filling. Keep an eye out for them the next time you are in a good Asian Supermarket. 

You Tube: Nongshim Udon Soup

The great dehy crisis of '23...

 Where have all the Backcountry meals gone?

If you are out tramping, biking, kayaking or doing some other outdoor pursuit you are probably eating Backcountry Cuisine dehydrated meals at least some of the time. You might have noticed that they seem to be a bit scarce in your local outdoor retail stores...there is a reason for this.

Classic Backcountry Cuisine meal...Cooked Breakfast

Back in November 2022 one of the large machines Backcountry Cuisine use to dehydrate ingredients went out of service. This has seriously slowed production rates. As a result there has been a shortage of backcountry meals in most of the local stores. I recently visited the Hunting and Fishing store at Tower Junction here in Christchurch and they had NO Backcountry meals at all. Like zero...not even the Vegan meals most people never buy. 

Dehydrator at Backcountry Cuisine in Invercargill

Hopefully the shortages do not last for too long because love them or hate them Backcountry Cuisine is the number one freeze dried meal brand here. Losing them from the market would be a huge problem for anyone who uses freeze dried meals. You might have to do what the old timers did and eat real foods like sausages, steak and bacon with mashed spud, rice or cous cous.

 My God how primitive!!! 

Is this your future without Backcountry meals?

Real Meals, Radix and boutique food companies are making inroads into the freeze dry meal market but they have neither the range of meals nor the production ability to totally replace Backcountry Cuisine. As yet we cannot get any of the big international brands like Mountain House here. 

Real Meals...not as large as Backcountry cuisine

If you live in Christchurch and need to buy some Backcountry meals you should go have a look at the  Hunting & Fishing store in Rangiora. I was there in the weekend and they had ample supplies of both the small and regular sized meals. They also have plenty of the bags of mixed vegetables, dried meat and mashed potato. 

Small sized BBC meals at Rangiora Hunting & Fishing

 Either they had a stash of meals or they just don't get the volume of traffic that the Christchurch store receives. BTW: the Rangiora Hunting & Fishing has a great range of items in store...it is just about as big as the flagship Tower Junction store. 

They also sell Real Meals, O-Meals and Outdoor gourmet meals

Anyway...hopefully Backcountry Cuisine will soon rectify the problem and be back up to full time production once again. 

Tramping Food: Real Meals

 A look at the Real Meals range of entrees

Tramping food is one of the most important items you will carry with you when you are venturing into the outdoors. To perform at your best you need the right type and amount of food to keep you moving. One option is the use of freeze dried and pre packaged meals. 

Classic packaging for a Real Meals

I often use freeze dried meals when I am out by myself...they are the easiest and most efficient way to provide yourself with sustenance. One of my favorites at this time are the Real Meal range. Many trampers believe they are the best freeze dried meals available here in New Zealand. 

Real Meals...some history:

Real Meals as a company has only existed for a couple of years but its history is much longer than this. Originally the company was called Absolute Wilderness and they were a fixture in the South Island and especially Nelson region for over a decade. If you could find their products you would be using them as they were quality meals.  

Absolute Wilderness meals...basic black packaging

Absolute Wilderness traded right through the 2010's up to 2021.  While their products were always difficult to find in the shops the full range could always be ordered online from their Nelson headquarters. Starting out with only a couple of meals they eventually increased their range until they had about 15 different meals available covering breakfast, lunch and dinner options. My favorites were the Creamed Rice, Wilderness Stew and Chilli Con Carne. 

Homemade ration pack for the Paparoa Track in 2020

A couple of years ago the company was brought out by Nathan Fa'avae the well known adventure racer and educator. Nathan was a fixture of most of the multi discipline events through the 2000's including the Coast to Coast,  New Zealand Adventure Racing Team and GODZone. His purchase of the company has seen its fortunes revived and it is now available in many outdoor sports and hunting stores right across the country. 

Nathan Fa'avae

I am hoping that the company will continue to increase their menu range over time as they gain market share and recognition. All of their products are delicious with some of the original Absolute Wilderness range still manufactured and the addition of many new and innovative entrees. 

A look at the Real Meals range...

Real meals have menus for breakfast through dinner with additional desserts and drinks. They regularly swap out items from the range and bring in a couple of new items every six months or so. At the time of this blog this is their complete range of meals:

Breakfast

Bircher Muesli

Banana Oat Porridge

Honey Yoghurt

Boysenberry Yoghurt

Eggs, Cheese & Chives

Lunch

Couscous Salad

Mexi Nachos

Bacon Mash

Cheesy Mash

Dinner

Sri Lankan Chicken Curry

Wilderness Stew

Tom Kha Gai

Macaroni and Cheese

Beef Stroganoff

Moroccan Tagine

Dal Makhani

Desserts

Apples with Creamed Rice

Tropical Pudding

Chocolate Cake Pudding

Others

Berry Smoothie

Mango Lassi

Baby Beetroot

Fruit Trio

Basmati Rice

The dinner meals are equally good for lunch or a savory breakfast and the Apples with Creamed Rice is one of my favorite breakfast meals. I'm not big on powdered milky drinks but I'm sure their Lassis and smoothies are going to be as good as any of the main entrees. 

Jon's personal picks...

I have yet to try a Real Meal that I do not like...they are all delicious. That said there are a couple which I really enjoy and buy often. I have four that I would like to talk about...the Apples and Creamed Rice, Sri Lankan Chicken Curry, Beef Stroganoff and Cous Cous Salad.

Apples with Creamed Rice:

To start the Apples with Creamed Rice is meant as a dessert but I most commonly use it as a breakfast meal. I love Creamed Rice and the Real Meal version is top notch. It reconstitutes really well, is sweet without being overly sweet, the fruit is delicious and it is filling. 

Real Meal: Apples and Creamed Rice

I get VERY sick of eating porridge (Oats/Oatmeal) all the time and I'm constantly looking for something else for breakfast. I pair this with some protein...cheese, salami or other dried meat as this meal is light on protein.  I sometimes add extra raisins to the pack because I love raisins and nuts are also a great addition.

It can be eaten cold but is best warm....

Couscous Salad:

I notice this is no longer on the Real Meal website but still available in shops. I was turned onto this by Marlee one of my tramping companions on the Abel Tasman Coastal Track back in October. She was eating these for lunch and I really liked the look of it.  It is lovely with a nutty, spicy flavor with a subtle under current of lemon and mint. This is an excellent dinner meal but it is really good for lunch as well.

Real Meal: Cous Cous Salad

 Couscous Salad is a vegetarian meal but you can pep it up with the addition of fresh/dried vegetables, stock cubes, dried meat or fish. I like this for dinner with some Backcountry dried vegetables, chicken stock and a tuna packet.

Yum!!!

Sri Lankan Curry:

This is my favorite curry from the range and I am always impressed whenever I tuck into one of these. It reconstitutes really well and the taste, consistency and appearance is just like a takeaway curry. It is mildly spicy without being hot and the flavor is deep through the vegetables and chicken in this meal.

Real Meal: Sri Lankan Curry

The meal as it stands is low on carbs so I always have this with some freeze dry rice, mash potato or a Naan bread. I just add this to the meal pack with the requisite amount of hot water and hey presto a power packed dinner meal. 

Beef Stroganoff:

This is my second favorite in the Real Meals range of freeze dried entrees. I initially ignored this one but I took a pack with me on a tramp earlier this year and it is really good. As well as the classic sauce it has pasta so this is a complete meal which requires no additional items. 

Real Meal: Beef Stroganoff

The sauce in this meal is rich and savory and it has nice chunks of meat, vegetables and spices. The pasta is a flat sheet pasta that rehydrates well. It is as tasty as any Stroganoff I could make at home and is now one of my go to meals for tramping. 

Honorable mention goes to the Wilderness Stew, Cheesy/Bacon Mash and Dal Makhani which are all good and worth a try...

Where can I buy these..?

So you ask...these meals are good but where can I buy them?

They seem to be widely available in most of the better outdoor and sports stores that sell camping/tramping equipment. Since the company changed hands they are much more visible and I have seen them in stores right across the South Island. I'm not sure about coverage in the North Island...

I like Apples with Creamed Rice for Breakfast

Here in Christchurch they are available at Hunting and Fishing, Bivouac, Macpac and Kathmandu shops. Hunting and Fishing have the widest selection and they have almost all the menu items. I have also seen them at Further Faster a really excellent independent outdoor shop. 

Real Meals have a range of entrees

They sell Real Meals in the Torpedo 7 in Nelson but not the one here in Christchurch. Some supermarkets in smaller towns like Hanmer, St Arnaud, Motueka, Te Anau and Lake Tekapo also stock them. There is a list of retailers on the Real Meals website with locations and website addresses. 

There is a list of retailers here

As with Absolute Wilderness the complete range is available online and you can order them for delivery through the Real Meals website. If you cannot find them in your local area this is your best option.

Real Meals Homepage

If you are thinking about taking some freeze dried meals on your next adventure you should really consider using a Real Meal. They are tasty, nutritious and much better than the other brands available here in New Zealand. The next time you visit your local outdoor retailer have a look at their food selection and see if they sell Real Meals. 

NB: I am not associated with this company I just really like their meals.

Rations from the Lake Daniell Trip in May

 ...food for an overnight tramping trip...

I'm going to take a look at the 24 hour bagged ration I took with me when I visited Manson Nichols Hut back in May. Once you start spending a night out camping or in a hut your food planning needs to get a bit more elaborate and this is the way I do things. 

Eating my lunch at Manson Nichols Hut at Lake Daniell

I like to bag my tramping food into 24 hour rations as I find this the easiest way to control my food usage while giving me an easy to handle all in one package. All of the items are put into a large sized Ziploc bag and then placed in my yellow food bag. Each ration holds all of the food, drinks, accessories and ancillary items I need to survive for 24 hours. 

The 24 hour ration I took to Manson Nichols Hut

The rations I took on the Heaphy Track in 2021

The food on this trip was dictated by two things. Firstly I had a number of  about to expire freeze dried meals in my tramping food supplies. I had to use them by the end of June 2022 so I used freeze dried packets for all the main meals on this trip. 

My cooking gear at the hut...MSR Windburner stove

Using freeze dried meals meant I could use my MSR Windburner stove as the meals only require hot water to added to them. The Windburner is best used to heat water so it was ideal...the 1 liter pot is enough for a freeze dry meal and a hot drink. 

Breaking down my 24 hour ration:

Let's take a look at the breakdown of all of the items I carried in my 24 hour ration pack.As I said all the main meals were freeze dried. I had one for lunch, dinner and breakfast on day two. Normally I use a mixture of freeze dried, dehydrated and fresh meals so it is uncommon for me to use freeze dry for every meal. 

My 24 hour ration as taken to Manson Nichols Hut

My 24 hour ration contained the following freeze dried meals:

Day1: Lunch

Backcountry Cuisine (BCC) Cooked Breakfast (1 serve)

Day 1: Dinner

BCC Spaghetti Bolognaise (2 serve)

Day 2: Breakfast

BCC Apple Pie (2 serve)

In addition the ration pack contains a number of other items, these were:

Knorr (Chicken Noodle) simmer soup, steak bar (for breakfast), snacks for the next day, Earl Grey tea with sweetener, accessory pack and a pot scrubber. 

Freeze dried main meals, soup, accessory pack, snacks and tea

The accessory pack is in a smaller Ziploc bag. It is universal across rations and always has:

Salt/pepper sachets, sugar sachets, 6x Aquatabs, 2x 3 in 1 Coffee sachets, Raro/Vitafresh sachet, a Cup -O - Soup, 3x plastic freezer bags.

 In addition I had a powdered Apple Cider sachet (bloody delicious!!!) I brought from an American food supplier based in Auckland. I have a limited supply of these so they don't go on every trip. The freezer bags are used for trash, cutlery storage or some other use. 

Accessory pack: salt/pepper, Aquatabs, sugar, soup, drink powders, coffee

I always carry an emergency supply of food with me on any tramp and in this instance I had a BCC Lamb Fettuccine, some instant oats, a cup of soup and some snacks all carried in a separate bag. This food was not used by me on this trip as it was there in case I found myself stuck and unable to get back to the car. 

Emergency food items I took to Manson Nichols Hut

My hot beverage of choice is Chanui Earl Grey tea and I took an ample supply of tea bags as I knew I would be spending a lot of time in the hut and would probably want a few mugs of tea. Normally I carry 4 tea bags per day with a couple of extras just in case they are needed. 

...I carried plenty of Earl Grey tea and sweetener...

Here are some better quality images of the freeze dried meals I carried on this trip including the Cooked Breakfast, Spaghetti Bolognaise and Apple Pie all made by Backcountry Cuisine...

BCC Cooked Breakfast: front

BBC Cooked Breakfast: nutritional information

BCC Apple Pie: front

BBC Apple Pie: nutritional information

BCC Spaghetti Bolognaise:front

BBC Spaghetti Bolognaise: nutritional information

All of these meals simply require hot water to be added and then left to rehydrate for 10-15 minutes before consumption

Eating my rations at the hut:

Here are some photos of me preparing the meals at Manson Nichols Hut and eating them. I had the hut to myself on the day so I spread myself out a bit wider than I would normally do...

Preparing my lunch at a rainy Manson Nichols Hut

Backcountry Cuisine Cooked Breakfast

For dinner I had the Knorr soup which I prepared on the now blazing woodburner. There were some pots and pans at Manson Nichols Hut so I used one of them. My main was the BCC Spaghetti Bolognaise...

Knorr Chicken Noodle simmer soup on the boil

My dinner gear set up at one of the tables

Time to eat my dinner at Manson Nichols Hut

I usually have instant oats for breakfast, cereal with dried milk or instant Grits but I decided to take an almost expired Apple Pie dessert instead. I have used these for breakfast in the past and they are really good. I paired it with a Jack Link's steak bar as the Apple Pie had little to no protein in it. You need the protein for sustained energy release...

Preparing the Apple Pie for breakfast

Organising your food into a DIY 24 hour ration has a number of advantages with control of food intake and ease of packing being the most obvious. It is not always the lightest option with all the accessories I carry. You can easily get by with some snacks and a couple of meals chucked into a bag and thrown in your pack. My method is probably too elaborate for most people but I have been using it for over 20 years and it works for me.

NZ Bush Adventure YouTube vlogs you might find useful: 

Backcountry Apple Pie

Backcountry Cooked Breakfast

DIY 24 hour ration packs

Routeburn Track Planning: Food

 

 Preparing for the Routeburn Track: Food

I am off to walk the Routeburn Track in two weeks time and I am starting my final preparations for the trip. I have walked sections of the track in the past but on both occasions big rain events (not uncommon in Fiordland) have scuppered me before I could finish the whole route. 

I made it as far as Howden Hut (1980's-2020) in 2019

I thought it would useful to write a series of blogs about the preparation I undertake before walking a specific Great Walk so this is the first dealing with the food I will be taking on the Routeburn. You burn a lot of calories tramping so hopefully this will be enough to keep me going. 

Conditions the last time I visited the Routeburn Track...

I also intend to write a post about the gear I will taking with me and a brief description of the convoluted transport plan I used to walk the track during Covid.

Food for the Routeburn Track:

I'm walking the Routeburn over three nights/four days which is longer than usual as I am staying one night at Routeburn Flats Hut. All of the main Great Walk huts on this track have gas cookers in them but no pots/pans etc. so you have to take these with you. I have planned a menu that will be quick and easy to prepare so most of the time I will just need hot water. 

Most Great Walk huts have cookers...Perry Saddle Hut

 I will be spending a night at Routeburn Flats, Routeburn Falls and Lake MacKenzie Huts so I will be taking three dinner meals. I will also require breakfast for days 2-4 and lunch and snacks for all four days. All up this comes to about 2.4 kilograms of food which is certainly not lite but also reasonable for 4 days. 

My food rations for the Routeburn Track

I pack my tramping food into 24 hour rations i.e. the way the military receive their rations. Everything I need to survive for 24 hours is packed into a zip-loc bag and the contents are all I have for that period. The advantage of this system is you have an easy to control amount of food for each day, it packs smaller and it is often a lighter option than carrying a big olde sack of loose food. 

A 24 hour ration I used on the Kepler Track in 2021

As this is a multi day trip in Fiordland known for random and extreme changes of weather I will also be taking a days worth of spare food. This is not a full days ration but just some items to cover breakfast and dinner in case I find myself stuck in a hut due to track closures or adverse weather. 

Emergency foods I have used in the past...

I have been lucky so far and never needed to use my emergency food but I would never undertake any trip longer that a day without carrying some. 

Now let us turn to what I will actually be eating each day...

Day one: Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Flats:

The first day is short with a 2-3 hour walk from the start of the track at Routeburn Shelter to Routeburn Flats Hut. I am starting in Te Anau and using a shuttle bus to get to the Queenstown end of the Routeburn Track. This is so I can leave my car in Te Anau for homeward transport after the tramp.

I am using the Tracknet shuttle to get to Routeburn Shelter

 I will be starting the actual walk some time at 1.30 pm so this has me arriving at the hut around 4-5 pm. If I continued on to Routeburn Falls Hut (as most people do) I would be arriving sometime between 5 and 7 pm as it is another 1.5 hours up the track. I decided in the planning stage that this would be cutting things a little fine...

Day One: Roast Lamb and Vegetables BBC

On the first night I will be having a Backcountry freeze dried meal...in this case the tasty Roast Lamb and Vegetables. I only use single serve freeze dried meals now as I found a larger two person meal was just too much for one person. Added to this is a simmer soup, drinks and chocolate for that day and some snacks and a breakfast meal for the next day. 

I have Instant Grits for breakfast on day two...

Contents of the day one ration are as follows:

BCC Roast Lamb and Vegetables, Trident Chicken Noodle simmer soup, Instant Grits with powdered cheese (breakfast for day two), Snacks for day two (Le Snak, muesli bar, steak bar), Jack Links beef stick, Whitakers Sante bar, Vitafresh (Orange), sugar sachet x 4, salt, pepper, Aquatabs, chux cloth

Weight:790 gm's 

Crackers and tuna fish for lunch on this tramp!!!

Each of these rations includes an accessories pack with a number of universal items including Raro/Vitafresh powder, 3 in 1 coffee, sugar, salt, pepper, Aquatabs (water purification), scrub pad and two freezer bags. 

My meal accessory bag included in every 24 hour ration

These are the standard accessories I include with every ration I make. 

Day Two: Routeburn Flats to Routeburn Falls:

Day two of my Routeburn tramp is a very short day...the track between Routeburn Flat & Routeburn Falls is only 1.5 hours. I will spend a goodly amount of the day exploring around the hut with a trip up to the nearby falls. I should have my pick of bunks for the night as I will probably be the first person there...

Day two: Beef Stroganoff BBC

Contents of the day two ration are as follows:

BCC Beef Stroganoff, Knorr Corn and Chicken simmer soup, porridge with milk powder/fruit/nuts (breakfast for day three), Snacks for day three (Le Snak, Nougat bar, nut mix), Jack Links beef stick, Whitakers Sante bar, Vitafresh (Orange), sugar sachet x 4, salt, pepper, aquatabs, chux cloth

Weight:760 gm's 

My food rations for the second day...

I have the Jack Links beef stick with breakfast to up my intake of protein in the morning. Porridge, bread, cereal and grits have plenty of carbohydrates and sugars but bugger all protein so you need to supplement it. Protein is the long release source of energy in your diet and you will not perform well if you are lacking in it. 

Day three: Routeburn Falls to Lake Mackenzie:

Day three is the longest on this trip and is a 5-6 hour walk up and over Harris Saddle, along the Hollyford Face and down to the hut at Lake MacKenzie. It is through some rugged alpine terrain and is the most picturesque section of this track. I will probably have lunch at Harris Saddle Shelter which is about 2-2.5 hours into the walk. 

Day three: Mediterranean Cous-Cous for diner

I have Mediterranean Cous-Cous for dinner that night...a flavored cous-cous packet with some dried vegetables, tuna fish and herbs and spices added. Cous-cous is a fantastic tramping food...lite, compact, easy to prepare but you do get sick of it after a while. The key is to give it a flavor kick with soup powder, stock cubes, olive oil, salt and pepper. 

...a BBC Muesli and Yogurt for breakfast...

Contents of the day three ration are as follows:

Mediterranean Cous-Cous, tuna sachet (for Cous-Cous), dried vegetables, Knorr Chicken Noodle soup, BCC Muesli with Yoghurt (breakfast for day four), Snacks for day four (Le Snak, muesli bar, nut mix), Haneff pate (lunch day four), Jack Links steak bar, Whitakers Sante bar, Vitafresh (Passionfruit), sugar sachet x 4, salt, pepper, aquatabs, chux cloth, scrubbing pad

Weight:410 gm's 

Day four: Lake Mackenzie to the Divide Shelter:

The last day is another big one with the climb up out of Lake MacKenzie and the trip to Lake Howden and then out to the Milford Highway. In the past you could have shortened the day with a stay at Howden Hut but alas it is no more. A landslip took it out back in early 2020...it is a damn shame as it was an awesome wee hut. DOC have no plans to replace it as there is no safe land in the immediate vicinity to build a new hut. 

Interior of the now removed Howden Hut back in 2019

I have a Backcountry muesli and yogurt pack for breakfast on the last day and will stop for lunch at the temporary shelter DOC have installed near the old Howden Hut site. I have some pate and crackers set aside for this meal and a instant soup.

My snacks for the last day of the Routeburn tramp

If I am able to get to Lake Howden then I will be able to walk off the Routeburn under my own steam. I can tuck into my emergency rations while I am waiting for the shuttle to arrive at the Divide Shelter. There are multiple seating areas, water and toilets available there.  

Emergency Rations:

So as mention previously I will be carrying some emergency rations on this tramp...partially as it is in storm prone Fiordland but also I have prior experience of the vagaries of tramping down south. Stuff happens that can make forward progress impossible. It is not a lot of food...just enough to relieve the misery of being stuck in a hut for an additional day. 

Pack four: emergency food for the Routeburn

I pack these emergency rations using the same method as the main ones but at least these fit in a medium zip-loc bag. I would also have some teabags and any other left over food to supplement this...

...my emergency rations for the Routeburn Track...

My emergency rations will be:

BCC Cheesy Chicken Mash, Instant oats, Trident Thai Noodle soup, Vitafresh (Orange)

Weight: 410 gm's

All of my food is carried in a yellow 13 liter sil-nylon dry bag...yellow is my color code for food items. Keeping your food in a larger bag makes it easier to find, easier to store and can protect the rest of your gear from accidental spillages. 

My 13 liter food bag from Sea to Summit...

I carry a 30 cm long piece of para cord in the bottom of this bag in case I need to hang my food bag in a hut with a rodent problem. If you are in a hut with rodents you have to remove all food from your pack or they will eat right through it to get to the goodies. 

Not an urban myth...I have seen it happen before!!!

Breakdown of some food accessories...

I carry a few additions to the basic ration load out so lets take a look at these.

 First up are the snacks I have for the first day of the track i.e. walking into Routeburn Flats. They are packed in a separate bag and will be easily accessible in my pack lid. I take 2-4 snacks per day on all my tramps...I try to keep these lite and packed with energy so cheese, muesli bars, jerky, dried fruit, nuts and chocolate. 

Day one snack's: muesli bar, Le Snak, nut mix...

I have a 3 in 1 coffee with my breakfast but the rest of the time I drink Earl Grey tea as a hot beverage. My favorite brand is Chanui and I will carry at least 3 teabags for each of the days I am tramping plus some spares. I do take other teas on occasion but Chanui is the one I like the most. 

Chanui Earl Grey for me thanks!!!

I also carry some Aquatabs for water purification...water at Great Walk huts is normally fine to drink from the taps BUT caution is always good. Additionally I might refill a water bottle from a stream or lake enroute and it needs to be treated before I drink it. I have a water filter but it is easily damaged by cold conditions so not good for an alpine area like this. 

I carry Chanui Earl Grey Tea and Aquatabs

I like soup before dinner and have taken to carrying packets of simmer soup for this purpose. My go to brands are Trident, Knorr and Continental. I usually enjoy these about an hour before my main meal to add some extra calories, salt and warming liquids to my tramping diet. Soup will beef up your nutritional intake for little extra weight or bulk. 

Simmer soups brands I will be carrying...Knorr and Trident

 I also carry packets of instant soup (Cup-O-Soup) with me for lunch breaks, rest breaks or as a pick me up on a cold day. They are easy to make...you just add boiled water and sipping one will make your lunch breaks more enjoyable. They are also excellent as emergency food as they are lite and take up little space. 

The mixed instant soup kit I carry...multiple flavors

I carry these soups in a separate bag which sits in the lid of my pack where they are easy to get to if required...

My cook kit on this trip...

I will be taking a lighter version of my standard cooking kit with me on the tramp including my Toaks cooking pot and Firemaple stove. All the main huts on the Routeburn have gas cookers but I like to carry my cooking kit for emergencies and for on trail tea/soup breaks. 

My standard cook kit...Great Walk edition

My cook kit will have the follow items in it:

Toaks 1.3 liter titanium pot, Firemaple TI stove, plastic Sea to Summit Delta mug, TI fork and spoon, Victorinox folding knife, 110gm gas cannister, lighter, carry bags

If I have enough water I will brew up for lunch at Harris Saddle Shelter, Lake Howden Shelter and at the end of the track. I only need a small 110 gm gas cannister for these occasions. 

I finish at the Divide Shelter on the Milford Highway

So that is the food I will be taking with me on the Routeburn Track. I may swap out one of the Backcountry meals for some Mac and Cheese as that is another meal I really like on trail. Apart from that this is the menu I will run with...