Drying veggies or making jerky is fun, and allows you to have a superior product in some cases. One thing I don't get though... Why are folks interested in drying their own veggies or making their own jerky for touring? In my experience it just doesn't make sense to take much food from home. For an overnight trip maybe, but on a tour of even a few days it makes sense to buy food daily or at least frequently. I guess that you could use mail drops from home if you wanted, but doubt it is worth the hassle and the postage would cut into any savings.
Well, this is only for a short trip, and I don't know what the situation is like in America, but wherever I look in Australia jerky only comes in small packs (50-100g) and is usually priced so that it's around AU$70-100 a kilogram! I doubt it could cost me anywhere near that to make, especially if I use the cheapest lean meat I know of; kangaroo
