Hey all,

I'm doing the Katy over 3-4 days later this week (weather permitting). I'm planning on camping 1-2 of those days and am bringing my camping stove. Can anyone suggest pannier friendly eats to take? Thanks.

50

Can you buy things along the way? I don't usually carry more than about a day's worth of food with me unless the chances are really remote of getting more food within that day.

If you can cook, a bag of pasta is always a good choice to have along. I also carry things like fruit, granola bars, cookies, etc. to snack on while riding.

+1 on pasta. I take couscous as it packs well and cooks quickly. Other things I pack are jerky, instant soup, stock cubes (good for flovouring the couscous), instant oatmeal and honey. I make every effort to buy food locally or eat in a restaurant.

https://www.bakepacker.com/

Anything like pasta or rice will do you well. But be careful with the rice that you don't bring too much and weigh yourself down. If all you feel like doing is boiling water you could head to some place like REI and take a look at some of their dehydrated camp meals. Some of them aren't too bad. Other than that, I'd just say bring some fruit and clif bars.

+1 on couscous. Sometimes I take those packets of tuna or salmon, cashews or other nuts. Good energy that keeps untill needed. I use a alcohol stove so prefer things that cook quickly/simply(no simmering). If your stove is a cannister or bottled fuel then regular larger pastas and other things that come in packets for stove top prep work. I Use olive oil when it calls for butter, and bring some powdered milk in a bagy if I want to do it right. otherwise hunger seasons the heck out of things. Another thing to take, if you have a big appatite and just want bulk with little wieght is stovetop stuffing. Cheap, no hassle and really easy.
If you have a fry pan, then stir fry veggys(from grocery store earlyer in day) over instant rice/couscous, add canned shrimp for some decadence. This can be done with the alcohol or cannister stoves. If you have not used your stove much, try it in your own kitchen/backyard once or twice to get a feel for it.

One of the most important things to think about is snacks. there are sections that people refer to as the "Katy Tedium". bannanas, muffins, fig newtons ect in the handlebar bag, mostly for backup if you get hungry in the middle of nowhere and don't want to cook something.

The Katy can be dodgy this early on resturaunts that happen to be open right when you need them. there are several grocery stores, one in pilot grove(pretty sure)that you can get fresh fruit/veggys at and another, quite large, that you will see on your second day(not sure where it is exactly). that one requires a slog pushing your bike up a hill to the road and a very short trip on pavement. It has lots of stuff like asprin, vaseline, donuts and grapefruit. thats what I got there last time...

If the weather is nice, then hotdogs/brats over a campfire rocks. One of the coolest things about bike touring is making a better meal than the folks in the big RV at the roundhouse...

X2 about all the great ideas above. Oatmeal, pasta, rice, are lightweight foods to carry. There is one thing I found out on the Katy. Some of the water spigots at the trailheads don't work this early in the season. Also some of the bathrooms are locked.

It really only matters when you need to carry extra water for cleanup. If you've never gotten a bacteria from not washing your cookpots thorough enough, great for you! A couple of changes I made that helped: small [B]stainless steel[B] cookpot replaced my porous aluminum cookpot (found at a thrift store), and a website I ran accross that I really like: https://www.trailcooking.com/.

50, hope you have a great ride!! Report back!

Jerry H

On short trips that start from home (rather than an airport), I take one days meals frozen. They act as ice for keeping other things (beer?) cold and when they thaw you can heat and eat.

My favourites are stews, but I suppose anything frozen will work.

BTW, I buy small amounts of condiments, OTC drugs, etc from Minimus so I don't have to carry a jar of mayo or a tin of extra virgin olive oil.

I buy as I go, but sometimes you can't always find a place to buy, so I also carry some freeze dried meals. I like the type that you add boiling water, stir and re-seal.

I carry one luxury item, a plunger coffee maker that is also a mug. I really love my coffee and I can't stand the usual sludge I find on tour.