4 3/4 Cups of trail mix goodness
Popcorn and s’mores provide plenty of nighttime enjoyment around the campfire, but trail mix is the fuel that keeps the family going, on hikes and excursions during the day. There are as many variations of trail mix as there are stars in the sky, but the classic mix is peanuts, M&Ms, and raisins. The M&Ms tend to melt in hot weather, though, so it is a good idea to substitute additional dried fruits, such as bananas, apples, mangos, or apricots.
Perhaps no other camping tradition is more memorable, as a child, than melting your own marshmallow over an open fire, than squishing it between two halves of a graham cracker along with a piece of chocolate candy bar. S’mores are a huge hit with the kids, of course, but they have such a rich tradition that they remind many adults of their childhood family camping experience, too.
Although 16oz disposable canisters are the most popular fuel source for these stoves, adapter hose are available to work with refillable propane tanks
In my last post I talked about the Coleman liquid fuel camping stoves and how that relatively simple and durable design has proven itself for several generations of family campers. Today I’ll take a look at the propane camping stoves, which have largely replaced liquid fuel stoves in popularity. Propane stoves are self-priming, which is a big advantage over liquid fuel stoves, and their propane tanks are sealed which eliminates spill and smells.
In my experience with several of these models, they are not quite up to the construction standards of the Coleman Model 425 liquid fuel stove, which has a heavier-gauge steel construction and higher-end burner assemblies. Even if you won’t be passing these camping stoves down to your children, though, they’re still good stoves that will give you years of effective service.
Liquid fuel camping stoves are available in small, single burner backpacking configurations and large two and three burner tabletop models that are suitable for family camping. Coleman is currently the only manufacturer of liquid fuel, multi-burner, camping stoves for family camping. The advent of disposable propane canister stoves has greatly reduced the interest in these liquid fuel versions, but Coleman continues to support four models.
Camp cooking is a popular topic and there are a myriad of recipes available on the Internet covering every conceivable style of outdoor cooking, from dehydrated meals requiring only hot water, to extravagant dutch oven meals made from scratch and cooked over a campfire. Camp cooking can be a lot of fun and, owing to its popularity, a lot of people must find it enjoyable. It’s important to remember, though, that if you are camping with your family for a weekend of “getting away from it all” and destressing from a hectic week, keeping your camping meals as simple and easy as possible might be more inline with your goals.