You Are What You Eat

3 Dec

Backpacking is not a hobby of “classic” luxuries. The scenery is breathtakingly beautiful and the experience of living in that particular moment as you absorb the world around you is something that no IMAX theater can ever truthfully convey. More often than not, as in always, there has been a grueling hike that takes you to the place of monumental beauty where you currently find yourself. It is during these moments, experiencing the surrounding world of impossibly towering peaks, pristine meadows, and glacially-tinted serpentine rivers, that you can truly come to understand the importance, dare I say necessity, of Top Ramen.

I could not believe when we started the trip that there was even an argument as to why we should carry the “Nourishment of the Godstm”?! It is second nature, to me at this point, that someone will be carrying enough of the “goods” so that every evening we have an appetizer before dinner. I realize that most “normal” folks, including the company I kept on the trail, considered this to be a ridiculous notion. “I ate ramen in college”, is usually the response to the addition of ramen to a trip. I understand this argument, however it is an argument without merit. If you are a backpacker, you are by definition, not “normal”. Most “normal” folks would not leave the comforts of home to sleep, uncomfortably in the woods, but that’s why we backpackers are AWESOME! Haha. Ramen is kind of like that, not necessarily something you would eat on a regular basis, but good goddamn it has it’s moments of absolute, cloud clearing, brilliance.

The food that has been developed for backpacking over the last 30 years is incredible, the fact that you can choose between Chili Mac and Pad Thai is honestly a little ridiculous. My early memories of camping involve the unholy beast that is Hamburger Helper, specifically “Beef Stroganoff” which I suppose is awesome if you’re starving and crave powdered milk and Milwaukee’s idea of taco seasoning, but does not under any circumstances, as their tagline implies, “Make a Great Meal”, but I digress. Ramen is the backpacking food of choice to me for a few reasons; it is light, it cooks quickly, and it provides you with both carbohydrates and electrolytes. I serve it only as an appetizer to dinner and it is absolutely the champion of backpacking apps. Think of it this way, you’ve just finished an 8 hour hike, you’re exhausted and setting up camp, and someone hands you a cup full of spicy (always carry a vial of cayenne pepper) noodles in piping hot broth. It is impossible to beat. I have 4 converts from this last trip alone who were extremely vocal unbelievers prior to our dry run hike. I challenge you, if you are an unbeliever, to bring it on your next trip and prove me wrong.

Ramen is a luxury item…and one of the few luxuries that I refuse to backpack without.