About the Site
Our Motto: "Do not take what you do not like to eat."
The Long Way to backpacking bliss......
Like most backpackers, when I got into backpacking, I thought that eating freezedried meals was the only way to go - they were light weight, they packed ok in the sense that one could grab a couple packages for a trip and be done, and were easy to make. Except for being very pricey, having little flavor and making one's stomach not feel so good. I started dreading dinner time - for some reason all the dinners started tasting the same. And costwise, freezedried was too expensive as I went out more often.
So....I started cooking on the trail. And that was even worse! I hated having to clean pans, using so much fuel up to cook on windy nights. Spending an hour in the evening cooking and cleaning when I was tired was not fun. I also had become tied down to campsites that had an adequate water supply - so I could do dishes.
One day, about 6 years ago, I saw mention of freezer bag cooking and I wondered how that would work for me - and for the most part I have never looked back. It is the best of both ways of cooking - it is fast, it can taste very good, you can have so much variety and it is affordable. The food is very packable - and can be a way to lighten your pack weight.
Best of all, it has made it so I can have what I want for dinner, and my son can have what he likes, and we eat at the same time. It has simplified my outdoor life so that I can spend more time being out there. The amount of gear I carry for my kitchen is a shadow of what I used to carry.
In fall 2004, a
hiking partner, Rainrunner and me got to talking and realized we needed
to broaden our food & meals on the trail, and come up with
more recipes...and make them as gourmet as we could. At the time, if you did FBC, it was usually standards like mashed potatoes and stuffing. So, we
started coming up with new recipes for our weekly hikes-and trail
testing every one of them in the wilds. The rules were a stove, a
tea kettle or small pot, a freezer bag with the food and a spoon. The recipes came fast. We opened our eyes and saw how many products could be used.
We hope you enjoy our online cookbook of recipes and ideas.
~Sarah and Kirk
About Us
Simply put, we love being outside. Kirk has been backpacking for a number of years, and loves to kayak, Mt. bike and showed me that offroading could be fun and still respect the environment. I love to be outside, be it walking, hiking, backpacking, snowshoeing or going offroading with Kirk. Ford? He gets dragged along on everything, and usually will report he had fun. He grew up in a jogger stroller and has been hiking beside us since he was just over 3. Kirk got me into seeing the "light" and going comfort level UL (carrying just what you need to have fun and not suffer!).
This website was a way to give back to others for all the learning I have found on the internet. The book came out of it, and then came our entry into running a cottage gear company. A big thank you to all of you have supported our dream!
Take your kids, take your dogs, take your mom and dad while you have a chance-but most of all: go outside, and breathe in the smell of the Earth. Be it a nature trail that takes 15 minutes or a thru hike of 6 months, just experience it.
In memory of my parents, thank you mom for making me take you to the Hoh Rain Forest so many years ago. You gave me a love of hiking when I needed it most. To my dad, thank you for showing me why Montana truly is Big Sky Country.
Sarah in the Olympic Mountains. All of us in the North Cascades, Wa. (2002)
Sarah on the PCT, summer 2006. Sarah on the PCT, Summer 2006.
Sarah in Seattle Park, Mt. Rainier NP. Ford & Sarah in the Olympic Mountains.
Central Cascades, Wa. Ford & Kirk in the Olympic Mountains.
Sarah on the Wonderland Trail. Ford & Kirk snowshoeing at Mt. Rainier NP.
Sarah at Meany Glacier, Mt. Rainier NP.
Kirk & Ford near the Olympic Coast. Ford snowshoeing at Rainier.
Our trail car:
1993 Mercedes Benz Diesel run on Biodiesel. She has been incredible fun to take to the mountains.
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In The News!
Backpacker Magazine, December 2007. "Be An Ultralight Gourmet" article. 
Sex in a Tent: A Wild Couple's Guide to Getting Naughty in Nature Our website and book are featured on pages 65-66 & 160 of Michelle Waitzman's book.JPFreek Adventure Magazine. In their food section on page 20. (Flash Site)
Make Your Own Gorp article in the Seattle P-I newspaper. A nice mention of our website at the end!
WTA Make Your Own Backcountry Food A number of our recipes were included in the May 2006 WTA Magazine. (PDF file)
Louisiana Hiking Club Book review.
Gear The Experts Use Mentioned in the stove section.
TrailsFest 2007 On our cooking presentation.
The Tender Foot's Guide To Roughing It was in the Bay Area newspapers in California. We were mentioned in the article.
The Restless Reader in The Arkansas Democrat Gazette had a review of our book.
A favorite brand of sauce mixes Sarah uses in recipes for trail cooking is Simply Organic. Recently they put a couple of our recipes up on their site for some of our Tater Tuesday recipes: Pesto Nut Mashed Potatoes & Alfredo Mashed Potatoes. Also included was a favorite of ours: Fajita Couscous.
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Causes We Support & Sponsorships
Leave A Trace
Dedicated to helping bring in support for trail groups and trail work.
Washington State Trails
A non profit that helps maintain the trails in Washington State, bridging the gap between the heavily underfunded NP and NF. They publish a great trail magazine as well. We donate personally and are a corporate sponsor of WTA.
Mountains To Sound
A non profit helping to restore and preserve the greenbelt from the Puget Sound to Eastern Washington along Interstate 90.
Sponsorships:
We have recently started sponsoring. For more information, see our sponsor page.
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Contact Us:
We can also be reached via snail mail at:
Bay Street Communications, LLC
Attn: Sarah & Kirk Kirkconnell
PO BOX 556
Maple Valley, Wa. 98038
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