July 2018 - Page 2 of 2 -

When I was little I would marvel at my parents’ ability to pack a few rubbermaid containers and a camping stove only to have it unpacked to reveal a full camping kitchen. I couldn’t understand how they had managed to pack every utensil, gadget, and piece of gear necessary to feed a family of six outdoors for an entire week. I always wondered how they managed to think of everything.

I remember when Katie published her van camping post detailing her canvas bag of cooking gear and again I thought, that’s it? That’s all you need? After a lifetime of car camping and four years packing the camping kitchen myself, I can confirm that yes, that’s it. Creating a starter kitchen for a camping trip is pretty darn easy. It’s a shame it seems so intimidating.

Camp Kitchen Supplies:

Cooler
Stove + all necessary accessories
Fuel
Rubbermaid container, basket, or canvas bag – something to store it all in
Aeropress
Frying pan
Medium sized pot (I actually leave this at home a lot)
Dishcloth or oven mitt
Water jug
Plates, bowls
Mugs/cups
Utensils
Paring knife + Chefs knife
Big tongs
Spatula
Can + Bottle opener
Matches/lighter
Trash bag or two
Ziplock or two
Roll of paper towels
Little cutting board
Tin foil
Dish soap, sponge, and one hand towel for drying

That is it! That is all that’s in the box. If I have that list, I know that I can cook basically anything I pick up at the grocery store. Overtime, your car camping kitchen will shift to fit your needs, maybe you use exclusively bowls instead of bothering to bring plates along. Or maybe you drink wine not coffee so you lose the Aeropress, but add silicone tumblers. Maybe you add a table to your kit. Whatever you add or subtract, let me know in the comments.

Hiking the Hoh River Trail to Blue Glacier is an epic weekend adventure and one I haven’t stopped thinking about for a full year. The route is an out and back trail and comes to 37 miles round trip with about 3,700 feet of elevation gain. The highest point on the trail is at 4,300 feet where you’ll stop to eat lunch and gaze at the big Blue Glacier. The Hoh River Trail starts in a temperate rainforest, progresses to an alpine meadow, and then arrives at a dramatic Blue Glacier.

There are plenty of websites that will give you the ~~play by play~~ step by step of this hike, I won’t do that, but I will tell you why you should absolutely schedule this into your summer, give you a packing list, and menu, and any other helpful bits.

You Should Definitely Hike The Hoh River Trail Because…

It isn’t crowded. Walk fives mile in and the crowd diminishes. You will see a few dozen people past the ten mile mark, but they’re all as committed and awesome as you are.
The variety of landscapes are outstanding. Temperate rainforest. Subalpine meadow. Subalpine meadow basin. Montane forest. Mothafckin’ Blue Glacier.
It’s an epic two-nighter and an even more enjoyable three-nighter.
You can climb around on enormous trees, take a cool dip in the Hoh River, and then hike through snow on your way to the glacier.
It’s the perfect summer hike – not too hot and definitely not cold.
Water is plentiful and honestly you don’t even have to poop outside – there are several outhouses on the trail.
You’re hiking up close and personal to a glacier, but it isn’t a technical hike. The hardest part is probably taking it slow down the ladder (shown in the photo below).
The trail is extremely easy to follow.
There is opportunity to see wildlife, haaaay, mountain goat!

If You’re Doing it in Two Nights – Do This:

Hike as far as you can on day one. We started quite late and ended up hiking in the dark for a few hours, but we made it all the way to Lewis Meadow. You could even hike further than that to really set you up for success on the Glacier day. On day two, we left everything we had at the campsite except for water, warmth, and lunch. You could take your things with you, drop them at a campsite further down the trail and then continue on to the glacier, but we really liked our initial campsite and we wanted a shorter day (11 miles!) on day three. Day two was loooong, but the benefit of an in and out trail is knowing exactly what you’ll have to hike once you turn around and head back, so there were no surprises. Also, since you hike up, up, up to the Blue Glacier, the second half of day two is all downhill until dinner time.