Does anyone have any experience with leftovers?  Particularly rice?  I am wondering what the shelf life is stored overnight in a food pack, inside of a small tupperware container.  I like the calorie to weight ratio in Vigo Beans and rice packages, but they are too much for me to eat in one sitting.  And, if I thought I could eat the second half of a package safely the next morning (cold), that would cut down on weight in my pack and keep me from having to cook in the morning.  

I thought about sinking the tupperware in a lake 5 or 6 feet down...but I'm not sure what to do.

GSI Fairshare Mug
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The crappiest mug around.  Your coffee will be ice cold before you take your first sip.

However, it's great for leftovers and also for pre-hydrate action.  Put your dehydrated dinner in there at lunchtime.  Add some clean water, less than you need to totally re-hydrate.  Seal it up, enjoy your day.  Come dinner-time top it off with boiling water.


Dehydrate your own food and manufacturers' concept of portions are no longer a problem.  Better food too.  Lighter food too.  Pick up an American Harvest, good quality.  I've had one for near 15 years that I wish would break so I can get the newer neater model.

gfy_paddler wrote on Jul 15^th, 2010 at 5:58pm:

Does anyone have any experience with leftovers?  Particularly rice?  I am wondering what the shelf life is stored overnight in a food pack, inside of a small tupperware container.  I like the calorie to weight ratio in Vigo Beans and rice packages, but they are too much for me to eat in one sitting.  And, if I thought I could eat the second half of a package safely the next morning (cold), that would cut down on weight in my pack and keep me from having to cook in the morning.   I thought about sinking the tupperware in a lake 5 or 6 feet down...but I'm not sure what to do.

I'd use one of those inexpensive screw top type storage containers that GLAD or ZIP-LOCK makes. Put your leftovers in and put in WET canvas bag,  like you would Fish fillets for transport. Put under top flap of food pack or hang separately. Your rice will be just fine overnight and even in to the heat of the day IF you re-wet canvas bag. I use a bank coin/money bag, works just fine.

PS, For what it's worth, try too get Rice/Bean mixes with Brown rice instead of white. Much more nutrition for the same weight. Complex carbs are a better choice than simple carbs (white rice).

;D

burn 'em.

The only time I want to see what I ate yesterday is at the crapper.

Left overs? What leftovers? Best place to keep food is in your belly. More seriously, we burn them too.

Even rice, beans, and potatoes can cause nasty foodborne illnesses if stored at temps of greater than 40 degrees for just a few hours.  Doesn't happen often, but it is not a chance I'm willing to take.  I've had food poisoning on a canoe trip (from a pre-trip pizza) and that's an experience I don't care to repeat...ever!

I swear, Old_Salt constantly suggest saving leftovers when we trip together just because he like to watch my skin crawl when he says it.

I like eating the Vigo dishes too.  When I solo, I just divide the package in half so I cook only what I can eat.

Snow_Dog wrote on Jul 17^th, 2010 at 3:46am:

Even rice, beans, and potatoes can cause nasty foodborne illnesses if stored at temps of greater than 40 degrees for just a few hours.  Doesn't happen often, but it is not a chance I'm willing to take.  I've had food poisoning on a canoe trip (from a pre-trip pizza) and that's an experience I don't care to repeat...ever! I swear, Old_Salt constantly suggest saving leftovers when we trip together just because he like to watch my skin crawl when he says it. I like eating the Vigo dishes too.  When I solo, I just divide the package in half so I cook only what I can eat.

and that's from a restaurant manager...

Our dog takes care of all the left-overs.  Also does a great pre-wash on the pots and pans.  LOL.

Another vote here for dividing the packages and cooking half.  Get a small dietary scale, weigh the contents out at home, put in ziplock bags and label.  I do this for all packaged noodle and rice dishes, dry soup mixes, etc. as well as my cake mixes, pancake mix, etc.  Write any instructions and nutritional information on the bag with a sharpie.

Then you only cook what you will eat.  No leftovers.

I'm in the "no leftovers" school as well. A little upset stomach (or worse) is not worth the trouble.

In the last few years I've dried my own food and I've gotten better at judging the portions required to minimize leftovers. Spartan 2 is on the right track in judging the amount required and how to store -- though I prepare instructions and put them inside the ziplock bags rather than write on the outside.

I cut the directions off the box, if there is one. Makes for a dry/handy fire-starter, sooner or later.

We travel late in the year so don't worry about spoilage unless we get a super heat wave.  We have left-over food like pasta pesto stored in a zip lock bag if anyone wants to supplement a meal.  

One note of caution that I heard is that the best way to attract a bear is to burn food.  If its still allowed, I understand bear hunters bait bear that way.  I heard a story from turn of the century Duluth where a ship carrying sugar burned in the harbor and the next day there were ~50 bears in town.

starwatcher

"One note of caution that I heard is that the best way to attract a bear is to burn food."

well, maybe, if you load your canoe with sugar and burn it.  Doesn't seem like there would be much difference between burning the leftovers and cooking the same food originally  (mmmmn bacon).  In a hot fire, the leftovers would probably burn up pretty quickly - and compared to what, burying the leftovers - that would also likely attract bears if it wasn't buried good and deep.  I odn't normally have leftovers - if anything, it would be fish remnants from fish that was cooked over the fire - don't see that burning thr remains would make that big a difference.  

The difference is the residue.  With cooking you then cleanup.  You should try leaving fish or bacon residue in the fire overnight and see what you attract.

starwatcher

An interesting debate (as are most debates where each side thinks they are right).

I am very much inclined to burn any trash and/or leftovers in a nice hot fire. The thought never occurred to me that I might be wrong. (It's still not occurring to me  ;D ). But I might be! I mean, who really knows.

The thing I do know is that a bears nose is a true marvel. Burn your leftovers and that nose will likely tell him it's not food any longer. Try and bury it.....well, that's REALLY asking for trouble. You can carry it with you, chuck it in the lake, or just leave it after you break camp.

The last three options are not really options at all, are they? That pretty much leaves burning. UNLESS, of course, there is a fire ban.......now things get interesting don't they? Did you think ahead?  

Fire bans & regulations aside, I seriously doubt bears are attracted to ashes.  Ashes are all that's left when I burn food.  Sometimes it's really neat looking.  A whole fish skelleton burned through, but intact.  One touch with the poker and poof, it's dust.

I'm also kinda nutty about peoples' fear of bears.  Black bears at least.  Grizzlies & Polars are a different matter & I've never had to worry about them.  Black bears are wussies and you're more likely to be hit by lightning & win the lottery on the same day than be worried by a black bear.  There are more reasonable fears to have about being out there, including squirrels chewing holes in your food bag.

20 years tripping.  1 wild bear sighting.

Yea well, have one sniffing through the tent inches from your arm and you might sing a different story when the hair on the back of your neck actually goes up. That happened to me just this spring in Algonquin. If we would of had an empty snickers wrapper in the tent things may have turned out different.

20 years backpacking/tripping.....my black bear encounters
1) two close encounters with blacks in Glacier. One I had to chase out of the food eating area and one just off the trail. I made a mistake with the one on the trail by yelling at it. I put two unseen cubs up a tree. Yes the blacks are less protective but still a mistake
2) 3 separate sighting in Quetico
3) had food swiped and had bear approach tent in BWCA
4) laid siege for a surprisingly long time in Algonquin this past spring. Tracks around our tent, dry bags batted around and the freaky sniffing by my arm
5) bear swam in front of my canoe (excellent!) on my French river trip this fall

It is not silly or foolish to have respect of things that can deprive you of your life or at the very least make life complicated as in the case of a bear taking your supplies. I am equally "fearful" of camping under a dead tree. Rather unlikely it's going to fall on me right? I mean I would have a better chance of hitting the lotto........

If this guy was solo he would of had a rough go of it.
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Wow!  I often wonder what I'm doing wrong/right to have such a dirth of bear sightings.

Respect is one thing.  Worries need to be metered against likelihood, that's all I meant.

I would add that whatever it (legally) takes for one to feel secure out there is totally ok for them.  If you need a rabbit's foot, then by all means carry a rabbit's foot.

I've directly known as many people who have had that tree fall on them as who have been hurt by a bear, 1 each.


Back to leftovers.  Often it's an eyes bigger than stomach issue.  Solo I eat A LOT less than if I'm with others.  Burn 'em, zip-lock 'em, stick 'em in a Fair Share Mug, pack 'em out, eat 'em later.  If you get caught more than twice, take a good look at your portion control & knock it down 1/3.  It's easy to go a little hungry, or munch a piece of toast.

Quote:

laid siege for a surprisingly long time in Algonquin this past spring. Tracks around our tent, dry bags batted around and the freaky sniffing by my arm

First year I went solo, I did a trial, first time run into Algonquin park. After putting in at the south entrance, I soon realized that to get anywhere the solitude I was used too in the Q, I had to get at least a couple of nights from the day/overnight paddlers.

I busted butt and wound up having to stay at a designated spot that I would of never stayed if I had a choice. It was raining hard, getting dark, so I set up camp fast and built a small but cozy fire under my tarp.

The site was in a low lying area, near a swamp section of lake. While using the facilities, I saw fresh bear sign. I hang my pack and keep a clean camp, so after a nightcap, I called it a day.

I was wearing a head/swear band and had hung it on the tents fly pole when  I first got into camp. I woke to a noise outside of tent.
It was the sound of something big moving fast, and the death squeal of something being caught and devoured :'(

The moon was up, and as I lay there listening, I could see the shape of a bear outside the tent. I could hear that deep guttural breathing they make, and in that moment I knew it was close and curious.

Earlier in the trip I had lost my bear spray when I walked my canoe up a creek in knee deep water. I stepped in a hole and nearly fell down. The spray was in a waist belt holster and somehow it came out. I never knew it until much later in the day.

So I debated what to do ? I had my survival knife and a tin cup in tent. I thought about going outside and scaring the bear off, but then decided that with clean camp and fresh kill, the bear was just being curious.

After a few anxious moments, my fear subsided and I fell into a deep but restless sleep. First light, I was up and  while taking down the tent, I saw huge fore-paw prints right outside my tent door! It appeared the bear had been sniffing my headband. Apparently my scent had put it off :P Must of been a "she"  ;D I headed for the portage out of lake which was only a few hundred yards away.

At the portage I met two young Canadian guys, who were coming into the lake. They asked if I had seen the big bear on the portage landing?
They were both hunters and said it was one of the largest bears they had ever seen. I told them my story and we had a good laugh.

I bought a bigger bear spray and carry it in a modified case that can't come open accidentally.

I don't let the fear of a bear encounter deter me, but I make sure that  I have a little extra something to even the odds somewhat.

IF I was in the BW or where they allowed firearms, I'd carry one for sure. Self defense/survival tool, signaling device, it is a multi-purpose tool that has proved it worth since man entered the wilderness.

Things I do to bait bears

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..............I take 2 five gallon cans of bait every time I go. I use only Hostess twinkies, cupcakes etc and bread. I stay away from rotten meat. I get my Hostess from the Hostess store. They usually sell me the old stuff really cheap. I will also try and get day old doughnuts. I put the two cans of food in the drum then I take and turn the hole down to the ground to keep birds out of it. Then I take The biggest logs I can get and cover  my can in a teepee type style. I do this so that at a distance I can see if my can has been hit. Then I take big marshmallows and put them on tree branches and sticks and all over the place. Then I burn honey. I take 1 gallon of honey and an empty coffe can and a single propane burner. I pour a couple cups at a time in the can and burn it. Right at the end of the burn you will get thick black smoke. That is what you are after. That smoke sticks in the trees and every time the wind blows it will blow that sweet smell all over the valley you are in. At the end of the burn you will have a black honey comb in the bottom of the can. with your pliers just turn the can over and knock out the honey comb making sure not to start a fire. And then you burn some more. I do this till I have burnt the gallon up. .............

Sounds fun to me. Part of the excitement would be the anticipation.....wondering if anything is coming in or not.

Thanks for sharing.

Leftovers don't normally burn very well or smell very good if you try so the goal is always no leftovers unless something will keep. If not there's always the communal leftover pile:
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That brown thing on top is a slab o bacon. Yellow is three pounds of butter. Must have been there for a week or three before we got there....

My wife and I were squatters at that site for probably three nights (hey it was our honeymoon) with no bear sightings so it must be a better plan than burning right? Hey, we didn't have a problem....

What you do is up to you but what you experience may be, in large part, up to luck and those who used a site before you.

Preacher wrote on Sep 27^th, 2010 at 8:47pm:

Wow!  I often wonder what I'm doing wrong/right to have such a dirth of bear sightings.

The outfitter I use has a map showing problem bears sightings each year for the past several decades.  Problem bear incidents have decrease significantly over the years due to educating campers on how avoid bear problems.  This includes keeping a clean campsite and proper disposal of food scraps.

starwatcher

I'm sure Intrepid Camper and CanoeFly will agree. I have no problems with leftovers, thanks to Bernice.

I agree. And I miss Bernie. Give her a hug for me.

CanoeFly