I’m flying to Utah next week with a friend to climb at Indian Creek. I used to live near there, and I’m super-duper psyched to get back and spend some time!

Since we’re flying in, we’ll rent a car, and hit Moab on the way down to pick up food, water, and other necessities. Then it’s remote car camping way out in the desert. I love The Creek – the climbers are all so passionate about what they do, and the landscape is gorgeous. The climbing is world-class, and renowned for what’s called “splitter” cracks – vertical, parallel-sided cracks that demand good technique and a whole-body type of climbing. It’s a special breed of climber who falls in love with Indian Creek.

DSC01072

Car camping that’s not quite car camping…

Since I started AIP and recovered enough to take outdoor trips, my trips have either been full backcountry style, or car camping where I drive from home. The food prep has been pretty clear and simple:

  • backcountry trips: light dehydrated meals.
  • car camping: meaty meals cooked ahead and frozen; veggies prepped; throw it in a cooler and go.

This trip will be car camping, which if I lived near where I’m going, would be super easy – I’d make my meals ahead and bring a cooler. But since I’m flying into Utah for this trip, that game plan isn’t going to work because I don’t have a proper kitchen. I could dehydrate all my food and bring it on the plane. But who wants to car camp and eat dehydrated meals the entire time? Car camping is supposed to be all about luxury and sloth. Extravagant meals prepared on your tailgate. No concern whatsoever about weight or efficiency. I consider car camping an art.

Although Moab has numerous food resources, I don’t want to make it all fresh in camp when I get there. Dealing with the meats in hot sunny weather (hot. sunny. weather… those words make a Pacific Northwester swoon!) means you want proper sanitation, which takes plenty of water for hand and dish washing. Since we’ll be hauling 5-gallon water jugs out to the desert, I don’t want to waste water.

Part of my reluctance to buy fresh meat or eggs there is that I am reactive to products from animals that have been fed wheat or soy, and I don’t yet know where to resource local products that will work for me.

And finally, I’ve climbed enough in Indian Creek to know that your body is so toasted after a day at the crags, you just want to roll into camp, make a simple meal with minimal prep, and get to that lawn chair STAT. Then watch the sun set the red sandstone cliffs alight with the amber evening glow.

At-home-style AIP food prep just isn’t part of my game plan for this trip!

Hybrid game plan

Game plan in a nutshell: make some dehydrated meals at home to cover some bases, and buy as much fresh food as I can in Moab. We’ll have to buy a cooler there, but I don’t mind. This is my first car-camping-but-not-really-car-camping trip on AIP, and I need to make sure I don’t strand myself in Moab with nothing to eat. Which makes me laugh – Moab is a rockin’ tourist town with all sorts of great restaurants… for everyone else. If we had more time there, I’d root out more resources, but this trip came about last-minute, and we only have a few days. Or if I knew an AIP person in Moab with a kitchen… hey, anyone out there live in Moab? Call me! Just kidding. Sort-of.

Tomorrow: menu planning and local resources

So. That’s the prelude to what I’ll post this week. Tomorrow I’ll post about researching local resources, what I expect to find in Moab for food, and my list of food items to make at home, and buy in Moab.

After that I’ll post about my menu and how I’m navigating the food prep – I’ve found that when making dehydrated food for a multi-day trip, the planning and coordination can make your head spin if you’re not super organized. Because of this, I’ve become a faithful user of the Excel chart – to line out what needs doing when, so I can maximize on my dehydrator and prep time, ie: this dish has meat and veg, that dish only veg, and if you can coordinate your prep, it’s much more efficient.

Alright – check in tomorrow and I’ll share more about the trip, and how I’ve organized my preparation! In the meantime, here’s a shot of Bridger Jack Mesa in the early morning light:

Bridger Jack Mesa

For all you climber types: yes, there are lots of climbs up there. Multi-pitch desert splitter heaven. And some off-width hell-rides too. And some scary star-drive bolts that wiggle in their holes.

Disclosure of Material Connection: Some of the links in the post above may be affiliate links, meaning if you click through the links to vendors, and purchase a product, those vendors may pay me a small percentage as commission, without affecting the price you pay. I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”