The Cookbook for the Backcountry

People planning backcountry expeditions no longer need to sacrifice tasty meals on the trail-thanks to a new edition of the best-selling guide to outdoor cooking, the NOLS Cookery. The fifth edition of the book is edited by Claudia Pearson, rations manager at the National Outdoor Leadership School based in Lander, Wyoming. Pearson, who has worked at NOLS for 25 years, revolutionized the art of backcountry cooking with her innovative approach to keeping students and instructors at the school well fed in the wilderness.

The latest edition of the NOLS Cookery has important information on backcountry nutrition, along with new, field-tested recipes. Backcountry enthusiasts eager to treat their tastes will find eight new recipes in the book, including Darn Tootin’ Black Bean Chili and Hummus Among Us. The book also highlights the “tried and true favorites,” Pearson says, like Gado-Gado Spaghetti.

With a new chapter dedicated entirely to backcountry nutrition, the Cookery provides essential information for wilderness travelers craving a healthy diet on the trail. Based on up-to-date research, the new edition also includes nutritional analyses for all the recipes. Pearson collaborated with Mary Howley Ryan, M.S., R.D., who runs Beyond Broccoli Nutrition Counseling & Education in Jackson, Wyoming and Katie Wewer, M.S., R.D., a nutritional consultant in Layton, Utah.

The new book is a bit longer-with 25 more pages than the previous edition-but Pearson says it’s still pack-friendly. “We went through and updated everything,” Pearson says. “But the book is still small enough and handy enough to carry into the field.”

In addition to the new nutritional information and recipes, the NOLS Cookery also covers menu and ration planning, packaging, fire preparation, stove and open-fire cooking, site maintenance, and an update on water treatment.

With close to two million meals prepared in the wilderness, NOLS speaks with authority on the art of outdoor cooking. Pearson says the information can apply to all backcountry trips. “It is a very usable book and it creates a hands-on learning experience that fosters creativity-that is the success of our rations program,” she says.

Nearly 2,000 copies of the book have already been shipped, according to publisher Stackpole Books.