Flameless Cooking Meals That Heat Themselves Without Fire Are A Tasty Alternative In Tinder-Dry Backcountry

Backing off on stream fishing during this summer’s drought has become a noble conservation mission among many of the region’s anglers.

But going cold turkey on visiting the mountains would be more than this outdoorsman could suffer even during the most prolonged heat wave and forest fire season.

A little creativity and a few innovative products have helped keep my summer camping plans in some sense of order despite the restrictions enacted to keep a handle on this season of snap, crackle and burn.

Two weeks ago, Montana was declared a disaster area, with several forests closed to public access to help prevent more fires. Some streams have been closed to angling to conserve fisheries that are struggling for survival in waters that had become uncommonly low and warm.

Much of Idaho has been struggling with the drought, too, although fewer restrictions have been issued.

At the minimum, campfires have been banned from Riverside State Park in Spokane to the most remote wilderness areas throughout the Northwest.

Montana took the precautions a step further in those areas where public access is still allowed by temporarily banning the use of any open flame, including gas or propane camp stoves.

Fishing restrictions and closures on some of Montana’s most popular streams have cost flyfishing shops and river guides money. But the guides say they are willing to do their part for the fish, knowing that stressing and killing fish today will cut into their profits for years to come.

Major streams closed to fishing include the Jefferson, Big Hole, Smith, Blackfoot, Bitterroot and Clark Fork. Angling on the Missouri River is restricted to mornings on 35 miles from Holter Dam to Cascade.

River trout can’t take the stress of fishing pressure in addition to low water flows and warm water temperatures, guides say.

Garry Stocker, owner of Montana Fly Goods Company in Helena, said he is glad the state enacted the river restrictions and closures. Because of closures in other areas, Stocker said he felt the Missouri was seeing even more fishing pressure than usual.

“I wish they would close it totally,” he added. “It can’t hurt for everybody to swing a golf club for a few weeks.”

Some trout fishers have shifted their attention to bass, walleye, kokanee and other reservoir species that have not been similarly affected by the drought or fishing restrictions.

Montana officials have said the restrictions and closures will remain in place at least until the rivers see seven consecutive days of reduced water temperatures and increased stream flow.

Most anglers can live with that. September’s likely relief is not that far away.

However, the Forest Service rules prohibiting use of stoves, has been a hot issue in the smoky Montana backcountry, where the lack of a hot morning eye-opener has brought some wilderness outfitters to the brink of bankruptcy.

“With weather as warm as it is, having cold meats for supper and salads and cold vegetables is not that big of a deal,” said Chuck Blixrud owner of the Seven Lazy P guest ranch on the Teton River. “But people do like a cup of coffee in the morning. We took along instant coffee. It will somewhat dissolve in cold water.”

The task of providing a comfortable and sanitary wilderness camp for a large group of people traveling by horseback is difficult without a heat source, leaving some outfitters with little choice but to cancel their scheduled trips.

Tempers are getting hot.

“I firmly believe there is no reason why we couldn’t use a propane stove to cook up some coffee,” said Sally Haas of A Lazy H Ranch near Choteau in a recent story in the Great Falls Tribune. “It is 34 degrees back there (in the Bob Marhsall Wilderness) and it is damp and dewy.”

“I’m very sympathetic to the outfitter who says he has years of experience and is perfectly capable of managing cooking on a propane stove,” said Steve Morton, the Forest Service regional wilderness and outfitter specialist in Missoula.

“They’re caught up. Our river outfitters are even more so. Imagine them set up on a river bank within 10 feet of the water… and they can’t use a propane burner.

“But in the heat of battle, we don’t make changes. We’ll talk about this after the season is over and establish policy for next year.”

Meanwhile, backpackers and hunters have been able to be a little more versatile in coping with restrictions that won’t be doused until a prolonged period of rain soaks the crunchy landscape.

Rather than cancel a planned hike into the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness last weekend, I looked into no-flame eating options. For example:

* A hiker with a filter or purification tablets for the essential intake of water can travel for days on no-cook foods such as crackers, peanut butter, bagels, jerky, dried fruit, gorp and carrots.

* Taboule salad mixes found in the grains section of any supermarket can be prepared in a plastic bag without cooking. Taboule is a staple item in our hot-weather camping menu regardless of camp stove restrictions. The mix combined with tomato, cucumber, lemon juice, a little olive oil and pita bread makes a satisfying lunch or dinner.

* Self-heating meals developed primarily for the military have gone mainstream to provide a gourmet option to flameless cooking.

I have avoided the self-heating meals in the past for several reasons. They are expensive. They are heavy compared with traditional boil-and-eat backpacking foods. They result in considerable packaging waste. And, in all but the most extreme conditions, using a small backpacking stove to prepare hot meals simply makes more sense.

But these were extreme conditions that my daughter Hillary and her friend, Martha Koeske, were hiking into on Aug. 18.

The first cool weather front since June was moving into the region, yet smoke continued to billow from several forest fires within a few miles away as we bounced up the rough road toward the Cabinet Mountains Wilderness.

Wind direction and rocky terrain made our hiking area near Noxon, Mont., reasonably safe from existing fires.

Indeed, 99 forest fires were burning on the Kootenai National Forest alone that day. A little chill in the weather wasn’t going to ease camping restrictions.

Hot foods weren’t necessary for survival, but we knew the temperatures could be nippy at our high-altitude destination. This was a perfect situation for sampling self-heating foods.

The trail was hot and dusty, and cold foods were all we wanted during the day.

Temperatures were comfortable for plucking huckleberries and plunging into the brisk waters of a high-mountain lake. But as we returned to camp at sunset after bagging a 7,700-foot peak, Montana’s first cold night in weeks breathed a chill over our bodies.

On a rocky ledge with an open view of a forest fire spreading up a ridge a few miles away, I set out three self-heating meals: A beef, gravy and mashed potatoes meal by HeaterMeals as well as chicken-pasta parmesan and five-bean casserole meals by Alpine Aire.

With the outer packaging removed, these meals are identically packaged, suggesting that they come from the same plant.

The meals are adaptations of the flameless ration heater (FRH) ZestoTherm Inc. manufactures for the U.S. Army. ZestoTherm, which originated the heater, has manufactured more than 100 million food heaters used for the military’s MRE (Meal, Ready to Eat) field rations.

Alpine Aire offers a entree line that appeals slightly more to gourmet as well as vegetarian tastes, while HeaterMeals leans slightly more toward meat-and-potatoes menus.

These meals require no refrigeration and have a shelf life of about two years.

Both products involve a prepared meal in a sealed plastic tray coupled with a chemical packet that begins heating when mixed with water.

Activating the Alpine Aire meals is as simple as pulling a string, which opens the internal water packet.

HeaterMeals and similar Hot Pack meals use virtually the same process, except you must manually tear open the enclosed water packet and add it to the chemicals.

Martha and Hillary held their cold hands over the meals as they magically began to steam. A mere 20 minutes later, they were wolfing down the dinners like wolves on their first kill in weeks.

The chicken-pasta parmesan received top ranking, but the other two meals were a close second.

“Anything hot would taste good tonight,” said Martha as she turned tail toward the tent and the warmth of her sleeping bag.

Minutes later, we peered from the tent with wide eyes and satisfied stomachs at the irony of the season, as the fire crested the ridge a few miles away with the flame-throwing fury of a fire-breathing dragon.

This sidebar appeared with the story: HOT MEALS Food without fire

Prepared meals coupled with chemical heating devises can be useful for truck drivers and hunters as well as backcountry enthusiasts who want hot food in areas where use of campfires and camp stoves is prohibited. These products are packaged under several brand names, including.

* Alpine Aire backpacking foods, the most convenient products to use in the field, are available at some stores in the Spokane area, including REI and Mountain Gear. Cost is $7 per entree.

* Hot Pack meals, which require opening the enclosed water packet and adding to a tray to activate the heating chemicals, are available in Spokane at the General Store. Cost: $6 per entree.

* HeaterMeals, similar to the Hot Pack meals, apparently are not currently available in area retail stores, but are sold in truck stops in 49 states. They also can be mail-ordered by phone at (800) 503-4483 or on the Internet at www.heatermeals.com. Cost with shipping charges is about $5 per entree.