Hints for meal planning when you are packing in short distances.

Here are some ideas to reduce the load (weight and space) when you are not camping next to the car but you are not backpacking either.

- Avoid milk and OJ. Gallons jugs are heavy, take up valuable cooler space, and are often not finished. Drink water. Bring powered drink mixes if you want something else.

- Limit the number of cans and jars due to weight.

- Try dried foods such as soup mix (instead of cans), noodles or rice (plain or just-add-water flavored packets).

- Limit the food that needs to be in a cooler so it will fit into one small or medium size cooler. Carrying a full-sized ice chest is not fun.

- Limit the cookware (number of pots, skillets, etc.) you need.

- Coordinate the meals so you do not have to use different cookware at each meal.

- Cooking over the fire, on a campfire grill for example, minimizes the amount of cookware and propane you need.

- We will heat water over the fire in the large coffee pot. We can all use it for hot drinks and meal clean up. Take advantage of it.

- Bagels do not get squashed as easily as loaves of bread.

- Leave room in your personal pack for some crew gear.

- If you need a stove and you can get by with one burner, consider a backpacking stove. The troop has several. But remember they are on or off. There is no flame adjustment.

- Repackage food to take up less space. (If the package it comes in takes up more space than necessary, take the food out and put it in a something else.)

- Do not take a whole bottle of ketchup/mustard/mayo. Save extras packets from restaurant take-out.