[pct-l] To Cook or Not to Cook - HYOH

[Mtnned at aol.com (Mtnned@aol.com)]

Indeed, there are merits to a cookless menu, and if I were going out for a  
short period of time and wanted to travel as simply and light as possible, I  
would consider it.
 
However, as I hike to camp, I enjoy cooking and the whole experience that  
comes with it.
 
At the end of the 25-mile day, with the sun going down and the bugs  
swarming, I throw the pack down, clear a tent space and pitch it on the run,  chuck 
the pack inside and dash off to the lake for water.
 
Upon flying through the door and zipping it up, I kill all the 'skitters,  
spread out my pad and bag, throw on my down jacket and booties, and fire up the  
stove.  With great anticipation of joyous smells wafting from my pot, I  
prepare my meal all wrapped up in my sleeping bag while looking over the maps  for 
tomorrow.  Mosquitoes swarm against the netting near the stove and I  relish 
flicking them away when not stirring my meal.
 
Essentially the meal itself, simply the one-pot affair we all know, is  
enjoyed from anticipation to digestion!  The pleasure of the eating is  obvious.  
At this point I'm ravenous and look forward to consuming my 4-man  meal of, 
say, tasty beef stroganoff.  But its hot, relaxing, soothing as it  goes down and 
puts a smile on my face.  Even the clean up is fun when the  pot or cup can 
be licked clean and beard-dried with one sweep!
 
Pot tucked aside and water nearby, I settle asleep purring.
 
Morning is much the same, conducted from the sleeping bag, a hot start gets  
my motor running and body warmed from the inside before I pack up and venture  
out into the cold, early morning mists.
 
There is a time and place for traveling light and fast, like in the desert  
or on summit bids. Five months, weeks, or days of nothing but cold, hard food  
doesn't sound like fun to me.
 
I like the camp experience and that is part of what I look forward to  at the 
end of my day while pounding out the miles and enjoying the  scenery.
 
In the end, HYOH!
 
Mtnned