I have ate at Trail center many times and have never had a bad meal. I see they have dehydrated camp food for sale. How does it compare to all the other brands out there. It sure looks good on their web site!

i see they finally have more info about them now. before, they didnt even list portion sizes or cooking times.

have you checked out cache lake foods?

Its very good. I haven't tried other brands but I have tried these, and they are awesome.

I've had their camp food. It's pretty good stuff.

Love the garlic mashed potatoes. It goes great with fried walleye. They only offer one serving size which serves 4 to 6. So I just cut the portion in half for my wife and I.

We have sampled some of their Camp Chow when we were at the restaurant and it was good. We bought some, and will be trying the mushroom soup and the mac and cheese when we are on our trip this next week. I'll report back after our return. :-)

quote kanoes: "i see they finally have more info about them now. before, they didnt even list portion sizes or cooking times.

have you checked out cache lake foods?"

Yes, cache makes some pretty good stuff, will have some of it in the pack also.

It looks like a real nice meal. But from what I saw, most require several pots/pans to cook up, and I don't pack that much cooking gear.

it's all good, and it's made right in the area. tried some freeze-dried asparagus and corn... awesome! easy prep, and there is nutritional information available.

quote Mocha: "it's all good, and it's made right in the area. tried some freeze-dried asparagus and corn... awesome! easy prep, and there is nutritional information available."

i think their foods are dehydrated, not freeze-dried.

either way, it's good stuff! i'll double check next time I eat there, do some sampling :)

quote kanoes: "

quote Mocha: "it's all good, and it's made right in the area. tried some freeze-dried asparagus and corn... awesome! easy prep, and there is nutritional information available."

i think their foods are dehydrated, not freeze-dried."

I was just on their(Cache Lake) website, and from what I see , you are right. But I can't find if their packaging is two servings or one.

I am excited to find dumplings! But I don't want to be overrun by dumplings on a solo!

we were talking about trail center camp chow, not cache lake foods.

sorry, I should have specified TC camp chow. however, I do like the cache lake foods. the great thing about these products is that they are made IN MN by Americans! if you have time, visit with both the companies and find out how they make their foods.

Where can you purchase this yummy stuff?

quote Dbldppr1250: "Where can you purchase this yummy stuff?"

Look up Trail Center Lodge, you will see "Camp Chow"

quote walllee: "

quote Dbldppr1250: "Where can you purchase this yummy stuff?"

Look up Trail Center Lodge, you will see "Camp Chow""

google cache lake foods

I would suggest both trail center and cache lake are mostly dehydrated, not freeze dried, the distinction I'm making is wheter they just have to be rehydrated - like most Mountain House, Richmor, and others where you just add (cold or boiling) water and mix and let sit - or have to be "cooked" - like at least some of the Cache Lake and it appears some of the Trail Center.

I just spoke with Charlie at TC (CAMP CHOW)and she said the asparagus and corn are freeze-dried. just pop them in your mouth and eat!

the other packages you have to had boiling water.

Sarah at TC makes the best food to eat there and for taking in the BWCA/Q trips. It is all made local and the best goes into it. You can sample at TC before you buy too. She has some samples right there.
Have also used Cache Bay. Great too. Variety is the spice of life.Just MHO.I use on line for CB and personal shopping for CC.

I have tried the CL pan fried bread. Very tasty!
I'll have to try some of more these products from both vendors.

Haven't sampled anything I DIDN'T like, but the Mac & cheese is especially good! Actually, it's much better than the mac & cheese they serve a TC.

Cache Lake foods look intriguing. I wish they sold it in larger portions like a #10 can.

quote Mocha: "I just spoke with Charlie at TC (CAMP CHOW)and she said the asparagus and corn are freeze-dried. just pop them in your mouth and eat!


the other packages you have to had boiling water."

i stand corrected. first time ive been wrong about anything this year. ;-)

Hummmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm LOL

web i just got back from a 8 day solo to ogish. report to follow when i rest up. perfect weather, sometimes you get the breaks. i ate hawk vittles, i have had cache lake on many trips, but the hawk vittles were less sodium and very tasty. get the snuggle, it will speed up the cook time, look at the website and you will know what i am talking about. i am a fan of richmoor foods also, lower sodium again.

quote bwcasolo: " web i just got back from a 8 day solo to ogish. report to follow when i rest up. perfect weather, sometimes you get the breaks. i ate hawk vittles, i have had cache lake on many trips, but the hawk vittles were less sodium and very tasty. get the snuggle, it will speed up the cook time, look at the website and you will know what i am talking about. i am a fan of richmoor foods also, lower sodium again. "

About the "Hawk Vittles," have you tried the Southwestern Chili? I see it has TVP instead of meat. I've been eating a lot of meat substitutes in the last few years and some are very good and some are tough to swallow!

quote ozarkpaddler: "

quote bwcasolo: " web i just got back from a 8 day solo to ogish. report to follow when i rest up. perfect weather, sometimes you get the breaks. i ate hawk vittles, i have had cache lake on many trips, but the hawk vittles were less sodium and very tasty. get the snuggle, it will speed up the cook time, look at the website and you will know what i am talking about. i am a fan of richmoor foods also, lower sodium again. "

About the "Hawk Vittles," have you tried the Southwestern Chili? I see it has TVP instead of meat. I've been eating a lot of meat substitutes in the last few years and some are very good and some are tough to swallow!"

It's spicy enough to disguise that you aren't eating meat. I just sent Hawk a big order.

quote Dbldppr1250: "Where can you purchase this yummy stuff?"

Not to worry Dave we know the path to Trail Center well. You and I will be within a few miles of there at the beginning and end of our trip. A quick stop in should be easy to arrange. You won't regret it.

I also like the Hawk Vittles, but have not tried the chili.

quote Mocha: "I just spoke with Charlie at TC (CAMP CHOW)and she said the asparagus and corn are freeze-dried. just pop them in your mouth and eat!


the other packages you have to had boiling water."

The directions on line for some of their products say cook for 10 minutes. To me that means probably dehydrated, which is why I suggested "mostly dehydrated". I'm sure the vegetables are probably freeze dried. Google "dehydrated vs freeze dried" and a lot of answers. I liked this one: DEHYDRATED vs. FREEZE DRIED FOOD PRODUCTS
and this youtube is cool (I'm in love!) Freeze-dry vs. dehydrated.

Lots of youtubes on home freeze drying.

Hey, nothing wrong with meatless meals, as long as they are done right. The only dead animal tissue I consume is from creatures that live under water. :-)

I not familiar with "Hawk Vittles", but looking at their online catalog, I'd be interested in giving them a try. I notice they have numerous meatless entree's and several with shrimp. The Shrimp Jambalaya looks interesting.

I'd appreciate any feedback from those of you that regularly consume "Hawk Vittles". In particular, the shrimp and meatless entrees.

Hans Solo

Hi George - I was curious if any of these (C L or T C) can be looked at or purchased in St Louis. I usually see Mountain House but not those brands.

BillConnor said..The directions on line for some of their products say cook for 10 minutes. To me that means probably dehydrated, which is why I suggested "mostly dehydrated". I'm sure the vegetables are probably freeze dried. Google "dehydrated vs freeze dried" and a lot of answers. ."

Thank you to the OP for the info on Trail Center foods...and now Hawk Vittles...awesome! I am looking forward to giving them both a try.

I dehydrate my own meals and supplement our menu with Cache Lake. We haven't tried anything we haven't liked from them.

Not all dehydrated food is unseasoned or requires a long cook time. I make my own eggbake that is cooked & dehydrated, after rehydrating, it needs to be heated about three minutes. Cache lake mentions most of their items are 8-10 minutes, soups are 20. Their wild rice salad is zero cook time, just rehydrate-its yummy. If buying bulk dehydrated food like corn, green beans, cooked ground beef...then it's unseasoned. If its a prepared meal, it's seasoned & cooked. They don't make the distinction in the article for some reason. I dehydrate my own veggies and disagree with this-"Dehydrated items such as peas, corn and green beans do not rehydrate as well as freeze-dried". I think they probably mean it takes longer to rehydrate..not the same as does not rehydrate well.

Get your stuff online here:

Cache lake foods


Trail center campchow

Hawk Vittles

quote Spartan2: "We have sampled some of their Camp Chow when we were at the restaurant and it was good. We bought some, and will be trying the mushroom soup and the mac and cheese when we are on our trip this next week. I'll report back after our return. :-)"

We liked the mac and cheese well enough, it was rich and creamy. But it is really noodles and cheese sauce, not macaroni, and not all that much better than what you can get in a grocery store, IMHO. Took about ten minutes to cook, one pan, and was easy. Tasted very good. Two average-sized servings.

The mushroom soup is not a thick soup, has a creamy taste, and quite a lot of several kinds of wild mushrooms. A bit salty for my taste, but most prepared soups are. It cooks for about ten minutes also, and makes four average-sized servings if it weren't your only meal item. It was tasty, and we enjoyed it,