This September, John, Godfrey and I along with a gaggle of other fellows headed north of Vancouver to hike Elfin Lakes in Garibaldi Provincial Park. That day we had a lot of fun climbing to the top of an ancient volcano setting up our alpine camp and recalling dialogue from the movie True Lies (thanks John). Communing with nature and hiking 20 km through rugged terrain can build up quite the appetite. Much like career and professional success, backcountry cooking requires you to change your paradigm and adapt to new (woodsy) situations. Here are three professional tips I learned from cooking in the backcountry.
Be prepared
Sure you can hoof up a mountain carrying cans of beans, whole avocados and uncut red peppers like I did one year. Or you can pre-cut and pre-roast all the vegetables beforehand and make good use of (light) freezer bags. Thinking ahead and setting yourself up for success means you’ll be carrying less heavy stuff down the mountain. Same principle goes for preparing for a job interview, important meeting or project. While you can come up with an agenda on the fly or try to wing it when they ask you why you are passionate about their company – remember, that’s amateur hour. Think ahead, arrive prepared, and don’t bring more than you need to the meeting
Organize and communicate
I’ve learned that when you are in the back-country, procuring water, unpacking or hanging the food, prepping the ingredients, lighting the stove, cooking the meal, washing dishes, making coffee/tea (with or without Baileys) and dealing with garbage are all important and time consuming tasks. Project management becomes a pretty critical piece and so does communication. Mess it up and any number of bad things can happen including the bears eating your garbage and you keeling over as you wait 3 hours for the meal to be made. A good communicator will clearly divvy up and outline meal time responsibilities. Everyone will be on the same page and will work as part of the dinner-time crew to get the job done. This sort of collaborative approach is just as important in the workplace. If you’re dealing with a complex project with multiple moving pieces, are you clearly delineating who does what, when?
Fuel the fire
Ever tried to climb a mountain on only black coffee? We’re pretty sure our friend Phil did and he was definitely worse for-wear. When you’re in the backcountry, it is vital to give your body the energy it needs to hike for hours on end. Snacking throughout the experience is key. Making sure those snacks provide a good mix of protein (aka nuts or beef jerky), dried fruits, sugar (chocolate chips) and whatever the hell is in a granola bar is equally important. It’s all about balance and volume on the trail. While the volume isn’t the same if you’re sitting at your desk banging out a report for your boss, the principle is. Imbibing mini-snacks throughout the day is a great way to ensure you’re keeping your energy and productivity up.