How many times we can say we are so excited it’s summer? Infinite. When you live in Canada, it can feel like you’ve waited forever for warm weather to get you back outside! One of our fav activities is camping! And if you’re Brigette, backcountry camping is her happy place. If you’re a car-camping lover, we wrote with all of our vegan-y tips for cooler camping with friends. But! For those of you who love getting into the backcountry, we’re talking no coolers, portaging, deep-in-the-forest camping… This one’s for you.

What to consider before backcountry camping as a vegan

If you’re familiar with rural camping, you know you can’t just throw together a bag of clothes and hope for the best. It definitely takes some planning. This is even more important if you’re accommodating a vegan diet.

1.How long you’re going for: This is super important, as it will really dictate the amount of variety (or lack there of) of food you can afford to bring – both space-wise and how quickly it will go bad. If it’s just a long weekend, then you can definitely focus more attention on fresh produce. Anything longer? You may need to look into items that are non-perishable and will fill you up, like Granola!

2. Leverage reusable bags with good seals: We can’t stress this one enough, if you have reusable, sealable bags at your disposal the world of meal opportunities. Whether you’re vegan or not, backcountry camping is a million times easier with these bags. We found a bunch on Amazon that work super well. We’ve brought Carrot Dogs and Veggie Skewers in these bags and have never had a leak!

The best part is after your meal you can clean them out and use them to store things like wet bathing suits, or leftovers. This also makes sure you don’t have a lot of garbage to throw out, and you reduce the risk of leaving wrappers behind. When it comes to being in the backcountry, it’s important to try to leave it as you found it.

3. Plan to have fresh foods first: Similar to what we said above, it’s important to really plan out your meals and put those fresh items up front. Start with those Carrot Dogs or Skewers (you won’t regret it!!), and plan for simple items like oatmeal and dried soup mix as the days go on. We also like to make burgers beforehand and freeze them. They act as a nice cold-pack for fruits and veggies, and can last until lunch on day 2!

4. Bring a reusable water bottle: We feel like this tip comes up in most articles… but we live for our reusable water bottles!! Especially when you’re in the backcountry and keeping waste down, this becomes super helpful and important. Make sure you have a good water filter though, it’s not recommended to drink straight lake water!

5. Stock up on first aid items & afterbite: Ok ok, maybe not a vegan tip, but still important! When you’re in the backcountry, even if you’re careful and don’t hurt yourself, it’s likely you’ll find some critters who may leave a mark on you. The last thing you want is to be itchy for days on end, especially knowing you may need to hike or canoe back some distance! So make sure you have all your necessities prepared, including sunscreen, itch cream, and band aids!

So there you have it! Our tips on how to backcountry camp vegan! The important thing to remember is it’s just as easy to cook some amazing meals in the middle of the woods as it is at home, but with the added bonus of some beautiful scenery!

We are so lucky here in Ontario to have some stunning places to explore, and we guarantee we always have an amazing time when we follow these 5 simple tips.

So let us know, do you love backcountry camping? Would you try it? What are some of your favourite places to camp? And scroll down to see some pictures we’ve taken of beautiful places across Ontario!