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Cooking over an open campfire

The Well-Fed Backcountry Adventurer: Easy Trail-tested Campfire Recipes Inspired by 1920s Mountaineers
by Bryan Thompson

Toronto: Canadian Expedition Heritage Society, 2024
$7.99  /  9781068946202

Reviewed by Paul Geddes

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On the 2018 Mystery Mountain expedition, we packed enough bread to last only one week of the five-week trek. Thereafter, we intended to bake our own bread on the trail and packed a large 60-pound (27 kg) bag of flour, a gallon (3.5 litres) tin of butter, and a gallon tin of lard. By the end of the first week, it was evident the weight of our supplies was slowing us down. 

-Bryan Thompson

On a mountainside, in a backcountry hut or in a fully supplied kitchen, no matter how rudimentary the supplies he has at hand, Bryan Thompson is known for his cooking skills. A seasoned chef, Thompson can whip together a memorable meal for a small or large group of hungry adventurers. In 2022, Bryan received the Alpine Club of Canada’s Don Forest Service Award for his many years of volunteer work with Canada’s mountaineering community.

Author, historian, and mountaineer Bryan Thompson serves up the annual celebratory dinner at the ACC Wally Joyce Bon Echo Hut, located on the shores of Lake Mazinaw, Ontario. Photo Alpine Club of Canada, Toronto Section

Thompson also has an infectious flair for historical reenactments. Within the fifty pages of his first published cookbook, you will find unique hearty dinner recipes passed down from early Canadian guides and mountaineers. With a passion for Canadian history, Expedition Leader Thompson shares recipes he and his team have perfected while recreating trips of Conrad Kain’s first ascent of Bugaboo Spire in 1916 and Phyllis and Don Munday’s first explorations into the Mount Waddington area in 1926.

This collection of recipes provides practical tips for both comfort food and exotic backcountry cooking experiences. Whether cooking a complex meat stew as Conrad Kain did for his guided clients in 1916 or sharing a simple dessert recipe introduced by Phyllis Munday on the summit of Mount Robson in 1924, readers will enjoy following the recipes and improvising to suit their own tastes.

Thompson and his team have devoted years of research into bringing these stories to life through reenactments. Accompanying each meal in the book are a few introductory paragraphs explaining the origins of the recipe and why it resonates with the author, including stories of hilarious mishaps along the way. A photograph of Thompson cooking in the field is followed by a detailed list of ingredients and the methods to follow for a successful outcome. Whether you are on a summer backpacking or canoeing expedition or a hut-based winter ski-mountaineering week, cooking over an open campfire or a compact camp stove, there is a recipe to whet every appetite. 

Don and Phyllis Munday were the British Columbia celebrity mountain couple of the 1920s, doing a great deal to encourage a mountaineering community in the province. Phyllis, beyond being an excellent mountaineer, writer, and photographer, contributed much to the collection of backcountry recipes that made alpine adventures all the more pleasant. Photo Alpine Club of Canada

This is a fun and informative cookbook that will connect camp cooks to the land. Its compact size encourages novice or experienced adventurers to carry it along on their backcountry trips. Sharing the cooking chores with family or friends at the end of a hard day of physical exertion builds camaraderie and provides enough memories to last a lifetime.

Backcountry cookery, benefiting from the experience of history. Photo Ivan Petrov

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Paul Geddes at Thumb Spire, Selkirk Mountains, in July 2018

Paul Geddes is a Life Member of The Alpine Club of Canada. In recognition of his contributions to mountain culture he has received both the Silver Rope for Leadership and Distinguished Service Awards. Paul enjoys researching mountaineering archives and maintains a personal mountaineering library. Recent writing includes the retrospective article “Remembering Leon Blumer, 1925 – 2022” and a book review of Catherine Moorhead’s recent biography, Mountain Guru: The Life of Doug Scott. [Editor’s note: Paul Geddes recently reviewed a book by Greg F. Naterer for The British Columbia Review.]

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The British Columbia Review


Interim Editors, 2023-26: Trevor Marc Hughes (non-fiction), Brett Josef Grubisic (fiction)
Publisher: Richard Mackie


Formerly The Ormsby Review, The British Columbia Review is an on-line book review and journal service for BC writers and readers. The Advisory Board now consists of Jean Barman, Wade Davis, Robin Fisher, Barry Gough, Hugh Johnston, Kathy Mezei, Patricia Roy, and Graeme Wynn. Provincial Government Patron (since September 2018): Creative BC. Honorary Patron: Yosef Wosk. Scholarly Patron: SFU Graduate Liberal Studies. The British Columbia Review was founded in 2016 by Richard Mackie and Alan Twigg.

“Only connect.” – E.M. Forster



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