Ranger Review: Mountain House Food at Lodgepole Overflow Campground
Campground Review
Located off Scenic Highway 4 in the Sierra Nevada Mountains, this small forested campground is a convenient 5 minute drive from Lake Alpine. I camped at site 13 of 30. I headed up to Lake Alpine after work on a Friday afternoon in July. None of the campgrounds in the area take reservations so I planned on trying my luck with first-come first-serve campgrounds. All of the campsite next to the lake were full by the time I got there. Because the campgrounds further east past the lake are quite a bit of a drive, I decided to stay the night in this overflow campground.
The sites were cramped and there wasn’t much privacy. I had brought my filled 5 gallon water jug and was glad I had as I never could find potable water (though I think the campground had some). The bathrooms were pretty awful. They weren’t pit toilets but rather porta-potties (Chemical toilets) and they were rather old and unpleasant. The campsite didn’t offer any bear lockers though we saw bears on our drive up the mountain. Plus the fee (25$) seemed rather steep for the amenities offered.
Overall it was an OK place to stay for a night but definitely nothing special. Its major perk is its proximity to Lake Alpine which was beautiful! Despite the numerous full campgrounds I had the lake nearly to myself (save a few fisherman) until about 10 AM. It’s a nice clear lake with good fishing. It’s not a huge lake as it took me about 45 minutes to paddle the whole length and back.
For more info about the campground, click here!
Product Review
As a Dyrt Ranger, I also get products to test and review in the field. At this campground I tested an assortment of Mountain House dehydrated meal kits including:
As a disclaimer, this was not my first go round with Mountain House meals, so I purposely chose meals that I have not previously had to try new things. Just for reference I find their Chili Mac with Beef and Beef Stroganoff meals to be rather delicious and awesome for backcountry dinners.
As a general review, all of the Mountain House meals were very easy to make and filling and most of them had a lot of flavor. The salt intake is a bit on the high end, so be aware if you generally avoid high sodium foods. They are excellent backpacking choices because they are light weight, filled with nutrition and calories, and much more exciting to eat than ramen or peanut butter. A huge benefit is that they cook quickly with minimal equipment. All you need is boiling water, a measuring cup (key to perfectly cooked meals) and a utensil to stir and then eat the contents right out of the pouch!
Now for meal specific reviews:
Breakfast Skillet: This meal includes potatoes, scrambled eggs, pork sausage, peppers and onions. I ate this as a midday brunch as I’m generally not a huge breakfast eater. Everything heated well though the eggs were a bit runny for my taste. The flavors were good and the meal was very hearty. If weight isn’t a concern I think this would go amazing in a tortilla with some hot sauce as to me it tasted like the inside of a breakfast burrito. Overall I give this meal a solid 4/5 stars.
Pasta Primavera: This meal includes zucchini, cauliflower, broccoli, red and yellow peppers, green peas and spiral macaroni in a parmesan cheese sauce. I was a bit nervous about this one as I can be finicky abuot how my pasta is cooked and I was worried how filling the meal would be without meat. This meal was my favorite of them all. It was cheesy, but not in a mac’n’cheese way and the vegetables and pasta were perfectly cooked. The excess water wasn’t a problem here because it was a saucy pasta dish. It was very filling, though may not be enough for someone who was actually backpacking. Overall I give this meal an overwhelming 5/5 stars.
Chicken Fajita Bowl: This meal includes grilled chicken, rice, roasted vegetables and black beans. This meal was actually the first one I tried. The flavor wasn’t as strong as I would want in a Mexican inspired dish. The beans, veggies and rice were all cooked perfectly. I particularly liked the roasted veggies as they kept a lot of the flavor you would expect from roasted vegetables. The chicken however was only OK. One larger piece was still dry and uncooked in the middle. The rest generally lacked flavor. I added quite a bit of hot sauce to help this meal. I imagine adding it to a tortilla and making it a burrito could have also helped. Overall I give this meal an average 3/5 stars.
Raspberry Crumble: DESESRT!! Yummm. This meal consists of raspberry sauce with chocolate cookie crumbles. This meal was quite sweet and delicious. It cooked very well and became a warm jam of sorts. There was a separate bag of very crushed cookies. I think I would have preferred larger cookie bits or possibly bringing my own cookies next time to eat with the sauce as after a while eating what is basically jam can be overwhelming. Despite this I found it to be very delicious and give it a solid 5/5 stars.
This will definitely not be my last trip with Mountain House meals. They are lightweight, convenient, nutritious and generally delicious, plus they’re very easy to clean. I highly recommend them to campers looking for an easy no fuss meal and especially for backpackers looking for delicious low weight meal alternatives.
