This attitude is very common among outdoorspeople. Most of us have been going out there to find seclusion and ourselves for a long time. We all want others to experience this, in theory, but not in the same place we’re doing it. Wes and I had this discussion as we slowly trolled through the first-come, first-serve campgrounds looking for a place to sleep. It is often hard to find a site, but it was ridiculous this time. And the worst part of it was that some of the people we spoke to were actually quite rude. We witnessed arguments, park rangers regulating improper parking, wildflower crushing, and frowny faces. Camping is supposed to bring out good vibes and connection! What was this all about? Don’t these people know the rules??

We ended up backcountry camping, which is an option most people don’t know about (or maybe aren’t comfortable with), and it was one of the most relaxing nights we’ve had in the park. Sunset fading to a full moon, quiet, and our own personal field of untrampled wildflowers. We cooked these hearty mushroom french dip sandwiches, adapted from this recipe, on the grill at a day use area before heading out so we didn’t have to carry much with us (since we didn’t even bring real packs).

When more people want to spend time outdoors, the need to protect more places for all of us to fit in will increase. This is a good thing! But let’s all do our best to communicate the important outdoor ethics that we know, and learn the ones that we don’t so we can keep these places wild. They belong to us all.

Fall is (slowly) taking over now, which is a great time for us to think back before we think forward to the next season. What went right? What went wrong? Did we find new places to explore more? Did we come up with any new ideas to put into practice? The answers are all yes for us. What about you?

Some things we learned:

• Maple sugar can be melted into water to make pretty perfect maple syrup that doesn’t spill in your pack. Coconut oil can be found in individual packets fairly easy, and is solid at room temperature, coming close to solving the same spillage issue for backpacking with oil.
• If you’re cooking for a crowd, this Camp Chef Explorer stove is an awesome thing to own. A cast iron griddle is, too. We’re excited about having a large propane tank so we don’t have to waste so many small green canisters, since we do so much camp cooking.
• Leave Los Angeles for a road trip north at 4:15am, and you’ll sail. You’ll be in San Francisco by 10:30am, or Tahoe by noon. This is very doable for a quick 3-day weekend trip. We’re going to start planning more camping trips around there.
• If you’re not sure how much fuel is left in your compressed gas canister, you can float it in water and it will float at the line the fuel is down to. Thank you to the Outessa participant that taught us this one!

While teaching our Campfire Cooking classes for the REI Outessa events this summer, we came up with a few recipes. The Mountain Berry Cobbler we recently posted was one, and here is another. This is a simple sandwich that reminded us how good simple can be. We used a spicy dairy-free pesto, which is a good option to have around for sandwiches in warm weather, where perishability is a factor.

We started looking at our pie irons as leftover transformers. The pesto and cheddar were reused ingredients from other meals we’d made. When we eventually ran out of these ingredients, we switched to a chocolate and Probar Almond Butter sandwich, which was also incredible.

Fall doesn’t mean camping season is over. It means you get your favorite trails to yourself. Let this beautiful season begin!

I’ve always wanted to make potato skins on the campfire, but I didn’t want the extra task of dealing with the rest of the potato. I finally devised a way to do it with no waste or second recipe. I cut the potato into thick disks, or medallions. They baked up nicely in a dutch oven in a matter of about 15 minutes. A dutch oven would do larger quantities, but I also like the idea of using a pie iron and having my guests cook up their. This would make cooking them into more of an activity, and it would be more difficult to get filled up before dinner. (It’s hard to stop yourself from shoveling too many potatoes into your mouth when you’re hungry- or ever).

I recently tested this recipe out while I was stuck in the latest “storm of the century” on the east coast (we’ve been having a lot of those lately). I was in North Carolina, which got more ice than snow. Though dangerous, the woods looked incredibly beautiful. It was as if every tree branch and blade of grass was encased in glass.

Campfire food is my favorite kind to make in the winter. No one should have to be banished away from the warmth while cooking for the rest of the group.

You can make fries out of most veggies, and they are all delicious. I love zucchini fries and mushroom fries and regular ol’ potato fries, but I really love green bean fries a lot. The most difficult part of making a breaded recipe while camping is the egg dredge. We’ve avoided that here by using chia seeds instead. They can be mixed with water to create an egg-like texture that will hold the breading onto the veggies quite effectively, and there’s no perishability or transport factor to consider.

The breading on green beans generally doesn’t appear to do well holding onto the beans (due to their tough skin), but when baked, the whole thing has the crisp coated texture that you’re looking for.

Adan is a pro fly fisherman (we’ll be demanding lessons soon), and he doesn’t just cook his trout- he smokes it. When I was growing up in Florida, I had a few lucky New Year’s parties where my best friend would show up with her family’s smoked mackerel. That was one of the most delicious things I’ve ever eaten. I haven’t even had Adan’s smoked trout, but I’m sure it’s just as delicious.

Where are you going to camp with your ENTIRE family and all your friends next year? Now’s the time to start planning (especially since the planning process requires a BBQ!) Let us know so we can be your neighbors!

The recipe also goes right along with our campaign for rediscovery of the old camping favorites. Wayne himself calls it a “Good old fashioned Nova Scotia recipe. Comfort food for sure.” This is a baked beans recipe made truly from scratch. Dried beans offer more of a bite than canned, and soak up a lot more of the sauce’s flavor. They truly take a bit more planning, but I wouldn’t call it a lot more effort.

Thanks Wayne! Hope to see you around these parts again soon.

What is a pie iron?

A pie iron is made of cast iron, and it is basically a sandwich press on a stick, made to cook directly over coals. Pie irons come in multiple shapes and sizes, and you can use them to cook a variety of things. Most recipes are some version of a stuffed sandwich, but we’ve thought up a few other ways to use it as well.

Why do I want one?

Most pie irons cook individual servings. This can be beneficial if everyone is out doing their own thing and expecting dinner at a different time. They can also help if you’ve got dietary restrictions to accommodate, or if you just want dinner to be more fun! Pie irons turn cooking into a group activity. Everyone can try their own recipe variations, and our favorite pie iron dinners always end in a cook off.

How do I use it?

Build a good cooking fire. This just means letting your fire burn long enough to build up a bed of hot coals. Preheat your pie iron. Hold it over the coals for about two minutes, flipping once halfway through. Then remove it from the heat, open it up (carefully- remember it’s hot!). Spray both sides inside with cooking spray, and fill it with ingredients.

Close the pie iron and put it back in the coals. It usually takes less than 5 minutes to cook, so it’s best just to hang out rather than walk away. Check the status of your recipe often.

There are a lot of factors that determine how long it will take for your recipe to cook. It takes some trial and error, but the errors can be corrected quickly and easily- just make another one!

How ‘bout some recipes!

Here are two favorite pie iron recipes. If you’ve got some great ideas, we want to hear about them.

Blueberry Cream Cheese Stuffed French Toast

• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, room temperature
• ¼ cup blueberries
• 4 slices bread
• 1 large egg
• 1 tablespoon milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla

In a bowl, smash blueberries into the softened cream cheese. Spread two slices of bread with the cream cheese mixture. Top each slice with another bread slice. In another bowl, beat the egg with the milk and vanilla. Dip each side of the sandwiches into the egg mixture. Coat pie iron with cooking spray and place the french toast sandwich inside. Close the iron and cook each side for a few minutes until bread is golden brown.

Stuffed Hash Browns

• 2 cups hash brown potatoes
• 1 tomato, thinly sliced
• ½ avocado, roughly chopped
• ¼ cup shredded cheddar
• salt and pepper, to taste
• pinch cayenne (optional)

Coat pie iron with cooking spray and fill each half with about ¼ cup hash browns, packing them in. Top each side with cheese. Arrange tomato and avocado on one side and sprinkle with seasonings. Close the iron and cook on each side for a few minutes until hash browns are golden brown.

Post in partnership with REI and Emily is an employee. All opinions shared here are our own.

I know that I mention what a seasonal snob I’ve become for a few things: corn and tomatoes. Even this place that has everything available all year round can’t get me delicious corn or tomatoes until it’s officially a warm weather month.

Tomatoes aren’t ready yet, but corn is at least at an acceptably sweet level. Especially when eating it off the cob. I saw a version of this salad on Pioneer woman, and thought it would make the perfect camping meal. It could definitely be completely made and jarred up at home, but we wanted campfire grilled corn and chicken, so we made it in joshua tree.

One bite will remind you of all the summer fun you get to have soon!

We got to be picky, and chose a site with a rock “hearth” behind the fire pit, where we strung twinkly lights and made the neighbors jealous. We spent the night on Wednesday, even though we had to work on Thursday, and it was fun to get a practice run before having to entertain. It gave us a chance to make a list of things we forgot, or wish we had. There wasn’t much time for a serious day of climbing, so we spent time driving through the park looking for wildflowers. The ocotillo were blooming beautifully on the west side of the park, but that was about it. But we DID get to see our first set of bighorn sheep!! Wes and I have been looking for them ever since we started dating, so it was SO exciting to finally get to see them! Of course, they were spotted crossing the road at Sheep Pass.

When we went back on Saturday, we bragged to my parents about our Wednesday experience and felt sorry for them because they’d never get so lucky. After a few little sight-seeing hikes, Dad wanted to drive up to show mom sunset at Keys View (an amazing lookout over the valley). As we were driving up the road, I turned to my left and spotted TEN MALE bighorn sheep laying down in the brush! Dad slammed on the breaks and we got the chance to photograph them with all my parents’ collection of cameras. Best day ever.

Dinner that night was pretty straightforward: hot dogs, corn on the cob, and canned baked beans. (Dirty Gourmet keeps us from eating boring old camping food very often, and sometimes we miss it). Then, the next morning, we made these quick and easy pie iron egg sandwiches. Frying eggs in the pie iron was a great idea! We could maybe have quadruple-timed the process by doing the same thing in the dutch oven, but everyone was on their own schedule that morning, so it was nice not to have to drag everyone out of bed for the sake of the early-rising hungry people. Plus, they would never have come out so perfectly round. It was like we went to McDonalds!

Potatoes were an easy choice for the wedding meal. There’s never been a potato-hating human that I’ve ever heard of, they’re easy to make ahead, and they pair well with sausages. But we’ve been trying to come up with a fancy enough option. We found this recipe first, and thought it was unbeatable. Until I made these olives. We tested them as an appetizer, and they were delicious, but they shriveled too easily in the oven. I can’t be worried about watching them while also getting pretty on wedding day, so I’ll have to do something different with olives. But using the same recipe on fingerling potatoes produced the best potatoes I have ever eaten. Super flavorful! Almost like salt and vinegar, but with more interest and a little more kick. These are perfect. Now, I just have to find bulk fingerling potatoes, and remember to buy twice as many as I think we’ll need. They’ll make a perfect midnight snack.