Book excerpt: This latest edition of the original—and best—natural foods backpacking cookbook features a wealth of new recipes and mouthwatering classics, as well as the most current information on cooking with today's lightweight foods and high–tech equipment. This unique cookbook brings together the culinary expertise of a Cordon Bleu chef and the wilderness knowledge of a professional backcountry guide to provide more than 180 trail–tested recipes for delicious, natural, and easy–to–prepare meals for backpacking, hiking, and camping. Since Sierra Club Books published the first edition of Simple Foods for the Pack in 1976, there has been a revolution in backcountry cooking. Today's lightweight stoves and kitchen tools make cooking in the wild easier than ever before. And with the ubiquitous availability of fast–cooking natural foods, the modern adventurer has tasty alternatives to expensive pre–packaged meals. Focusing on these natural foods and the latest equipment, this newly revised edition offers hikers gourmet taste at every meal—from Oatmeal Hotcakes for breakfast, to homemade "nutrition bars" for the trail, to Beer Fondue back at camp. The wide variety of menus and the expanded guide to planning, packing, and preparing food makes cooking in the backcountry as easy as High Mountain Pie.