GORP or Trail Mix
1 cup shelled, roasted peanuts
1 cup raisins
Customize by adding other nuts, seeds and dried fruit, such as: almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, sunflower seeds, banana chips, dried papaya or pineapple chunks, dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries, dried apples, apricots, coconut, yogurt-covered raisins…etc.
Other ingredients, such as dry cereal, granola, pretzels, chocolate chips, m&m’s, miniature marshmallows, tiny crackers, etc. can be added, as well.
Just mix all ingredients together in a bowl and store in sealed container or ziploc plastic bags in cool, dry place.
Keep in mind, some things don’t keep as well as others. For real on-the-trail use, you will need to consider the climate and how you will carry your snack when selecting ingredients and containers. For example: chocolate will melt in hot climates and warm hands; marshmallows can grow hard; crackers and cereal can get slightly ’soggy’ when in with moister dried fruits. Plastic bags take up less room in pockets, but make sure they are durable and well-made enough that they don’t easily rip or fall open.
In the old days, some of the First Nations peoples of North America - particularly in colder climes – used to carry a trail mix with them in leather or hide ”pemmican pouches”. “Pemmican” was made of a mixture of pounded up dried meat and fat, and often dried berries, as well. Incidentally, the word “pemmican”, or “pimîhkân”, comes from the Cree language.