  Don't let backcountry adventuring rob you of a grand Thanksgiving dinner. Prepare it on the trail - a real backcountry Thanksgiving feast fit for a (trail) king - and enjoy the best of two worlds!And you don't even need to worry about a gruelling preparation routine or intense after-meal clean-up either. All you need is a heavy metal stew pot, a shovel, a small package of your favorite foods, and a little planning before you leave home.
Sounds easy doesn't it? And it is.
The greatest burden in your backcountry meal plans is the pot. Who wants to pack along a heavy pot for an active day on the trail? But with the one exception, your backcountry Thanksgiving feast is as easy as digging a hole, lighting a fire, and walking away from it for half-a-day while you join in a morning hike or a swim in the stream.
Go ahead and climb that boulder or hill, or float the rapids. When you return to camp a few hours later, the feast is ready - and so is your appetite.
While the kinds of food you take along for cooking can be as varied as your taste, I find the following menu a particularly easy and simple one that provides more than enough to be considered a real "feast" in the woods.
 I like to use a small, lean pork roast, but you can just as easily substitute any pot roast, or even a small broiler-hen (or turkey). Wrap the selected meat in a small freezer bag and place (bag and all) it in a larger freezer bag. Pack the outer bag with ice (or a small slab of dry ice) for safe keeping. This will provide you with several hours of guaranteed fresh meat if you're on a day-adventure. You can prolong storage by hard-freezing the meat before packing. This gives you up to 24-30 hours of freshness.In another small bag, load up with your favorite vegetables. I prefer small new potatoes, small onions, a clove of garlic, carrot pieces and the like. But you can substitute with your favorites.
Season your veggies with salt, pepper, etc., before you leave the house. You can also season your choice of meat, provided you're not making an all-veggie feast.
Now, simply pack away your meal in the bottom of your trail kit and forget about it until you reach a destination in the back woods that looks appealing as a place to feast on your Thanksgiving fare. About 4-6 hours before you plan on feasting, select a flat ground area with soft soil, if possible, and use your trail shovel to dig a hole in the ground about three feet square and three feet deep. Line the hole with as many flat rocks as you can find. River rocks make perfect lining material.
Once the hole is dug, mix dry and green wood in the hole and set it ablaze. About a half hour later you should have large chunks of glowing, red embers inside your hole. With a shovel or stick, spread the coals to the sides of the hole. Tie the lid of your pot (full of all you goodies now) down securely and drop it into the middle of the glowing embers. Push the coals tightly around the pot, throw a sheet of foil over the top, and fill the hole back up with the same dirt you dug out. Pack it tight and walk away. You're finished - until the dinner hour.
Take a few hours to explore your grand outdoor dining area and, when ready (at least 4-6 hours), return to the site of your underground oven and dig it all up. The smokey taste of the meal is perfect for the trail, and the clean-up is a breeze, especially if you eat it right out of the pot.
In spite of its simplicity and apparent ease, this method of backcountry cooking can you provide a new dimension in outdoor adventuring. Try it using various types of food. And enjoy!
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Rio Grande Valley