If you will be arriving early to your first site, and think you will have time to cook dinner over a campfire, then consider plank salmon – a true dream dinner!
Tuck a cedar plank into your pack. The cedar will only need to be portaged to your first site because after you use it you will burn it so you don’t need to worry about carrying it further.
Take frozen, vacuum sealed salmon wrapped in newspaper. (You can use the newspaper to start the fire.)
Soak the planks for as long as possible in the lake. You will need something to keep them from floating away – a rock will do.
Get a fire going and let it get down to a good bed of coals. Place the wet plank on the grill, add the salmon – seasoned any way you wish. Pack a fresh lemon if you can. You can cover them lightly with tinfoil to speed the cooking.
If you have time to get a good bed of coals, you can also do baked potatoes. Just wrap them in tinfoil and throw them into the coals, or place them around the edge of the fire.
Cook the salmon until it is flaky. Watch the planks carefully so you can catch them if they start to burn.
While you are enjoying your meal, throw the planks on the fire. You want to burn anything that smells like salmon so you don’t attract any unwanted guest looking for leftovers.
I get hungry just looking at this picture.