In late November 2007, the Vermont Expedition Society embarked on their Trans-Vermont Expedition, linking the Canadian border to the border of Massachusetts.

Traveling the state almost completely by class 4 roads, or “ancient roads” as they are classified by the Vermont government, the group hopes to bring to light the need to retain these roads for public use.

The State of Vermont has given the local governments until July 1, 2009 to identify and declare any unmapped corridors. If these roads aren’t mapped and declared as byways by 2015, they will discontinued.

The Vermont Expedition Society took up the cause to help map and substantiate these byways realizing that maintaining these byways for public use only helps build the community. Also, they show that responsible off-highway travel is both obtainable, and quite the nice daily outing for families.

The trip was an overwhelming success. The journey took 4 days, and traveled 286 miles. For more information and photographs, visit the website of the Vermont Expedition Society.

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How do you carry the tools you need for preparing your meals outdoors? Our considerations are a little different than those of the back backing group, who share our need for cooking out of doors. While weight should be a priority for us, we can still indulge in some of the “luxuries” that they can’t. Propane powered grills, propane ovens, complete knife sets… you get the idea.

One priority consideration should be storing your utensils so that they do not bounce around the inside of the cabin. They should be secured and knives sheathed to prevent damage and injury.

During my years in professional kitchens, I transported most of my tools in hardware toolboxes. Below is a picture of one of three I used to use.

Now this is a bit extreme for vehicle dependent expeditions. The room needed for this can be better utilized, not to mention the excess tolls that aren’t needed and the box itself is heavy, rust-prone and just outright dangerous.

In my experience, the best solution is to utilize a pelican case for your camp hardware. They come in a multitude of sizes, seal against the elements and are pretty much indestructible. Below is a shot of the case I use to carry my knives, cookware and such in. I also use a case to hold all of my dry (non-refrigerated) ingredients.

My knives are kept in a knife roll(we’ll discuss knife selection in another article). Each knife also uses a edge protector. The reason for this is two-fold: It keeps the blades from getting damaged by banging into one another, and it also protects from injury. I keep some other essential tools in the roll also — microplanes, whisks, thermometers, spatulas, peltex, cooking spoons and so on.

Also inside the tools case is cookware — assorted camping style pots and small saute pans. Eating utensils, cups, wraps, foils, bags and mixing bowls. I keep two different sized cutting boards and some quarter sized sheet pans.

Oh, and lets not forget a stick blender…. because I just have to have omelettes in the morning outdoors!

Don’t forget the power inverter!

Enjoy!

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