Cooking has changed somewhat as well.
Domestic pack stoves were unheard of. The few that were available came from Europe, and were sometimes dangerous to use and difficult to start. My first Whisper Lite weighed about 1/3 of the stove I had been using, and had the advantage of a detachable fuel bottle---a great help when balancing a pack.
Many of us skipped stoves altogether and just cooked on open fires. But that's become a no-no.
With the advent of freeze dried and space-age foods, cooking became primarily a rehydrating game. You didn't so much cook on a pack stove as boil water on it---one reason that stove ratings often were expressed in how much time it took to boil a quart of water.
Walk into a backcountry store nowadays and its incredible the food-prep appliances that are available. In addition to a multitude of stove designs, thee are espresso makers, and ovens, and who knows, maybe even a butane-driven microwave.
To me, that stuff belongs in a stationary camp, not in a backpack. But they sure sell enough of it, so somebody must think they're important.  |