Cooking in the West

Western movies often portrayed the camp cook as a cranky drunk. I think this stereotype evolved for a darn good reason, they had to be cranky and/or drunk to survive! Camp cooking is such a fine and pleasant misery that I'd probably do it free gratis just for the adventure. However, that does not prohibit me from complaining about the job--especially now that I have pretty much retired from wilderness camp cooking.

The only job description for a back country camp cook I was ever given came from a packer/guide, whom I will refer to by his initials, Guy Gravert. "The cook rides in the back and g...