Books, Bites, and Sights

October 16 – 18, 2025

Bites: The Camping Pancake

For this post, I want to focus on a keystone food in my diet: the pancake.

Over my fall break from school, I took two days to solo explore Great Smokey Mountains National Park and Fontana Dam. Fall leaves, winding roads, crisp air, and stillness. Thursday morning, I drove down the Tail of the Dragon along US 129, famous for its 318 curves in just 11 miles, to the Shuckstack Tower trail near the Fontana Dam. Thursday night, I stayed at the Fontana Village Resort & Marina campground by the trout-filled river in my hammock. Friday morning, I drove up the Foothills Parkway towards the Ramsey Cascades trail. After my hike, I went to the local Foodland and then headed off to the Elkmont campsite in Great Smokey Mountains National Park. At the campsite, I hastily but easily set up my Camp Chef Everest 2-burner stove and made myself a stack of pancakes.

Why the pancake?

Because of all the reasons: cheap, quick, delicious, versatile, nostalgic, packable.

Making it happen, ideas, suggestions:

• Step one: buy the mix. While this can be where you spend next to nothing on a $4 box of Bisquick pancake and baking mix, with my dietary needs I opt for the $8 bag of Arrowhead Mills organic gluten-free oat flour and waffle mix. One bag makes about 20 medium-sized pancakes, so in terms of bang for my buck, this is still a budget-friendly (and belly-friendly) option, especially in today’s economy.

• Step two: build mix with water- and oil if you have some. Skip the egg. Your pancake may be less fluffy, but when camping, less is more. No cooler, no problem. Dealing with ice, bleh. Originally I never dreamed of an eggless pancake, but my boyfriend is allergic to them, so out of necessity, I learned to bake and cook without them, and while there was a learning curve, I’ve come to find that eggs aren’t always necessary, and honestly they can be more of a hassle than they are worth.

• Step three: add it on, dress it up. Classic style? regular ole maple syrup. Going hiking later? smother in peanut butter. Feeling fancy? do like I did in my photo dump below. Buy a $4 bag of frozen fruit, add a bit of water to the skillet after making the cakes, boil, and mash. Boom a simple, made from scratch fruit syrup in minutes.

• Step four: enjoy the process and product. As simple as pancakes may seem, what can go wrong, sometimes will. Uneven, burnt, falling apart, or sticking to the pan. Just take a deep breath and know that they will still taste yummy, even if they look a mess. Pancakes were one of the first foods someone showed me how to make myself on the stovetop. I still treasure the fond memories of my granny’s guidance and patience as I learned to mix, pour, and flip the cakes with her before Saturday morning cartoons – unknowing that she was tossing my burnt, crummy pancakes to the dogs.