Mountain House Farts

Joined
Feb 29, 2012
Messages
55
Two years ago, I had to wash my Western Mountaineering sleeping bag because the ferocity of the MHF (mountain house farts) completely delofted the down. Last year, I switched to a quilt, and the extra ventilation seemed to save my down, but probably passed the displeasure to my brother in the tent with me. But this year it came back with a vengeance that even the quilts ventilation could not help. My brother got tied up at work (or that was his excuse to escape the wrath of the MHF), so I had to pack in solo to the Colorado backcountry. The MHF chased me out of my own tent. I'm glad I didn't have a stove or else Kim Jong Un would have been jealous of the blast radius.

I used to think it was only caused by the teriyaki chicken, but this year the beef stew was the culprit.

I'm at a loss here. Aside from packing sandwiches, does anyone have a remedy for MHF? Because wow...I'm not sure even a 200" buck is worth that.

FYI...for your future planning, due to MHF, there are no more bucks in central Colorado. I'm sorry.
 

Owenst7

WKR
Joined
Jun 19, 2017
Messages
513
Location
Reno
I hardly ever eat MH when I'm backpacking. Most of what I do is boil-and-soak just like MH, but I just buy dehydrated stuff from the regular grocery section since I don't have room for a dehydrator at the moment. I typically average around 18-24 ounces (packaged) for 2400 calories, ~100 grams of protein, and around $5. That's way better than a MH on price, I think a bit better on weight, and probably way more nutritious. That weight is a full day's rations including coffee, vitamins, allergy meds, NSAIDs, and toothpaste, packaged neatly into freezer bags.

There's recipes all over backpacking forums and I even have a couple e-books that cover a lot of good ideas. Andrew Skurka's blog is a good place to start. The rice and Fritos stew he talks about is tasty enough that I eat it at home sometimes. The spicy peanut pasta one is great too. I usually take recipes like that as an idea when I head to the bulk section of WinCo, and I just adapt the ideas to whatever I can purchase easily in the quantities I need. I've been using ranch Corn Nuts instead of Fritos because I can buy exactly the amount I need from the bulk bins, for instance.

When I'm with another person, I like to bring a plastic bowl of microwave chow mein or ramen for my first dinner on a trip, and then use that bowl for my 1-2 cooked meals I eat per day. The bowls are polypropylene and hold up really well to heat and aren't brittle, even if you smash them flat. I think the weight was like .4 ounce the one time I bothered to check. The ones I buy fit perfectly in the reflectix bowl I made to insulate my Trangia 28 pot. I just eat out of my T28 pot when I'm alone. It's easier to clean and sterilize.
 
Last edited:
Joined
Mar 21, 2012
Messages
1,164
Location
Missoula, MT
Man, I thought it was only the Chili Mac flavor that would do that. Try another brand like Backpackers Pantry? Or ditch the tent and just pitch a tarp for increased ventilation.
 

Akicita

WKR
Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
498
Location
Colorado
I'm guessing it's not just the Mountain House meals your eating . . . I am no more flatulent when I eat them as when I don't. I find changes to higher fiber or fatty meals is what make me more flatulent. What are you eating and drinking between Mountain House meals? I lived many years on MCI, LRP and MRE rations and found that eating slower and hydrating more helped my overall digestive happiness.

Nothing wrong with farting we all do it about 15 to 20 times a day. . . You probably don't realize it as much until you are sleeping in tent.
 

danarnold

WKR
Joined
Feb 16, 2014
Messages
1,111
Location
Missouri/ and 81252
Last year after we packed out my six. We stopped by a neighboring camp and drank a bunch of victory beer, they also fed us MH after a 12 pack, we just about blew the roof off of our 73 Shasta we were staying in, I was dreaming I was in Yellowstone next to the bubbling mud pits.
I did eat four servings of it but I would try to avoid that stuff unless there was a nuclear holocaust
 
Joined
Feb 6, 2014
Messages
95
Location
New Prague, MN
I ate Mountain House last year for about 10 days straight. Something happened on day 9 & 10 and my body just absolutely wasn't having it anymore. Good thing we got our elk that morning, because I was done with MH and would have chosen pine cones. I tried again about 2 weeks ago, and spent 2 days on the can. My body must have accumulated enough toxins that it'll just purge the system.

I've had some really good Hawk Vittles (lasagna, hot italian sausage, spicy chicken, and sw lasagna). I had one that was terrible, but I can't remember what it was. I'm thinking beef stew, but I could be wrong. They take a little bit longer to re-hydrate, but the ingredient list is about 8-10 vs 50 words you can't pronounce.

This year I did the Randy Newberg method of freezing home cooked meals and vacuum sealing them. I did lasagna, chili, fajitas and mexican rice, chicken & rice, and a few others. I got a 1.5L pot for my Jetboil, just boil water, throw the thawed meal in there, and in 10 mins it's ready to rock.
 

Akicita

WKR
Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
498
Location
Colorado
Last year after we packed out my six. We stopped by a neighboring camp and drank a bunch of victory beer, they also fed us MH after a 12 pack, we just about blew the roof off of our 73 Shasta we were staying in, I was dreaming I was in Yellowstone next to the bubbling mud pits.
I did eat four servings of it but I would try to avoid that stuff unless there was a nuclear holocaust

Another major cause of flatulence is swallowing air under heavy physical labor (packing out) drinking carbonated drinks (pounding a 12 pack) and eating food to fast. . . Sounds like you had a hat trick on this one:D
 

blake_mhoona

Lil-Rokslider
Joined
Sep 21, 2016
Messages
241
Location
Arkansas
3 Mountain House into my 7 night stay i get the mountain house bubble guts that require me to make not 1, not 2, but 3 trips outside in my long johns when it was 25*. ended up getting head/chest cold from a combo of the cold and a bug my wife had when i left for my trip.

i'll be looking for a new meal system for long trips as i dont think my toilet paper/wet wipes would of held out 7 days at the rate i was going.
 

Akicita

WKR
Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
498
Location
Colorado
I ate Mountain House last year for about 10 days straight. Something happened on day 9 & 10 and my body just absolutely wasn't having it anymore. Good thing we got our elk that morning, because I was done with MH and would have chosen pine cones. I tried again about 2 weeks ago, and spent 2 days on the can. My body must have accumulated enough toxins that it'll just purge the system.

I've had some really good Hawk Vittles (lasagna, hot italian sausage, spicy chicken, and sw lasagna). I had one that was terrible, but I can't remember what it was. I'm thinking beef stew, but I could be wrong. They take a little bit longer to re-hydrate, but the ingredient list is about 8-10 vs 50 words you can't pronounce.

This year I did the Randy Newberg method of freezing home cooked meals and vacuum sealing them. I did lasagna, chili, fajitas and mexican rice, chicken & rice, and a few others. I got a 1.5L pot for my Jetboil, just boil water, throw the thawed meal in there, and in 10 mins it's ready to rock.

3 Mountain House into my 7 night stay i get the mountain house bubble guts that require me to make not 1, not 2, but 3 trips outside in my long johns when it was 25*. ended up getting head/chest cold from a combo of the cold and a bug my wife had when i left for my trip.

i'll be looking for a new meal system for long trips as i dont think my toilet paper/wet wipes would of held out 7 days at the rate i was going.

Back Country Diarrhea is most often caused by poor hygiene and vitamin deficiency. . . Hand to mouth contamination is what causes most diarrhea especially from fecal matter. Wash more and take a daily vitamin supplement. The longer you are in the back country the more likely you are to let good hygiene go.
 

5MilesBack

"DADDY"
Joined
Feb 27, 2012
Messages
15,528
Location
Colorado Springs
I must have an iron gut, it's never bothered me before. In fact, if anything.....my system works better when I'm elk hunting and downing MH meals every day.
 

Murdy

WKR
Joined
Jun 6, 2014
Messages
623
Location
North-Central Illinois
You could try some Gas-X pre-emptively. I do that when I have to share a small space with someone. To quote an ex-girlfriend after telling her that something gave me gas, she replied, "Water gives you gas!"
 

Akicita

WKR
Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
498
Location
Colorado
Good deal, I hate to do anything half assed!

I wish I had more days like yours. . . I am having a tough year so far.

Looking forward to my solo high country rifle hunt. I think I'm going to cache some beer and a Mountain House Lasagna at the trail head and see if I can replicate your hat trick!!!
 
Joined
Aug 10, 2015
Messages
2,245
I ate a backpackers pantry or Alpine Aire chicken vindaloo Thursday night. It got real windy for next two days and eaxh one smelled almost exactly the same as it did coming out of the bag. Nothing else I ate in 9 days did that to me. When I say it got windy I mean seriously, like I almost used some chapstick...
 

Akicita

WKR
Joined
Aug 3, 2016
Messages
498
Location
Colorado
I ate a backpackers pantry or Alpine Aire chicken vindaloo Thursday night. It got real windy for next two days and eaxh one smelled almost exactly the same as it did coming out of the bag. Nothing else I ate in 9 days did that to me. When I say it got windy I mean seriously, like I almost used some chapstick...

Ahhh man. . . That visual just made me throw out my chap stick!
 

Scoot

WKR
Joined
Nov 13, 2012
Messages
1,521
Same thing happens to me from several of the MH meals. Anything with meat sauce, beef stew, and chili mac are all definitely no-no's for me. It's actually pretty unbelievable to me that it can impact me like it does-- similar to the OP.
 

UtahJimmy

WKR
Joined
Jul 6, 2016
Messages
884
Location
SLC, UT
I'm at a loss here. Aside from packing sandwiches, does anyone have a remedy for MHF? Because wow...I'm not sure even a 200" buck is worth that.

Dehydrate your own meals. I'll take leftovers, dehydrate them, and vacuum seal. Best way to get the most out of your food as it doesn't rot in your fridge!

A dehydrator will pay for itself in no time. Plus you have unlimited menu to choose from instead of just what other companies offer. Nothing like eating deer and elk whilst on a deer or elk hunt!
 
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