What to use as a ground cover while cooking? Or maybe even as a foot resting mat?

[zimm]

I just got back from my first backpacking trip with the whole family. We did pretty good. However I was always looking for a place to put down a gooey spoon, wet stove lid, etc without laying everything in the dirt. I was thinking some kind of ultralight place mat? A bonus if I could use it under my feet to take off the boots when in camp yet not get leaves and dirt all in my socks.

[rhjanes]

Many use a piece of Tyvek for a ground sheet for shoes and pack ans such.
On the camp kitchen, on backpacking, use the lid of the pot. Or bring a plastic lid off something. Another option is some heavy duty aluminum foil. Great to put under the stove to help dissipate the heat. Cleaning up anything you choose will need thought out.

[HankIV]

First off, congrats on getting your family out into the woods and off their screens for a bit.

I would usually look for either some rocks, a stump or fallen tree for the purpose of a "kitchen counter"

[Mother Natures Son]

A very small square of Aluminum Foil is what used in Scout camp. Now a days, any rock or something that flat and wouldn't burn does the trick.

[Daybreak]

Some ideas

Always lick off the gooey stuff. Avoid the gooey stuff.

Although a great meal, Mac and cheese is hard to clean.

Ditch the cooked oatmeal, if using, for muesli or other cereal. Premix dried whole milk (Ninho or Nido) with dry spoon, then add water. Sitr well to clean remaining stuff from last night's bowl.
Set the spoon on the upside-down pot lid or in a personal bowl.

Put the lid on your pot bag (no not that one, not with kids).

Use the outside or inside of the bag that the meal was in.

Give everyone a zip bag for their personal spoon and bowl. if you want a place mat, use a gallon or two gallon bag. Let the bag double as the kids portion of a bear bag with their snacks, toothpaste...

Give everyone a sloppy dessert after dinner in their individual bowl to encourage the use of fingers and tongues to clean their own dishes.

Sit on and prop feet on any stuff sack or your pack. Carry a small piece of sleeping pad for either place.

Have socks just for camp or use bare feet, slippers, booties(down and fiberfill available), camp shoes, crocs... or dump the boots. Hiking socks need to avoid dirt, sticks etc... at all costs to avoid blisters.

Dump the inflatable mattress, if using, and use a pad. Clean it (shake and wipe with hand) before it goes in the tent both top and bottom(don't roll it yet) and again before you roll it up in the morning. I pull mine out at breaks. Some people cut their pads to exactly fit the tent. Don't worry about the tent or pad getting dirty. For the kids its gives them a personal space.

[Phoenixfyrebird]

Congrats on the outdoor adventure!

I personally use a placemat cut in half I got from The Dollar Tree. It will be shoved in my pack against my back to be something I can easily yank out when needed on a stop. It gets cleaned in towns, but mostly rinsed off. Nothing fancy, heavy, or expensive that surprisingly last for a bit.

[chknfngrs]

The backpacking family is a sight, a rare gem! My wife and 3 boys hiked 2/3 of the Long Trail in Vermont in July. We didn’t have much to clean off bc we normally left zero calories left in bowls or mugs. Licked them clean normally and washed with soap every town stop. We had the gooiest Nutella, but my boys craved it so much they’d have licked it off the ground if they were allowed. Our kitchen setup was basically a JetBoil Sumo, 5 GSI infinity mugs, spoons, and sleeves. Never had trouble with leftovers or whatnot.

We were so wet and tired by days end we’d leave our shoes and socks outside the tent to keep the stank to a minimum. Most mornings we’d find slugs on our shoes or on the bear cans

what shug uses: https://schwarzebiene.de/en/home/

[zelph]

hey chknfngers.....shug's way:

[Kittyslayer]

I like a Tyvek envelope to establish my kitchen. I can use it for food prep, putting a spoon down, keeping track of everything so I don't lose a lighter, cap, or anything else from my cook kit. Just cut off the adhesive flap. If it starts getting grimy you can turn it inside out and have clean surfaces. Can also use it as an envelope for foraging, gathering kindling, stashing something nasty inside.


Kitchen.jpg

[LazyLightning]

I would use a leave/rock also mainly just to minimize keeping food scents with me as much as possible, no need for another smelly item to worry about. I do, however, have a piece of tyvek (or similar) for under my seat and to put my pack on. Helps keeping dry and from stuff abrasion, sticks or whatever. I also have a piece of the same material for my pack cover, looks pretty ghetto how I have it tied and clipped to my pack but it doubles as an extra sheet for breaks or camp and I treat all this stuff with permethrin so just having it out and sitting on it for breaks helps keep the bugs down.