Yes, I Carried Cast Iron to the Bottom of the Grand Canyon
I spent 30 years trying to find a backpacking pan that didn't suck.
Getting ready for trail tacos at the bottom of the Grand Canyon
You know the stuff they sell at REI, lighter and lighter every year. I recently bought a titanium pan, and within seconds on my isobutane stove my eggs had turned into a black crust. I've tried aluminum non-stick, the classic aluminum Boy Scout mess kit, stainless steel, and basically every camping pan on the market over the last 30 years of backpacking.
If I was going to cook actual food in the backcountry, I needed something better.
I needed cast iron.
Thus began my quest to find the lightest cast iron skillet on the market that didn't cost over $100.
I started with the standard 8" Lodge, which weighs 3.2 pounds, and lugged that hunk of iron deep into the Joshua Tree backcountry. Between that and all the extra water (there's none out there), it nearly broke me.
The pancakes in the middle of the desert were absolutely worth it.
Since then I've been hunting for something lighter that still had a real cooking surface and a decent lip. No 3.5-inch novelty skillets.
Then, at a random Sportsman's Warehouse in Anchorage, Alaska, I stumbled across the Lodge Blacklock 7-inch Lightweight Cast Iron Skillet. The moment I picked it up and felt its spry 1.82-pound weight, I knew I'd found something special. At around forty bucks it felt expensive for a Lodge, but I bought it anyway.
Six months later, I have zero regrets.
For context, I'm a quasi-ultralight backpacker. I regularly carry a 30-pound pack up mountains and thousands of feet of elevation gain. I have friends whose entire tents weigh less than this skillet.
my pack weighed in at 30.44 pounds
Whenever I pull it out, people look at me like I'm insane.
I'd argue the insane people are the ones eating freeze-dried chicken fettuccine that never quite rehydrates, leaving you with crunchy chicken jerky floating in mediocre pasta.
This March I carried the Blacklock to the bottom of the Grand Canyon for a night at Bright Angel Campground. I also packed in 1.25 pounds of frozen ground beef (which thawed during the seven-mile hike), taco seasoning, shredded cheese, and flour tortillas.
All I want in life is to feel this again
I'm not exaggerating when I say they were the best tacos I've ever eaten.
Even better, I got to share them with a buddy on his very first backpacking trip. I think I ruined him for life.
So to all you dreamers, fellow cast iron luddites, and backpacking heretics - I see you. Everyone thinks we're crazy.
But I'd argue the people cooking on fancy HexClad and Teflon pans are the truly unhinged ones.
Now... back to working on my seasoning.