Volume & weight of 4-day food resupply per person – 8L & 6.5 lbs right?

[Kevin Sweere]

Hello Trekkers,

How big of food bag for each person?  How heavy will it be? 

I bought 2018 Philmont surplus food bags and fit 2 breakfast, 2 lunch, and 2 dinner bags easily within one 8L, cheap, stuff sack at 6.5 lbs., shown below.  That’s 12 meals, i.e. what each person would carry & eat between 4-day resupplies.

That’s 160% heavier than typical 2lbs/person-day but Philmont trail food is excess-packaged, grocery-store-typical, $3.40-shipped-per-meal food that picky boys will eat.  Each bag has 2 meals.  Wrt volume, I could just squeeze in 2 more bags, for a total of 16 meals, into the 8L sack. The plastic meal bags were stuffed in as they came, all packaging, cardboard, etc.  Stripping them down would make only a small difference.

From a 2009 post…  “Four days of food for a crew of 10 will weigh approximately 76.5 lbs based on the weights above. Seven meals filled my 18L Granite Gear dry bag (4 day supply for a crew of nine).”   Doing the math that’s 1.9 lbs/person-day, check.  But I see no way to fit 20 breakfast, 20 lunch, and 20 dinner bags (total of 120 meals = 10 people * 3 meals/day * 4 days)) into 18L.   And 7 meals or 7 bags into an 18L bag makes no sense either… unless something big changed in the last decade.

Others mentioned a 20L bag was about right too.

Do trekkers carry their own food or carry larger, crew food bags (like at Northern Tier)?   What am I missing?

[M B]

1.75 lb/day

4 days food for one person fits in about 12L easy

I posted it here in 2013 with actual philmont food and pictures

 

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/77117/

 

But….no need for foodbag

Everyone just puts a # of plastic food bags in pack when bearbags are emptied in morning. Its divied up.

When stop for lunch, people get out # lunches needed

And use philmont bearbags at camp. It works, light, easy

 

Its not that bad. People exxagerate. Even after showing to advisors who had been before…they swore my pack was too little. I had extra room with 5 days food and 6 L water, and carried extra food to take wt off of heavier kids.

 

 

 

[Jeffrey Peters]

I used a 20 liter bag, with room to spare.

[David Y]

Kevin asked, “Do trekkers carry their own food or carry larger, crew food bags (like at Northern Tier)?”

There is no need for an 18L or 20L dry bag for 76.5 lb. food.

At a Commissary pick-up and each morning the Crew Leader equally/fairly divides all the meals (in almost Scout proof plastic bags) among all Scouts (or crew members) and they simply put the bags in the top of their packs until they reach their next camp.

Everyone DOES need his own personal Smellables Bag to keep CONSOLDATED all his personal smellables, i.e.: first aid kit, personal meds, tooth brush & paste, lip balm, sunscreen, Moleskin, duct tape, Campsuds, etc. This bag, like meal bags, is removed from your pack and be Bear Bagged at night or any time left unattended. A one-liter water-resistant bag should be large enough or you’re carrying too much junk.

[David Y]

We do not divide the meals into you’re and ours. We do everything as a Patrol/Crew. The Crew Leader divides all the meals bags into equal or proportional piles and every Scout places his share in the top of his pack.

Each morning the Crew Leader opens all the breakfast bags and separates out the items into 12 equal piles and each crew member picks up one and eats while packing up or later on the trail. As all meals are packaged for two camper lunches are shared with a tent mate but the whole crew sits and eats together. We cook all our suppers in one pot, serve to all, eat and fellowship together after the Philmont Grace.

[Brad P]

What is the most efficient method, though? If you keep the food loose in your pack (still in the Philmont plastic bags), does that take more time each evening and morning, or is there a better way?

If you just take out today’s food and leave the rest in your bear bag, with something to easily identify your bag, wouldn’t that make things easier and quicker in the evening and morning?

[David Y]

The clear thick well labeled plastic Philmont food packages are obvious, do not resemble or could be confused with other packing bags or items. They should be the last items placed in the top of crew member’s packs.

Every day when you arrive at your next camp the entire crew removes all the crew gear and food packages from their packs at the Fire Ring before any other business is conducted. Then the whole crew sets up the Dinning Fly and all other crew gear is set under it. Then, all the food is put in the Bear Bags and hung by all the Scouts. Then individuals may set up their tents and take care of their needs. Now the crew can go do Program Features, side hikes, etc.

At supper time the Cook and his helper retrieve tonight’s supper packets and start supper.

[M B]

Nothing wrong with a foodbag if it helps keep your pack organized. You need something to keep the extras , gatorade, and leftover snacks in anyway, although just a plastic bag or ziplock works.

 

But its not your food, its communal food. If you keep individual food, getting right food to everyone becomes chore.  This is why everyone eats same meal. If people eat different breakfast or lunch, then you have to track it all individually and keep separate. Separate food is issue for odd # crew . Since food is bagged fir two (used to be), and the extra is wanted by people, you dont get rid of it at pickup.

And its bearbagged together. And redidtributed daily. We would just say ” everyone get 4 foodbags” or such in morning. One kid realized the breakfasts were lighter and got only those one morning….he was chastized by an advisor.   I usually carried a few extra since my pack was light.

 

 

When you stop for lunch, everyone that carrying  tuna salad lunches gets them out if decide to eay that one.

[David Y]

M.B. has it right.

Every night, and any time it is unattended, all your food and smellables are Bear Bagged. Then each morning the Crew Leader re-distributes the remaining food into EQUAL (or appropriate) portions for the Scouts (or crew) to put in their packs for today’s hike. This AVOIDS some individuals seeking to lighten their pack picking the lightest bags or today’s lunch. The Crew Leader may choose to give today’s lunch to the smallest or most appropriate crew member. This is just another reason why having a good or the right Crew Leader is so important.

You may choose to carry a personal food bag to place your share of today’s food issue or special leftovers you’re saving. It doesn’t need to be waterproof.

But more importantly you NEED to carry your personal Ditty Bag (Guidebook to Adventure, page 21) to consolidate all your smellable so they can be quickly and positively removed from your pack and Bear Bagged every night and any time it is unattended.

Staffed Camps have a Swap Box on the front porch of their cabin. All crews and individuals are welcome to leave food items they don’t want or take items they do. This is great because you can get rid of unwanted food without trashing it and enhance some humdrum meals with treasures found in it. Don’t fail to utilize them.

[David Y]

Philmont encourages, and most crews practice, all the crew gear and food is carried by the Scouts except immediately after a commissary issue when there is too much food to get in the Scouts’ packs. This makes sense because over many years’ experience Philmont has learned that the Scouts can better handle the extra weight than can the adults. Adults generally already carry more extra gear than Scouts. So the crew can hike easier and faster if the adults aren’t slowed down by food burden.

This is just another reason why having a good or the right Crew Leader is so important.

It is a very good practice (for the Crew Leader) to assign specific grew gear items to individual Scouts for the entire trek before you start your trek. Each Scout is responsible for and the care of his assigned item throughout trek. Every morning when striking camp each Scout knows to collect his assigned item, i.e. the Scout assigned the dinning fly, with help of his tent mate, strikes and packs-up the fly, the Bear Bags are retrieved and packed away by the same Scout every morning, and so on.  Everyone learns where every items is so when something is needed in a hurry or emergency the assigned Scout just produces the item instead of searching through everybody’s pack.

[Kevin Sweere]

Thank you all the info!

[Author]

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