Week long food review

[Brad Rogers]

I am reviewing my food choices for one to two week backpacking trips and wanted to get some opinions.  This is what I have for an average day with the mixed fruit being dried pineapple, mango, papaya, and coconut and the dinners are the average Pack it Gourmet meal (I rotate between 5).

[Ken Thompson]

Cal. per oz.? Am I looking at that row right?

[Brad Rogers]

Calories per oz is just the 127.1

The next numbers are total calories – the 2901 is the sum of the calculated calories from the grams of fat/protein/carbs.  The 2901 is  slightly over  the 2873 above due to rounding of the grams of fat/protein carbs.

[Ben C]

That looks pretty reasonable to me.  Tastes can change on a long trip.  I typically find that I crave savory food and protein after a weeks time.  After a week, I trust my cravings more than a protein/carb/fat chart.  I took a package of naan on my last trip and it tasted so good after a few days; it also packs well.

[Matthew / BPL]

That looks like a good plan overall but I have several comments. They are all very subjective. Several of my comments relate to the packed size of food. I carry a small pack and sometimes hike in areas that require a bear can so space is at a premium.

Your menu has more sweet than I can handle in a day while hiking.

Salami has more fat (and therefore more calories) than a dried meat stick.

I hope you like oatmeal. I like it at home but it is work for me to eat oatmeal in the field. I strongly prefer either a ProBar or a chocolate whey protein shake with instant espresso.

Nut butter packs smaller than whole nuts.

I’m quite partial to Larabars which pack smaller than loose dried fruit and are easy to get down without tons of chewing. I particularly like the lemon, key lime and cherry ones. The tartness is wonderful when backpacking.

I’d rather get less carbs in the form of sugar. I just get so tired of it and the energy seems to go away quickly. I’d lose some chocolate from each day and replace it with crushed organic Trader Joes Fritos.

[Brad Rogers]

Thanks for the input thus far.  Matt, this will be going into a bearcan too, usually either a week in a Bearikade Weekender or two weeks ( or more like 12 days) in a Bearikade Expedition

[Ken Thompson]

Thanks.

[Matthew / BPL]

I like a small plastic rehydrating jar that goes in my bearcan. You can put food in it the first day and then you start to get space for it. The cookpot stays clean and doesn’t need to be stored in the can, freeing up food space. The Packit Gourmet meals get repackaged into ziplocks or produce bags. A side benefit of this approach is not carrying stinky freezer bags or PG bags for a week. The smell of the bearcan is nasty after a while.

Bring two servings of everything and just rehydrate half on any give day. PG meals have a lot of air space in them. Crush your nuts a little in a food processor. Air is the enemy.

How about some oil? You can easily eat a couple tablespoons of olive oil, coconut oil or ghee daily. 240 calories/ounce is some apex bear can packing in my opinion. Easy calories!

Again, your plan looks great. These are all tweaks that work well for me but might not be to your taste/style…

[Matthew / BPL]

Honey Stinger Waffles pack really nicely around the edge of a can.

Also shortbread! Such a magical combination of butter, salt, sweet and wheat.

[Brad Rogers]

Have you found a plastic rehydrating jar that works well for you? I had always just used freezer bags but did bring a ziploc bowl to rehydrate meals in last year because I was out for 11 days and didn’t want my garbage to smell too bad.

I took one again to Wind River Range this summer but it cracked when I was repacking my bear can one night as it had become brittle in the cold (~25*F) so I am evaluating options for an upcoming 12 day trip next year with a Bearikade Expedition.

I haven’t tried the honey stingers or walkers shortbread so I may try those.

I have taken salami (and chedder) on trips before but worry about it lasting a full two weeks (including sitting in a hot airplane luggage area during the flight preps) and I worry about them being overly smelly and bears (probably both are unfounded).

[Brad Rogers]

I have also not tried larabars. I will have to give them a shot.

[Matthew / BPL]

I love these polypropylene jars from US Plastics. They stand up well to boiling water and clean easily. I’m still using my jar from the JMT, it must have 35+ meals rehydrated in it.

http://www.usplastic.com/mobile/item.aspx?itemid=23371&categoryid=604

I bought Boars Head Salami that comes in a heat sealed pack in the unrefrigerated section of my local grocery store and shipped it to MTR. Once I was on the trail I finished it in four or five days and threw it in a ziplock. I hear you about bears. I’d be more concerned about that in grizzly country than black bear country…

[Ben C]

I use that salami too, Matthew.  And Cabot makes cheeses that don’t need to be refrigerated too.

[terry a thompson]

If you use individual servings for salami and cheese and vacuum seal them, they are easy to pack in the bear canister and will keep for weeks with no smell!

[David Thomas]

How many miles a day?  At 5 mpd, that looks about calorie-neutral (no weight gain or loss, or, if so, weight gain from burning a bit of fat while putting on some muscle).

But if you’re doing 15 miles a day, up and down trails, you’re about 1000 calories short, depending on your weight.  Maybe that’s fine – burn a 1/4 pound of fat each day, and you’ll come back 3 pounds lighter  and leaner – something most of us could benefit from.  But not everyone enjoys it if your reaction to that calorie deficient is to constantly feel hungry.  Manfred budgets burning 1/2 pound a day(!) and drops 15 pounds on a 30-day trip, but (in so many ways), most of us aren’t Manfred.

And it gets harder to correct on a high-mileage trip.  At 5-10 miles a day, you browse on more berries, rose hips, etc, as you go.  20+ miles/day and you’re using every bit of Fall light to get to your next camp.

[Brad Rogers]

My next big trip is in Alaska next summer in Wrangell St Elias (I am planning on attempting the Southern Traverse) so I will average 10-12 miles per day off trail with a short last day for pick up.  I am thinking 11-12 days would do it.

Most of my “big” trips are around six days and 15-20 miles per day on trail or 10-15 miles per day off trail like this summer when I did a mostly off trail loop in WRR.

Local weekend trips are all on trail and are 20-30 miles per day, but I don’t worry about what I eat as much for two or three days.

[Brad Rogers]

Matthew – what size do you use? Is the 24oz big enough for a pack it gourmet meal? It appears that it would be.

I will check out the Boars Head Salami – my local store doesn’t sell Boars Head but there is one in town that does. (I love Boers Head deli meat btw)

Terry- what kind of vacuum sealer do you use? Will it seal regular ziploc freezer bags?

[Matthew / BPL]

I’ve made PG tortilla soup and state fair chili in a 24 ounce. I like the 12 and 16 better though. Buy them all and try! Be sure to buy a bunch of mini dropper bottles, fuel bottles, etc. US Plastics has good prices and expensive shipping.

[terry a thompson]

I use the Cabela commercial 12″ dual pump unit. I don’t use ziploc bags. I tried them and they don’t hold up. I buy bags by the roll , on sale so i can make them any size i want….saves money. I just did the entire JMT SOBO in late August.16 days start to finish total food cost $ 10.00/ day. that is drinks, breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Weight was 1.4 lbs / day, calories were 3200 / day

 

[Will Elliott]

Regarding jars, the Nalgene ‘Outdoor Food Jar’ (blue lid)is leakproof, handles boiling water, and doubles as an extra water bottle when needed. You can put hot water in to rehydrate rice pudding, for example, and shake it without having hot water spray out. They’re super cheap and the lid makes for a nice cutting board on top and dish upside down.

[Ben H.]

 

I will check out the Boars Head Salami

The Boars Head Salami I always get is presliced…. I think it is a sopresatta.  Very nice and very easy to eat.  No need to get a knife dirty!

[Kenneth Keating]

To me it’d be too much of the same foods every day, I’d lose my appetite.  Would you like suggestions?

[Brad Rogers]

I am always open to suggestions.

[Kenneth Keating]

[Matthew / BPL]

wow milk chocolate with corn flakes sounds like a wonderful thing, particularly at 170 cal/ounce!

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