Are you just starting out in
the sport of backpacking and are wondering what to pack for food?
Are you
already into the sport but want to get another point of view? Going light is
important if you are going to enjoy yourself.
I have backpacked many
trails over many miles and have spent numerous nights outdoors. While not an
expert by any means, I've learned a lot of things, many by trial and error,
over my many years of enjoying the outdoors while backpacking.
So, with that
caveat in mind, here are some ideas to consider to stay reasonably well fed
while at the same time keeping your overall pack weight down. The total weight
of food will be well below the 2 pounds per person per day standard.
The amounts listed here are
per person per day.
Breakfast: 1 ½
packs of instant oatmeal mixed with dry milk. 1 Cliff Bar. 2 cups of coffee
using either 2 packets of freeze dried coffee, or two “tea-bag” style coffee
bags.
Midmorning snack: 1
energy gel (Cliff Energy Shot).
Lunch: 2
scoops of Slim Fast powdered drink mixed with dry milk, added to a full Nalgene
(32 ounces) of water. 1 cheese and cracker snack kit.
Late afternoon snack/happy
hour: 1 snack sized zip lock baggie of chex mix or a store
bought chip and pretzel mix (add peanuts if not already included). Optional:
wash down with a powdered drink mix or other beverage of choice.
Dinner: 1,
two person sized Mountain House (or similar) freeze dried dinner.
Liquids: Good old water (filtered,
boiled, or treated) is the standby of course. Be sure to drink lots of it. For
variety, I add in powdered drink mix. For further variety at happy hour and/or for a night cap (and maybe to sooth the sore
muscles at the end of a long day), I’ll bring along some Scotch or other
favorite whiskeys with a ration of no more than 2 ounces (ok, maybe 3 ounces)
per day.
Stove fuel: With my Whisperlite stove, each
ounce of white gas stove fuel will boil one quart (or three to four cups) of
water, depending on the elevation of the trail. If at one mile about sea level,
gauge that one full 11 ounce fuel bottle will burn 10 quarts while one full 22
ounce bottle will burn 20 quarts. Given the menu noted above, a quart is boiled
for the morning and then another quart is boiled for dinner (there is usually
some water left over in the pot for use in washing hands, face, etc.). So, plan
on two ounces of fuel per person, per day.
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