Backpacking Food

[THAC0]

I'm currently in the planning stages for a 10-day long backpacking trip in the fall.

This is going to be a long, higher altitude, physically demanding trip. Weight is at a premium, since it's also a hunt and we need to be able to haul meat out.

With that in mind, what are your favorite LIGHT WEIGHT, NUTRITIOUS foods for backpacking?

[SensFan]

If you have access do it, using a machine that dehydrates food works very well. Removing the water from meals tends to make them considerably lighter, and you only need access to a water filtering method (perhaps iodine?) to use river/lake water to cook the foods.

[ForzaFiori]

Ramen. Despite many people claiming it tastes terrible, I personally think that it is just fine. Granted, you do not want to eat it all day, every day, but as a meal or so a day it should be fine. It is very light, and very cheep, and the best part is that if it happens to get broken up in your pack, that just means less prep when you cook it, since you need to break it up anyway (unless you want one long noodle)

[Frozen_Feet]

I second ramen. Army iron rations have that as a part of them. They also contain:

Crisp bread
Peasoup
Canned spaghetti & meatballs
Raisins
Dark chocolate

Shoud work for civilians as well. Also, any "instant goodness, just add water"; that's what they're meant for.

[Starbuck_II]

Ramen. Despite many people claiming it tastes terrible, I personally think that it is just fine. Granted, you do not want to eat it all day, every day, but as a meal or so a day it should be fine. It is very light, and very cheep, and the best part is that if it happens to get broken up in your pack, that just means less prep when you cook it, since you need to break it up anyway (unless you want one long noodle)

Yes, I like Shrimp and beef ramon flavored.

[Gorgondantess]

They actually have special backpacking dehydrated food, that is very light, nutritious, and quite filling. Most of it is decent, but I'd advise you stay away from anything complex: go for the meat and rice meals, mainly. The eggs are pretty good as well, and try getting instant hashbrowns if you can find them. You should be able to find these thing at any large sporting supply store.
Bring nothing canned, and nothing that contains more than an ounce of water, assuming you'll have access to a water source along the way.

[Ashtar]

Peanuts! Hope you're not allergic. Highest weight to energy you can pack. Peanut paste, peanut oil and peanuts, will keep you alive and reasonably healthy for 10 days.

622 kcal for 100g. So for extremely heavy activity I need to eat 500g / day of it (3100 kcal budget) so as not to eat into my reserves. -> 5 Kg of peanuts for 10 days. Just have something else if ever you get bored of peanuts, but the peanuts are light enough to allow for other things.

[Solara]

Seconding what everyone's said about 'just add water' meals (this could include more filling things like cornbread mixes too.)

Take some dried sausage (summer sausage lasts quite awhile too) along with some crackers, or get some of those little vacuum packed tuna pouches maybe.

And also, while it's usually considered more of a snack, IMO you can't really go wrong with trail mix. Get the fancy kinds like the tropical ones or the stuff with cashews and cherries and cranberries in it, seriously that stuff is like crack.

Though really, you could probably come up with lots more ideas just browsing a grocery store. I think the issue is not going to be so much finding appropriate foods as making sure you've got enough of a variety that you don't get sick of it all.

[THAC0]

Come on, Playground! You can get more creative than this! MREs and prepackaged backpacking food, that's pretty obvious. :smallsmile:

I'm planning on using a dehydrator to dry my own fruits and veggies for fruit leather and trail mix.

What about quinoa? Small, light grain, high in protein. The only problem I see is that I usually rinse it before cooking, to get the icky coating off of it. This is a pain at home and would be doubly so in the field. Could I rinse it at home, dry it out again and then take it, or would it get moldy?

Could I mix powdered milk into biscuit mix? It will be berry season, so I should be able to get fresh berries on the trail, berries and biscuits would be a nice treat.

[Rutskarn]

Be a man and/or woman, eat only hardtack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack)and jerky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerky_%28food%29).

[Exeson]

The best idea? Get yourself hold of some British army 24 hour ration packs. Seriously, just one boil in the bag meal from one of those is around 2000 calories.

I'm guessing the American army has very similar rations but the british ones are the ones I'm used to using.

[raitalin]

Be a man and/or woman, eat only hardtack (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hardtack)and jerky (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jerky_%28food%29).

Hardtack gets a lot of bad press, but you really can't beat it for a combination of cheap, light, long-lasting resiliant and filling. Just don't eat it without softening it, whether by dunking it in coffee/water/tea/whatever or cooking it into a stew.

Well, you can theoretically eat it without soaking it if you've got metal teeth or somesuch.

Also, don't depend on it as your sole source of food, as its just carbohydrates. Thats how people got scurvy and rickets.

[Winter_Wolf]

Trail mix. ...yeah, I know. Seriously, it's not creative but it is nutritious, high calorie, and won't leave you feeling bloated or too full for hard hiking. It also doesn't weigh that much for the amount you'd be eating. Plus think of it this way, depending how far into the boonies you go, you might just end up eating some of the meat you get before you get back home. Fresh heart is simply the best meat you can get. Or maybe I'm just biased that way. I'm assuming large game, yes? Though for the life of me, I can't think of but two or three things that you'd be hunting for at high altitude.

[Sliver]

Take nothing, live off the land or steal from other travelers. Kill and loot nearby villages. Earn levels, cast create food and water. Don't let Black Leaf die.

[Cleverdan22]

Protein/cereal bars. Good eats, lots of energy. Also, spears and arrows. For hunting.

[THAC0]

Trail mix. ...yeah, I know. Seriously, it's not creative but it is nutritious, high calorie, and won't leave you feeling bloated or too full for hard hiking. It also doesn't weigh that much for the amount you'd be eating. Plus think of it this way, depending how far into the boonies you go, you might just end up eating some of the meat you get before you get back home. Fresh heart is simply the best meat you can get. Or maybe I'm just biased that way. I'm assuming large game, yes? Though for the life of me, I can't think of but two or three things that you'd be hunting for at high altitude.

I suppose it's not technically high altitude, but do have to get above the treeline from sea level, so an altitude gain of a couple thousand feet. The tag we got was for caribou who think they are sheep and like to climb mountains, lol. The success rate is only about 5% on this hunt, so not relying too much on that, but small game should be fairly plentiful and would definitely help to round things out.

[TheThan]

Hardtack gets a lot of bad press, but you really can't beat it for a combination of cheap, light, long-lasting resiliant and filling. Just don't eat it without softening it, whether by dunking it in coffee/water/tea/whateverGrog or cooking it into a stew.


fixed that for you.

but for ten days, bring a hunting rifle and kill what you eat.

[Cleverdan22]

fixed that for you.

but for ten days, bring a hunting rifle and kill what you eat.

The way you phrased that made me picture shooting a box of trail mix or a cookie.

[Deth Muncher]

My dad's a semi-professional backpacker (in that he's participated in hike-a-thons and is going to college to learn how to be an Epic Outdoorsman (TM)), and his hiking food kits resemble something like this:

-oatmeal (instant or not, but non-instant means you need to bring a pot to cook with. Which you should anyway.)
-grits (instant)
-small chocolates, like M&Ms
-peanuts
-Ramen
-jerky
-coffee (powdered)
-hot chocolate (powdered, obviously)
-mixes for lentil soup, but really, any powdered soup mix will do
-small packs of crackers (presumably for crumbling in soup, so it won't matter if they go stale)
-a single metal bottle for water - they make really light ones you can D-clip onto any backpack, and they don't cause cancer like the polyurethane ones!
-water purifying tablets
-tuna (in pouches or cans, but keep in mind the cans mean you need to bring a can opener)

[Archonic Energy]

kendel mint cake. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendal_mint_cake)

mmmmmm.

[Coidzor]

Could I mix powdered milk into biscuit mix? It will be berry season, so I should be able to get fresh berries on the trail, berries and biscuits would be a nice treat.

As long as it's actual powdered milk instead of. that... powdered milk drink stuff... I'm trying to remember what it's called, but it's like, non-fat dried milk or something... No, you don't want the non-fat stuff, though I suppose it could be substituted if the proper stuff can't be found.

Get dried buttermilk instead if you can though. Just gotta remember how to compensate for it when you're adding the liquid ingredient, since the milk no longer comes in liquid ingredient form. Shouldn't be too difficult though.

How many people are going on this?

...And are any of them bringing along an aluminum dutch oven?

[ForzaFiori]

-tuna (in pouches or cans, but keep in mind the cans mean you need to bring a can opener)

The problem with cans isn't just the need for a can opener. It's the excess weight. Your hiking in with a large amount of unneeded metal, and then when you open the can, you can't chunk it (well, you could, but that is wrong) and so you have to hike back out carrying said metal.

[Deth Muncher]

The problem with cans isn't just the need for a can opener. It's the excess weight. Your hiking in with a large amount of unneeded metal, and then when you open the can, you can't chunk it (well, you could, but that is wrong) and so you have to hike back out carrying said metal.

TRUFAX

And thus, the pouches of tuna are proven superior. For an added bonus, bring those little packets of mayonnaise you can get at most fast food establishments so's to make a proper tuna salad, even whilst in the field.

[Hazkali]

kendel mint cake. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kendal_mint_cake)

mmmmmm.

Most definitely seconded. You couldn't live off the stuff for ten days, but it's definitely a necessary luxury.

I would suggest taking some fruit- bananas are good when exercising, I believe.

[Amiel]

Take nothing, live off the land or steal from other travelers. Kill and loot nearby villages. Earn levels, cast create food and water. Don't let Black Leaf die.

And then you can level up.


If you feel you may be encountering bears, you may need a bear-resistant food container (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear-resistant_food_storage_container).


Fish in cans; it's nutritious, a brain food and very high in protein; most importantly, it is easily prepared. You would want to limit yourself to small canned food items, do not take the big and bulky cans with you. Also, SPAM.

Wheat snacks are always good; especially biscuits and such. Another suggestion is Meal, Ready-to-Eat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Meal,_Ready-to-Eat); this is what the contents of an MRE package looks like (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MRE_contents.jpg).


Be super sure that you have thoroughly cleaned the meat that you wish to haul back; they may be infested with parasites.

[Yarram]

I second ramen. Army iron rations have that as a part of them. They also contain:

Crisp bread
Peasoup
Canned spaghetti & meatballs
Raisins
Dark chocolate

Shoud work for civilians as well. Also, any "instant goodness, just add water"; that's what they're meant for.

Ewww.... Army food is groooooosssss... :smallfrown:
Where's the Curry!?! Fresh Veggies man! I need them.

[Gitman00]

Good suggestions by many people here. One thing I'd recommend you take an ample supply of: GORP (good ol' raisins and peanuts). Mix up several pounds of it; it's cheaper and better than commercial trail mix. Raisins and peanuts/sunflower nuts, and add some M&Ms (dark chocolate preferred).

I go on wilderness canoe trips roughly annually, and this stuff is a lifesaver. The protein and fat in the nuts will keep you on your feet, the raisins have carbs and fiber to keep you regular, and the chocolate will give you quick energy. On one early trip, the fishing was terrible and we came close to running out of food, so by the end we were practically living on this stuff and it did the job.

The guy who plans our menus has gotten really creative over the years. What we do now is freeze a few steaks or pork chops solid and stick them at the bottom of the food pack. They'll keep some other perishables (eggs, bacon, cheese, etc.) cold, and by day 3 or so, they're thawed enough to cook. We also take a supply of cornmeal batter and oil to fry our fish, and usually some instant pancake mix - the kind where you just add water or milk. Extra bonus when we find wild blueberries (a typical August treat) :smallbiggrin:

Of course, it's easier when canoeing, because most of the time the packs are in the bottom of the canoes and we only carry them when portaging. If you're hiking the whole way, you may not want to take a cast iron griddle with you, though the one we have only weighs 4 or 5 pounds. I would recommend you find room for a small Coleman burner though. It's nice to have some cooked food and hot coffee in the morning if rain leaves the firewood wet.

P.S. I would actually NOT recommend MREs if space is at a premium, as they have very bulky packaging.