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Backpacking meals help

shaffe48 said:
Well if you don't burn 4000 calories a day already, you certainly will carrying that much food around. I guess that's why you train off season and find out how much you really need and how much weight you are willing to carry.

This is the video that helped me escape designer backpack meals

https://youtu.be/aLAh77etv14
Click to expand...

Exactly, I train fairly decent in the off-season (no Cam Hanes or anything, but I get a good bit of HIT/weight training and cardio in a week) and my body lets me know. Nothing worse than being a ways out needing more fuel....
Ill check that out! Thanks man!
 
fowl punishment said:
Check out Heather's Choice dehydrated meals, much better than MH meals.
I also carry honey stinger waffles and the energy fruit chews, Justin's individual nut butters, pro bars, etc for snacks. Brady Miller on gohunt has a pretty good write up on his baxmckpack hunting and spends a lot of time on food, I stole a lot of what I do from his article.
Click to expand...
I love HC, just wish they had some more variety... I may be taking a couple different brands back in with me, gonna test a few out before I do though. Thanks for all the other mentioned here, I have been eyeing those stingers for some time
 
ccc23454 said:
Olive oil is great but turns to paste when cool. I like probars meal bars, jelly beans, dried fruit, PB bacon sandwiches, instant coffee, gatoraide packs, meat/cheese stick packs, instant potatoes cooked in freezer bag, stovetop stuffing/bag chicken cooked in freezer bag and mountain houses. I typically dont carry more than 5-6 days, by then socks underwear and base layers supply are nasty and ready to change plus water concerns. A true 10 day hunt packing hunting and camping gear any distance in one trip is pretty tough except in prefect weather which never happens to me so i plan better.
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Thanks!!
 
Bambistew said:
Good thread. I'm just thinking about meal prep myself.

I take almond butter, mixed nuts (cacao almonds are friggin awesome), smoked salmon, hard cheeses, jerky, protein bars, granola bars, precooked bacon, dried/cooked hamburger, dehydrated beans and instant rice, tortillas, MH meals or the like for dinner, protein powder/flax seed/dried milk for breakfast, a ramen or three, coffee, shot blocks or power gel and snickers/candy bars.

I'd take it all (food) with unless you plan to move. 3-8 miles isn't too much for a one way pack, especially on a trail. The spot I'm going sheep hunting this year is about 14 miles from the strip, going for 10 days and packing all food with. Nothing worse than making a xx mile food run and wasting an entire day of hunting. Took me two times to learn that leason...

I usually bring about 1.25-1.5lbs of food per day. Depends on temps more so than anything. Some days I eat 3000 cals, some days 1500. Sometimes I'm just to tired to eat and skip dinner all together. I would bet 4000 cals would be doable in the 2.25lb per day range if you are heavy on the fats. Not bad. Just gets bulky as the days stack up.

Good luck. Planning is just about as fun as the hunt.
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Awesome stuff! Ill take all that into consideration! I had planned on putting a days worth of food together and weighing it. Goal is to stay at or below the 2.25 lb mark
 
Logan Bread recipes are easy to make and easy to make calorie dense. Might be something to consider for breakfasts or snacks.
 
Some pretty cool info shared. Think I'll stick with my Costco big boxed, Mountain House pack food.

It's a matter of available time and the matters of personal interest.
 
Awesome thread, I will throw my 0.2cents in to the mix. I come from WI and hunt in Region 3 of Montana for elk in mid September. Started out 5 years ago with a pack that was about 90lbs probably lol and have it down to 48lbs with 9days of food and everything else I need for a wilderness hunt.

My food menu looks like this:
breakfast: instant coffee, 1 pack of steel cut oatmeal (switch up flavors)
Lunch/snacks: I dont take a lunch persay just snack throughout the day.
- Soft protein bar (Sams Club)
- trailmix taking high caloric nuts and some M&Ms or chocolate covered fruit
- homemade venision jerky
Dinner:
Mountain house 2.5 serving size I eat this on my own.

This all comes to 2500-3000 calories a day, I will lose 8-15lbs a trip so obviously not getting enough calories but I feel fine and strong at the end of the trip so proably just need to work out harder and lose more weight before I leave.

What I found worked awesome for me was find foods you like and take them. As a rule I wont take anything that is less than 120calories an ounce. The 2 guys I went with last fall bought marketed "backpacking" food and both were begging me for my trailmix, and jerky by day 3 of forcing themselves to eat what they had.

If you want pm me and I will hook you up with some excell sheets and websites I have found.
 
WIbiggame said:
What I found worked awesome for me was find foods you like and take them.
Click to expand...


This is probably one of the best pieces of advice! I made some breakfast burritos a few years ago (egg, cheese and chorizo). Had them all pre-made and wrapped in foil (this wasn't a backpacking trip but was sharing a trailer with my dad). Simple to just pop them in a skillet and warm them up. I didn't try them before I went for a 9 day trip. By day three I was so tired of the overly spicy and salty chorizo (and I like spicy food) that I had to kind of choke them down every morning since that was what I had. Lesson learned. I'd rather carry a bit more weight and have food I look forward to.
 
TrickyTross said:
Exactly, I train fairly decent in the off-season (no Cam Hanes or anything, but I get a good bit of HIT/weight training and cardio in a week) and my body lets me know. Nothing worse than being a ways out needing more fuel....
Ill check that out! Thanks man!
Click to expand...

Just do be clear I'm not really talking about the gym in this case. I'm talking about hitting the trail to literally learn what you are doing. Since you are asking us what food to pack, I was assuming you hadn't done that.
 
I have given up on trying to eat as many calories as I am burning on a backpack hunt. What I do isn't sustainable long term, but seems to get me through a week just fine. As others have stated, I do lose weight, but I don't feel like I am lacking fuel with my plan. I have coffee and two instant oatmeal packs for breakfast. I don't really have a meal for lunch but snack all day on trail mix, jerky, assorted bars (Clif, fruit and nut, Nature Valley cashew butter, etc.). Aside from the jerky, I strive for a good mix of fat and complex carbs. I find that I function much better if I just constantly keep the fires stoked. For dinner, I will do a Mountain House.
 
WIbiggame said:
Awesome thread, I will throw my 0.2cents in to the mix. I come from WI and hunt in Region 3 of Montana for elk in mid September. Started out 5 years ago with a pack that was about 90lbs probably lol and have it down to 48lbs with 9days of food and everything else I need for a wilderness hunt.

My food menu looks like this:
breakfast: instant coffee, 1 pack of steel cut oatmeal (switch up flavors)
Lunch/snacks: I dont take a lunch persay just snack throughout the day.
- Soft protein bar (Sams Club)
- trailmix taking high caloric nuts and some M&Ms or chocolate covered fruit
- homemade venision jerky
Dinner:
Mountain house 2.5 serving size I eat this on my own.

This all comes to 2500-3000 calories a day, I will lose 8-15lbs a trip so obviously not getting enough calories but I feel fine and strong at the end of the trip so proably just need to work out harder and lose more weight before I leave.

What I found worked awesome for me was find foods you like and take them. As a rule I wont take anything that is less than 120calories an ounce. The 2 guys I went with last fall bought marketed "backpacking" food and both were begging me for my trailmix, and jerky by day 3 of forcing themselves to eat what they had.

If you want pm me and I will hook you up with some excell sheets and websites I have found.
Click to expand...

I am very similar to this. I might be one of the few but I go with Backpacker's pantry. They have higher calorie content per pouch and don't taste any worse than any other dehydrated/freeze dried meal. For midday, I have a tortilla, peanut butter and honey. Cliff bars, trail mix and jerky for snacks. Takes up very little room. Only variety is the dinner but that is enough for me.
 
shaffe48 said:
Just do be clear I'm not really talking about the gym in this case. I'm talking about hitting the trail to literally learn what you are doing. Since you are asking us what food to pack, I was assuming you hadn't done that.
Click to expand...

No worries man. I should have clarified the Appalachian Trail and Mt. Mitchell are in my backyard.
 
WIbiggame said:
Awesome thread, I will throw my 0.2cents in to the mix. I come from WI and hunt in Region 3 of Montana for elk in mid September. Started out 5 years ago with a pack that was about 90lbs probably lol and have it down to 48lbs with 9days of food and everything else I need for a wilderness hunt.

My food menu looks like this:
breakfast: instant coffee, 1 pack of steel cut oatmeal (switch up flavors)
Lunch/snacks: I dont take a lunch persay just snack throughout the day.
- Soft protein bar (Sams Club)
- trailmix taking high caloric nuts and some M&Ms or chocolate covered fruit
- homemade venision jerky
Dinner:
Mountain house 2.5 serving size I eat this on my own.

This all comes to 2500-3000 calories a day, I will lose 8-15lbs a trip so obviously not getting enough calories but I feel fine and strong at the end of the trip so proably just need to work out harder and lose more weight before I leave.

What I found worked awesome for me was find foods you like and take them. As a rule I wont take anything that is less than 120calories an ounce. The 2 guys I went with last fall bought marketed "backpacking" food and both were begging me for my trailmix, and jerky by day 3 of forcing themselves to eat what they had.

If you want pm me and I will hook you up with some excell sheets and websites I have found.
Click to expand...
Will do! Thanks!!
 
I really like keeping morning and mid day meals as simple as possible to be able to focus on the task at hand rather than food prep and cleanup. Prepackage what you'll need for each day so getting your pack ready in the morning is as simple as grabbing a ziploc bag with two meals in it.

Lots of great bars available that work well for breakfast. Get creative with making your own trail mix for snacks (put individual servings in small sandwich bags before hand so you just grab a bag an go each day). For lunch I like the foil packages of tuna or chicken on a tortilla or pita bread with pb&j. I cycle quite a bit and enjoy some of the cycling foods available like shot blocks, gelly bellies, gels, and honey waffers as snacks. Some of the cycling drinks are also a really good way to get some calories and carbs while hydrating - another idea for breakfast as you hike (can help keep leg cramps away if you're working hard).

Have a great time, nothing like being in the mountains chasing elk.
 
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