backpacking food

[cole97]

Im a new hunting in the term back packing, I have only done 3 days bear hunt while back packing , so my question is how much food should I pack for a 10 day hunt , so far my lists is 10 mountain house vacuum pack meals and cliff bars for lunch , what other food is good breakfast lunch and snacks ....also how much water should I pack each mountain house vacuum pack needs 500ml of water = 10 water bottles I figure that will take up a lot of space in a pack , should I just buy a filter and set camp near a lake or creek , but if im sheep or goat hunting my camp will be on the hill and water will be a long walk to get so give me advice on your back packing on what to bring and not to bring, feel free to share your whole backing checklist and packs that will be good for hauling meat and back packing , give me a pm if you want

[SR80]

I would definitely get some sort of water filtration device, you'll be dead from packing 10 days worth of water with you

[albravo2]

A cliff bar for lunch and a mountain house for dinner will seem pretty thin after a long day of hiking/packing/climbing. You will want more calories than that unless you typically eat very light.

Definitely a water filter, water is freaking heavy to pack.

If I recall correctly, macadamia nuts have a ridiculously high calorie/weight ratio. Lots of good fat in them too.

[cole97]

Im also think vector bars stuff like that for snacks then a protein bar for breakfast . What do u guys do for water for a 10 day trip

[bighornbob]

No one packs water for a whole trip. You will have to find water in the hills. So either camp by a water source or find some in your daily hunts and remember where they are. You be surprised where you can find water on the top of mountains. Other sources are snow caps left in the shade, also collecting rain water on your tent fly or tarp are also ways of getting water.

Sometimes there wont be water on top so someone will have to empty their camp up top if you choose too and make a water run to a creek every few days. that's if you have stuff to carry water in.

BHB

[BRvalley]

oatmeal with a scoop of muscle gainer for breakfast, 2000+ calories depending on the powder you use, light weight, easy to pack

lots of recipes online to make your own dehydrated meals, that taste a whole lot better than MH, and I personally can't handle the high sodium in some of their meals...buy a few MH and reuse the bags

definitely some type of filtration system

http://www.buylifestraw.com/products/lifestraw-personal

[Stone Sheep Steve]

Lifestraws are not ideal for filling your water bottle....unless you suck it up the straw then spit it into youtr water bottle. They are more of a survival tool in an emergency situation.

I guess you could always fill your bottle with qustionale water then use the straw to suck it out of your bottle.

IMO there are better water treatments on the market.

SSS

[filmer123]

[QUOTE

Sometimes there wont be water on top so someone will have to empty their camp up top if you choose too and make a water run to a creek every few days. that's if you have stuff to carry water in.

BHB[/QUOTE]
bring a couple extra water bladders in case this happens they are really light an take up very little room when empty. We never really pack more then 2 days worth of water but if someone has to make the water run we have the ability to get 4 days worth back to camp. A good habit to get into is topping up your bottle every time you pass a water source even if it's only 1/4 empty

[longstonec]

crap. just deleted everything I wrote.

-oatmeal pack or packs +via coffee + hardboiled egg
-snack pre-baked potato stufed with meat and cheese
-lunch tortilla sandwich
-snack tortilia cheese jam/honey peanutbutter wrap
-dinner kd or ham'n'pineapple+idohan potatos or whatever you want
-bed snack. trail mix and whiskey

Boil or filter your water. You should drink at least 4 litres a day without straining too much. plus one for cooking etc. 5 liters of water a day x ten days @ 1kg per liter = 50KG of water to carry with you... Or you can calculate your water need based on how much actual hiking around you will be doing... i.e: 250ml PER 25minutes of hard hiking, but if your sitting beside camp all day glassing. you don't need to be drinking that much unless your wearing a diaper.

http://www.lightandmatter.com/article/hiking_water.html

[Stone Sheep Steve]

crap. just deleted everything I wrote.

-oatmeal pack or packs +via coffee + hardboiled egg
-snack pre-baked potato stufed with meat and cheese
-lunch tortilla sandwich
-snack tortilia cheese jam/honey peanutbutter wrap
-dinner kd or ham'n'pineapple+idohan potatos or whatever you want
-bed snack. trail mix and whiskey


http://www.lightandmatter.com/article/hiking_water.html

That's a pretty heavy amount of food for a 10 day backpack hunt.
How long would a hard boiled egg be safe to eat???? Also, what about a baked potatoe stuffed with meat and cheese? I would not want to eat one if it was in my fridge that long.

SSS

[BRvalley]

fill your bottle, use the straw to drink from the bottle....there are better options that are more expensive and heavier, but the lifestraw is a very affordable option

[cole97]

I notice mountain house has a lot of sodium but they cook really good thow is there any other freeze dry food packs with less sodium

[BRvalley]

if you ever come across the tim hortons box of coffee (ie at work) open the box and rip out the liner bag, they are fairly tough and puncture resistance, roll them up and they pack light...fill them up with water when you come across a supply

[butcher]

The potatoes aren't too bad but I find the sour cream is a little off by day 10. Also the butter gets kinda melty if I pack it too close to my body.

[cole97]

Also this is off topic question but which sleeping bags and tents are really good for pack size and which packs are good for long multiple days hunts and hauling meat

[longstonec]

Google will tell you a boiled eggs lifespan because I dont know what it is. besides. I sure as hecate am not taking 10 hardboiled eggs and 10 spuds. its a list of some ideas.
Some people are surprised how little it all weighs one everything is portioned out. Sure its more weight then dehydrated goo in a bag and a energy bar and that doesn't bother me one bit. I don't mind carrying real food as I am going to be happier eating it and I don't get funny poo's. ( ;)which is important also )

[longstonec]

The potatoes aren't too bad but I find the sour cream is a little off by day 10. Also the butter gets kinda melty if I pack it too close to my body.

The trick with the butter is put it in a camelback bladder and keep that close to your body. That way you can have a sip of butter- bite of potato- sip of butter-bite of potato.

[Gone_Fishin_]

Get yourself a Lifestraw. I carry mine on every trip and has cut down the amount of water i carry by a huge amount. Some trips i won't even carry water besides my camelback because i know where the streams are and i just stop to drink with my Life Straw.

Or you can get several different types of water filtrartion devices. Wholesale carrys a large amount of different filtration devices as well dehydrated food packs. The lasagna one is top notch in my mind just a FYI, almost a gourmet meal out in the bush.

[Ron.C]

I do a couple packs of Oatmeal and a cliffbar for breakfast, some nuts, protein bar/snickers bar through the day, MH Propac and a snickers for dinner. Weighs in at just over a pound a day. For Coffee, I like those little starbucks instant sleves.

But everyone has their own spin on what food works for them. You'll need to experiemnt to see what works for you.

As far as gear, its too easy to turn a 45 pound pack into a 65 pound pack. Be very careful and scrutinize everything you bring. If you have a partner, share and don't duplicate common items to save weight. As others have said, have a way to purify or filter water. We choose to use purification tablets and leave the filter at home.

[hunter fisher]

to each their own! i went on a 10 day canoe trip last year, and this is what worked for me:

katadyn hiker pro, for about 68 bucks plus tax, this is an amazing light and compact water filter system

- lots of oatmeal for breakfast everyday, with some powdered milk added to take away the watery taste
- protien bars/chocolate bars with nuts, or dried fruit for snacks
-kd macaroni, put in small ziplock bags to save space and ditch the cardboard box
-dehydrated sauces (grab em cheap at safeway) on either rice or pasta noodles
-dehydrated chili is great when its rehydrated

youd be amazed how much food you can buy thats already dried and packaged dry at the grocery store.
buying dryed food cuts down BIG TIME on the amount of weight you are carrying, and once you get the hang of rehydrating, youll be amazed how good it tastes. i bought a dehydrator on amazon for 35 bucks. works unreal. i regularly have dried moose pasta in the cupboard in case im too lazy to cook, which happens often. you can dry all sorts of meat aswell. jerky, chicken curry, chicken fajitas, chilis, pasta sauces, soups, jumbalaya. definetly something you might want to look into

[300win]

I do a couple packs of Oatmeal and a cliffbar for breakfast, some nuts, protein bar/snickers bar through the day, MH Propac and a snickers for dinner. Weighs in at just over a pound a day. For Coffee, I like those little starbucks instant sleves.

But everyone has their own spin on what food works for them. You'll need to experiemnt to see what works for you.

As far as gear, its too easy to turn a 45 pound pack into a 65 pound pack. Be very careful and scrutinize everything you bring. If you have a partner, share and don't duplicate common items to save weight. As others have said, have a way to purify or filter water. We choose to use purification tablets and leave the filter at home.

X2 Food is personal, believe me you will swear at evey added extra ounce. I boil my water when I can, use of purification is lightest(crystal light kills taste of iodine/chlorine), you don't want beaver fever believe me. The MH packs are way to hi in sodium and saturated(trans fats) for me. Learn whats light wieght and feeds your nutritional needs. I like gum or small candies once a day for a quick pick me up (little taste of home). Hope you have a great pack hunt, best hunts ever IMHO

300

[Trekker]

sawyer squeeze water filter. can work similar to the life straw, can be hooked up inline with your water bladder or used with the squeeze bags to fill up your water containers. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKWQjlq-uYA weights 3 oz and is 50$.

food wise I do a mountain house egg n ham or granola for breakfast, vias coffee, couple energy bars, dried peperoni or jerky, small bag of dried fruit and trail mix and mountain house dinner. weighs about 1lb 6 oz.

[HarryToolips]

Lots of good ideas on here for sure...for me, I've never had a issue with water, I've drank out of streams for years un-purified, although the life straw sounds like a great idea... for food, I usually go de-hydrated food packs as well as jerky, dried fruit, and nuts...and the odd steak:-D

[SR80]

anybody take peanut butter and jam bagels for lunches? or peanut butter,honey and bacon bagel sandwhiches? Pack em full and squish em down and wrap em up tight!

[Papa Sasquatch]

I got my own homemade brand of Papa Sasquatch super nutritious Cookies. Freaken delicious light and full of everything I need as a meal replacement until I am back at the camp.

[longstonec]

anybody take peanut butter and jam bagels for lunches? or peanut butter,honey and bacon bagel sandwhiches? Pack em full and squish em down and wrap em up tight!

I swap the bagels for tortillas. cant get good bagels out here anyways. all my jewish friends in toronto spoiled me!

[Bugle M In]

As said...water is way too heavy...so 10 days = water runs if not close to a source.
Nuts like cashews always help the hunger pains and give you the sense of fullness.

Best advice..try living on some of the stuff you plan to pack for a few days as a trial run...
Then you will have a slight sense of how hungry you will be, and how things taste....trust me, even after hunger sets in, some things with too much sodium may make you want to chuck, even though your hungry.

As long as you are able to get back to a vehicle to retrieve more food, I wouldn't suggest 10 days unless you had a shorter days of practice first.
Water will always be the big problem.

[Papa Sasquatch]

As said...water is way too heavy...so 10 days = water runs if not close to a source.
Nuts like cashews always help the hunger pains and give you the sense of fullness.

Best advice..try living on some of the stuff you plan to pack for a few days as a trial run...
Then you will have a slight sense of how hungry you will be, and how things taste....trust me, even after hunger sets in, some things with too much sodium may make you want to chuck, even though your hungry.

As long as you are able to get back to a vehicle to retrieve more food, I wouldn't suggest 10 days unless you had a shorter days of practice first.
Water will always be the big problem. For anyone hiking away from basecamps for days. If I may ad that any diet plan (basic nutrition) like any other habit modification requires a minimum of 14 days of dedication for the body to set in and stop fussing (growling tummy!).

[Tuffcity]

These things are the cats ass for breakfast. http://www.packitgourmet.com/JumpStartFruitSmoothies.html One of these (an instant oatmeal too if you really need a bigger breakfast) and a VIA coffee make for a good start to the day. Even half of one is pretty good filler.

RC