I’m in the last throes of packing for a river trip in northern Alaska this August–24 days-- and I’m having a hard time getting below 2 pounds per person per day for food. It’s pretty basic fare: granola or oatmeal with dried fruit and nuts for breakfast; tortillas with sausage or cheese or peanut butter for lunch; three or four snacks a day of nuts, dried fruit, jerky, M&Ms, etc; dinners of a dried or freeze-dried rice or pasta dish; and a dessert, plus hot chocolate (hot chocolate is not light). Am I doing something wrong, or does this sound about right? I don’t want to bring too little, but I also don’t want to bring too much.
In general,
for warm blooded, active mammals they eat about 1.75 to 2% of their body weight per day in dry matter, so I’d hazard a guess you are just about on track. Maybe even low.
People eat a lot! You may want to look at adding some caloric dense foods with some extra fat in them to your stash. One of the best shelf stable fats is coconut oil, if you can find something to put it on, like your breakfast oatmeal or even in your coffee or cocoa. You may also want to try to make some jerky or freeze dried bacon. Dried egg powder can also be another good concentrate when mixed with instant rice, fat, seasonings, and vegetables for a meal. Potato flakes can make another base to add a protein and fat. Cheese powder or dried grated canned parmesan can come in handy, too.
Many people don’t realize that the “calorie” is actually a unit of measure of something burned to heat a certain amount of water up by “so much.” This is why liquid oil fuels create more heat by less (stored) volume than things like firewood or straw- or fluffy cereal flakes.You have the opposite problem now of most conventional people- you need to pack calories that don’t weigh as much or take up as much space as things that have been processed to be dry and airy.
We have done trips like that
For one thing, I would forget about the snacks.
If you have three squares a day that is all you need.
I also like a cup of coffee in the morning
Jack L
try a few day’s meals out BEFORE
you go. Have some of your trip partners join you in eating a few days worth while expending anticipated amount of energy over those test days. Will also let you determine palatability in addition to energy needs.
2lbs per day
Sounds about right, maybe a little high, but better too much than too little. When I worked for an outdoor school they measured it out by season and activity, and about a pound and a half per person per day was the sweet spot for sea kayaking. Mountaineers were closer, if not higher than the 2 pounds per day per person.
We never had a big lunch, just stopped every hour for a ten minute snack break, kept your system cranked up that way. Don’t forget a little extra for the days you are traveling back and forth between the field and front country.
Lunch ?
– Last Updated: Jul-15-16 7:23 AM EST –
water...lunch plan is wet with heavy water ? Freeze dry breakfast with 2 portions/person. Thermos or baggie in Tupper for lunch.
Try eating dinner at breakfast with a spicy pasta/chicken meal...luncheon then actualized into a snack
Food energy develops into day activity supported with coffee/tea ROTB not evening entertainment.
There's a Wiki on lunch. Read.
Nuts n trail mix are extras...munchies..but a toffee Cliff bar tween meals.
A water exception are fruity small can redbulls held by a reliable member for medical apps.
planning secret here is not adding the RB into the food budget.
fish fish
is there a suggestion of available fishing for din din ?
or are Northern AK rivers ‘silt laden’ excluding catching fish ?
food
Food is heavy, should have tried this back when all you had was canned goods. Four guys, two 90 pound canoes and four 90 pound packs was the norm. Fun for portages. And this was before packs with frames, just canvas rucksaks.
Bill H.