Backpack trip food list?
Elk
For those that spend some nights spiked away from base camp or the trail head, what does your backpack trip food list look like? I would love to see a spreadsheet of your food list so I can get some better ideas of what to bring on my trip this fall.
Last year we brought some stupid $#!+ in with us for our first ever pack trip...Capri sun? Butthole sandwiches? Metal flask with shitty Scotch whiskey? Dumb, dumb, dumb.
The ironic part of packing in WAY too much food is that we shot a bull the first night, packed it out all night and never ate anything in camp and packed all the food back out.
I have Mtn House meals but am always looking for ideas for my son who can't eat MHM due to the amount of MSG.
As always, much appreciated!!!
I like to get a bunch of those peanut butter and honey type squeeze packages. Use them on tortillas or whatever you decide to bring in with you. You can throw in a packet of oatmeal or whatever else fits the bill, roll it up and eat it. Good mid-day pick me up that's easy to pack.
For breakfast, I'll usually put a several days worth of oatmeal in a ziplock bag. It only takes a few minutes to boil each morning, which I do while getting ready to head out. I'll grab a few packs of sugar or honey from a restaurant on the trip out to add flavor.
For evening meals, I take a variety of the Lipton dried noodles/dried rice packages. They only weigh a few ounces each and also cook up in a few minutes. For protein, I take tuna/chicken/salmon packets and add one of those to the noodle mix. I can make several days worth of meals for just a few ounces/day. The noodle mixes are also fairly high in sodium, but usually nowhere near as the MH meals.
Of course, the best meal on a backcountry elk hunt is the steak dinner the fist night you get back in civilization. I suspect elk backstraps cooked over a fire at 10,000 feet tops everything, but I haven't had a chance to try that yet :-)
For breakfast, I like granola with powdered milk - just add water - and starbuck’s via instant coffee. Lunches are foil pack tuna with a little mayo packet on tortillas. For dinner, I like the Lipton rice packets or iinstant mashed potatoes with canned chicken breast, or grouse breasts if I can shoot some. I pack trail mix and various granola and energy bars for snacks. I like Gatorade powder to help rehydrate and replace electrolytes; I sweat a lot while elk hunting, especially early season. Poudre
Breakfast Two packs instant oatmeal Small box of raisins 1oz walnuts
Lunch two cliff bars or variation health bar 2 oz pepperoni
Dinner Mountain house Pack of ramen Snickers bar
I normally augment with 3ozs of gorp as an in between snack
I can run on this for an extended period. You can get by with less for short 2-3 day stints. I seam seal into one day package. So for seven days I take seven packs.
When planning a hike away from base camp I always pack a life stray water filter and few pre-made burritos. A couple bean and cheese and couple bacon & egg burritos wraped in foil requires no boiling water, takes up very little space in your pack and provides all the nutrients/protein needed for a couple nights/days away from base camp. As far as base camp, I pack gourmet meals! Coolers are packed with steaks, pork chops, eggs, bisquits...... everything I love to eat.... I always over do it for base camp groceries, but it's never a problem with coolers around. oh.... a flask with a good Kentucky bourbon is always a must!!!!!
Good ideas so far, thank you. I should mention, I will have my JetBoil and can do a fire if my son absolutely requires it at camp but I'd prefer to not deal with collecting fire wood and once I have a fire going I am always tempted to stay up later than I should. ;)
Woah, Big Mo....I typically scan these threads with a 'ho hum, nothing new' bend.....and then this pops up. I had to read it twice. You take a cheese, bean and egg burrito on an extended backpacking trip?
How do you keep it from spoiling?
I'll just say that obviously all the lightweight food makes sense but there are few meals that rival finding out your buddy packed in two steaks and a couple bottles of beer that he stashed in the creek when you reached camp after packing in.
Logical? Maybe not but it gets remembered and talked about for years. Chilimac memories fade a lot faster.
i was wondering the same.......
All in what floats your boat
We carry MtHouse Instant Oatmeal Grits some junk food (gorp snickers m&m’s) rice ramen cans of chicken
But along with the buddy that packs in the steak we shoot grouse and on a one burner pocket rocket with a couple of camp cups and some oil and flower and a small can of condensed milk I can pull off fried grouse, pan biscuits, rice and milk gravy and THAT as noted above is the Stuff memories are made of
You can get away with what Big Mo is saying if its just a couple nights. That's really not that long. I usually bring some real food in for the first night anyways then after that its the same old routine of oatmeal, mtn house and bars.
I always have to supplement with mountain house but lately vacuum sealing bagel sandwiches with Dijon mustard and smoked salmon or another cured meat has been great. Ramen, mixed nuts, sour patch kids, instant potatoes are always in the pack as well. For your son preservatives will always be tough but to this day one of my favotite lunches is vacuum sealed bagel peanut butter and jelly.
Tom
Look into APack mre meals. They come with a self heater and lots of goodies. Your son will like them.
Mountain house chili mac twice each day along with some walnuts.
Hard to beat this for lunch
Hard to beat this for lunch
Hudson Bay Bread, https://www.holry.org/resources/Documents/Website/Hudson%20Bay%20Bread%20Recipe%20Card.pdf
Hard to beat this for lunch
Hard to beat this for lunch
Hudson Bay Bread, https://www.holry.org/resources/Documents/Website/Hudson%20Bay%20Bread%20Recipe%20Card.pdf
Good thread, i'll be keeping my eyes on this as well for new/different ideas. Im getting bored with mountain house and oatmeal. I mean it fills a hole but id like to change it up some. Bagels and peanut butter and jelly vacuumed sealed sound like a great idea as does foil packed tuna.
Just the standard packaged stuff.
Just the standard package stuff.
I always take too much stuff, food included. Food take too much time in camp preparing and eating. Like fetching water, it is a pain in the arse and I have found myself limiting it more and more each year. I have found myself packing home 4-5 MH meals I never took time to eat and didn't miss at the end of a hunt. What a waste of space and weight. I have shifted towards more easy quick snacks than full "meals" for my backpacking hunts and spike camps. Meat sticks, individually packaged cheese slices, trail mix of nuts, fruit and M&M's, MH blueberries and granola, Honey Stinger products are all pretty awesome and I carry a variety to mix things up. I love Justin's products but hate having to deal with the sticky packaging after eating, but then the honey stingers have similar issues with their waffles and gels. Everyone has their own tastes and needs to keep up focus and energy, no one will be identical. Find what works for you and for your son and work it.
Peanut butter and bacon sandwiches along with oatmeal packets and ramen. Instant coffee bags are also the way to go.
I’m usually out for longer than 2-3 days, but like you MH isn’t high on my list. For an upcoming 14 day hunt I’ll pack:
Breakfast: quick oats fortified with as much dried fruit, seeds, powdered milk and brown sugar as it will hold, plus via coffee.
Lunch: trail mix, cliff bars, and chocolate/candy snacked on throughout the day.
Dinner: home dehydrated meals (curries, chilli, stew, etc) fortified with couscous, potato bark, instant rice, etc. These are put in a MH bag with water, so it’s one quick boil and sit.
We also bring a jar of Peanut butter and have 1-2 tbsp throughout the day to up the calories.
I don't know that I'll ever spike in again on a hunt, but if I do, I'm gonna toss all the old traditional stuff I carried. Like energy bars, peanuts, etc. Last year I couldn't even force down a bite of that stuff. I just can't do it.
If I was planning a spike hunt today, I think I'd take a MH meal for every evening. And then just buck up and carry extra weight for jerky, snack sticks, some cheese, and some of the other good idea you see on this site like burritos and stuff like that.
I'm pretty sure one year my turd was just one large peanut. I can't even eat that stuff anymore. I'd rather take a beating than eat an energy bar
Yup, MSG is in about everything and it SUCKS!!!! Powdered potatoes with powdered milk and spices of my choosing is a good base to start with, Tuna packs, 3min pasta, minute rice with your spices ; gotta think out side the norm, a MSG reaction in the woods is no damn fun!!
Thanks again to everyone for the advice and input. I know it gets brought up every year but I enjoy seeing peoples new ideas.
My son recommended we save the weight and bring no food and just shoot another elk the first night and hit the McDonald's drive thru on the way out again. LOL!!!
Years ago I got a spreadsheet from a guy 'buckt4' on the old AIN network that became Archery Talk. I updated it a few times and have it uploaded. If you can see excel spread sheets take a look at this backpack hunting list. I have always found it pretty useful, but you'll surely want to change it up with many of the suggestions here in this post. In any case I think it's a useful tool for sorting out what exactly do I need for a given number of days away from basecamp.
www.c3di.com/images/archery/backpack-hunting-list.xls
I got tired of Mt House too, so I started packing portions of couscous (with various seasonings) in freezer bags. Then I bought packets of pre-cooked Tyson chicken. At camp, I just boil water, put it into the couscous and add in the chicken. Weighs a bit more than Mt House, but tastes and is better for you.
Obviously depends on how much you put, but for me it comes out to ~12 oz for 570 cal and ~60 grams of protein. You could probably split the chicken packets into 2 meals or add almonds or something to change the calories/weight ratio but it works fine for me.
Years ago we would trail ride mt. bikes wearing the old camel back hydration pack. We would stop at the gas station for snacks on the way out and buy one of those giant microwavable burritos. If you place the burrito between the pack and your body and ride all day at the end of the day you have a piping hot meal. I wonder if that would work elk hunting....
Peanut, bacon and honey burritos. Last for days.
Kevin@wiscon believe it or not they now make underwear just for that. Your very own personal oven. It goes wherever you go.
Jerky/biltong and potato flakes make good extenders for many things.
I recommend trying out you new diet for a few days before hand. I had a friend get constipated from PBJ and whatever else we were eating and he had a pretty miserable trip. I like pizza so I pack pepperoni and string cheese. Put on a wrap and heated up in tinfoil on a small stove its a pretty good substitute and mood enhancer. I basically keep it pretty simple though. Quality cereal and powdered milk in a bag for breakfast. Some bars, nuts and dried fruit for filler. By the way the Hawaiian that is in Paul's picture is the bomb. Dinner I bring the instant taters and chicken or tuna packets and add in string cheese. Condiment packages from restaurants go a long way. Mustard, ketchup, honey, hot sauce and salt. Little packets of dried drink mixes can be a great change from water once a day.
If you never tried it, I recommend dehydrating some prego (or your favorite pasta sauce).
I did that on my first backpack trip and it was awesome. Just pour on a plate and place in the oven or dehydrator at 140 for a few hours. Make a fruit rollup kind of thing and easy to carry.
HTNFSH, This may be a stupid question but what exactly are you doing with your dehydrated prego-roll? Do you add it to something or are you just snacking on chewy pasta sauce?
I tried the bacon, on, and honey tortillas last year. I normally have a pretty stout stomach but they didn't work for me.
I’m surprised no one has mentioned the “butthole” samich yet.
My first post mentioned it as something we packed last year and will not be packing again this year. Each sandwich weighed 16 oz.
In 2009 my buddy, took his horses and went for a ride, and cached a 12 pack of beer for me, in a secret spot, where I was going to camp. I had no idea, but found his note, and found the beer,,,, wow on the 3rd day, celebrating a friends cow kill, it made the day......... it was also shared with some other hunters who happen to come by, in the area,,,,, that was fun
That is awesome! NOT something I will be packing in this year but that's a great friend you have!
I avoid strong flavors/smells/spices such as garlic, onion, cumin, etc...which results in some plain tasting meals. I'm sure we've all experienced being in the area of someone who has eaten something as mentioned and can't stand to be near them because of the odor and, I know, is smelled and spooks the animals.
Here's some of my food from a few years ago.
1) is 1/2 pouch of Idahoan instant potatoes
2) is jerky
3) is repackaged Mountain House
4) raisens
5) cashews
6) mini Ritz
7) honey nut Cheerios, granola & chocolate chips.
I sometimes mix milk powder, protein powder and Carnation Breakfast (I call it Mountain Milk) but it tears my guts up pretty bad...
LOL....Mountain Milk sounds more like TurboLAX!
I do the Mountain Milk, too, occasionally. No GI issues so far!
I haven't trademarked it so I suppose somebody will steal it ;^)
One tip on mixing up the Mountain Milk is to mix it up at night before you go to bed and drink it in the morning. It seems to dissolve and blend better if it sits overnight. I mix it up in a Ziploc and use a heavy duty straw to drink it out of the bag.
Lark, I add part of the prego roll-up back to what ever noodles I cook over a jetboil. Just makes sauce easy to pack and lighter weight. I've found pasta in the field to be a delightful energy booster. Don't get me wrong, mountain house and the other pack meals are decent. Hunger is the best seasoning after all.
Backpack Hunt Meal Pack
Backpack Hunt Meal Pack
Here's what I've done for backpack meals:
*Muesli w/ whole fat powdered milk and raisins
*3.3 oz jerky
*Snack pack w/ almonds, m&ms, clif bar
*2 fun-size Snickers
*2.5 serving Mountain House
Total Weight = 1lb 6oz
Average Calories = 2,500
This is for one day, with each day's food packed in its own 1gal ziplock for convenience.
Unrelated question... How in the world do you create a list without adding enormous spacing between the lines? I've always been miffed by the text entry tool on this forum.
I am with Ohiohunter...I never seem to be able to get spaces between my lines which makes me look as if I don't appreciate paragraphs, lol.
Here's my list. I don't mind the butthole sandwich. they are heavy but they hold up well.
SoDakSooner, I have nothing against them other than they were heavy and we never ate them...and packed them out. It was dumb... After getting home and spending the time to process the elk myself, and get on with life, work, etc. they sat in my pack for a few weeks. The smell was horrendous! lol
Brings back bad memories. My food list for my last trip was as follows: Breakfast is a bobo bar and 2 alpine start coffee packets. The bobo bars are basically compressed oatmeal. Very palatable, very quick. 380 calories per bar, and stuck with me really well. Lunch is 2 epic bars. Basically pemmican: jerky and dried fruit. 130 cals per bar.. so 260. (sometimes I'll add some trail mix to this, but did not this last trip) Dinner is a backpackers pantry bacon cheddar mashed potatoes, and a chicken of the sea pouched salmon mixed in. About 500 calories. Then a bobos bar before bed. Another 380. It was a good mix of quick no-cook early, but a relaxing warm meal at the end of the day. It’s a little light on calories at about 1600, but it is all very palatable, and kept me running well the whole trip. Overall, I ran 4 days on that without getting sick of it, or running out of gas. This is the same menu I'll be running for elk in September.
Yeah, I get it Lark. Not exactly a gourmet meal, but good energy if you can choke them down. I don't get really hungry anyway, i don't know if it is the altitude or exertion level, so it is kind of a chore to eat them. I get the same way with Clif bars. Used to love them but a couple a day for a week kills my appetite for them for the other 51 weeks a year.
So Lark....does the butthole sammich live up to its name after a couple weeks abandoned in your pack? :LMAO!!!!!
Yes, it does. I almost had to throw away a "brand new, only used one weekend" Kuiu Icon Pro 5200. It was THAT bad!
