View Full Version : Food list
Chaco Taco
01-20-2007, 23:22
10 days Smoky Mountain, March 8-18, 2007
How does it look?:-?
Breakfast- Carnation Instant Breakfast (12), Oatmeal Packet (12), Honey Snickers (25), Poptart (15)
Lunch- Jerky 4.5 lbs, GORP (raisins, peanut m+m, granola, dried apple )3.5 lbs
Clif Bar
Dinner- Ramen (12) Snickers, Jerky
4eyedbuzzard
01-21-2007, 00:12
I'd want more variety, Ramen every day just doesn't cut it for me, but that's your choice. I'd definitely throw in some instant pudding/jello desserts and such, perhaps some bread/bagels/muffins. Also coffee, tea, hot cocoa? Maybe go with instant mashed potatos and/or rice to break up the Ramen monotony. I'd take some salmon fillet pouches, ham, tuna, etc. And since it will still be cool and you're not under pressure to make miles I'd be packing fresh meat for the first few days out and would be doing some backcountry gourmet cooking like eggs or pancakes in the morning, and maybe some pan breads at night. I don't mind packing 5 extra pounds to live well on a short hike, but that's just me. Depending upon weather a lot of your food could wind up frozen, so plan accordingly.
You could also consider only carrying 5 days food and resupplying at Gatlinburg or Cherokee. Whatever you decide, make sure you get a backcountry permit and reserve camping/shelter space in advance. http://www.nps.gov/grsm/planyourvisit/backcountry-camping.htm
Jack Tarlin
01-21-2007, 00:29
I think Buzzard made some excellent posts. My own quick thoughts:
1. I don't thimk you'll need 10 days to get thru the Park.
2. I'd hate to eat Ramen that often.
3. One little pack of Ramen is not much of a dinner.
I'd bring things to add to the Ramen (meat, etc.) or I'd have something along in addition to the Ramen to eat at dinnertime, such as bread and cheese, salami, etc. Or more likely, I'd pack dinners that packed more punch than Ramens such as Liptons, Mac and Cheese, Stuffing mix, Mashed Potatoes, etc. But personally, if I had to eat Ramens nine or ten days in a row I'd hang myself. Bon appetit!
Gray Blazer
01-21-2007, 00:29
[quote=4eyedbuzzard;306922] I don't mind packing 5 extra pounds to live well on a short hike, but that's just me. Depending upon weather a lot of your food could wind up frozen, so plan accordingly.
/quote (http://quote)]
Hey Buzz, how're you doin'? I wondered how I would keep my eggs from freezing last Mar camped at Rocky Bald,NC where it didn't get above freezing for 4 days. I have to give credit to my wife, she suggested I take the thermal bags (kinda like the one's the guys from Dominoes use) she had bought at Sam's. It went down near 10 degrees at night but the bags worked and I even left them out in the snow the whole time. I figured the bears would be hibernating.
Jack Tarlin
01-21-2007, 00:38
One more thing....early March in the Smokies can get butt-cold.
I'd bring along cocoa, tea, or coffee. Early in the morning, or better yet, at the end of a long day, a hot drink can make a tremendous difference.
Gray Blazer
01-21-2007, 00:49
One more thing....early March in the Smokies can get butt-cold.
I'd bring along cocoa, tea, or coffee. Early in the morning, or better yet, at the end of a long day, a hot drink can make a tremendous difference.I drank lots of hot chocolat/coffee mix on my previos mentioned trip. It just tastes and makes ya feel good on those cold days in the woods.
Hot green tea was an excellent "warm me up" drink, for some reason it seems to warm me up more than hot chocolate or coffee does on cold rainy days both for getting going in the morning and in camp at night.
Chaco Taco
01-21-2007, 12:57
One more thing....early March in the Smokies can get butt-cold.
I'd bring along cocoa, tea, or coffee. Early in the morning, or better yet, at the end of a long day, a hot drink can make a tremendous difference.
Thats what I was thinking. I just wanted to go as basic and lightweight as possible. Thanks. Im going to end up packing more and making most of my food at work (Im a cook). I have my dehydrator on full today and am getting most of my meat done now.
you can't go wrong with liptons for dinner!
terrapin_too
01-21-2007, 13:39
you can't go wrong with liptons for dinner!
As the whole dinner, it gets tedious after a while. ;) Nice to have something a bit more substantial to add to it... a little protein, maybe. Those foil packets of chicken, tuna, and salmon are good for that. Even a little can of baby shrimp.
Chaco Taco
01-21-2007, 14:06
Added some bag tuna and chicken as well as cocoa and tea and mixed up candy bars a little. Less ramen and more lipton, going half and half.
Ramen vs. Liptons
Ramen can be made more Liptonesque if you discard the supplied flavor packet(preferably during you town's its hazardous waste day), and replace it with a cream-type instant soup.
Add flesh, and voila!
Trailwind
03-02-2007, 02:49
10 days Smoky Mountain, March 8-18, 2007
How does it look?:-?
Breakfast- Carnation Instant Breakfast (12), Oatmeal Packet (12), Honey Snickers (25), Poptart (15)
Lunch- Jerky 4.5 lbs, GORP (raisins, peanut m+m, granola, dried apple )3.5 lbs
Clif Bar
Dinner- Ramen (12) Snickers, Jerky
That's not a lot of calories per day. I haven't researched to add up what you might consume on a typical day, but I think you should. I think you will be feeling very drained of energy after a few days and will experience weight loss unless you're just laying around most of the days. I would echo the sentiment about wanting more variety. Liptons noodle meals offer some variety for dinner, mac and cheese, some rice based dishes. I couldn't eat only Jerky for lunch for 10 days straight. A jar of peanut butter and some jam or raisins on bread is easy and inexpensive. A tin or pouch of tuna is another lunch easy fix. For breakfast...that's probably doable. You could use jello instant pudding to add some calories and treat the taste buds. Adding olive oil to meals can pack in some calories without adding much cost or weight. You can add calories to your water with gatorade powder, lemonade, etc...skip the diet stuff and get the calories. Calories = Energy.
Five years ago when I went on weekend trips I was losing up to 15 pounds and eating mountain house freeze dried meals for dinner. I don't recall which AT list I was on when someone that was a nutritionist saw me mention this in a post and she really gave me a lot of resources to look at for nutrition needs while backpacking. I wouldn't think of going out without 2500 calories per day...if you are doing heavy activity you might burn two to three times that. Just a guess, but you might be well under 1000 calories per day with the list you have. I could be wrong ... but suggest you do the math on it and make sure you have enough and can tolerate eating it for that many days straight. When you're out in the cold weather you need calories to stay warm too. Did I mention that a typical human body under stress will start burning muscle just as quickly as it will stored fat if there aren't enough calories being supplied.
Enjoy the GSMNP!!! It is absolutely beautiful....and very cold in early March.
RockStar
03-02-2007, 06:41
I like ramen, but the first package I made to eat I almost ralfed on the spot. My taste had changed and Ramen now was the worst. Almost a yr later I STILL just stare at the pack wondering if it will be the same result. I hope you decide to at least do a few liptons b/c they are very different and very good. .02
Ramen with differant flavor crackers is pretty good. Liptons with tuna or dehydrated meat is good. If out for a few days I do the mountain house, just because every now and then you got to have some good tasting food.
A couple years ago, on a trip on the Wonderland Trail, I decided that I could survive on ramen with dried vegetables, and parmesan cheese. I still get crud about it from my friends. I was starving, and because of the heat that week, I couldn't face eating half the time-and making it worse, being dehydrated made me queasy to look at ramen. All I wanted was fat, and french fries. When we hit Sunrise halfway, I drank a 4 pack of Snapple ice tea, a cheeseburger, fries, 1/2 cup of mayo, a couple bags of chips, and then had dinner an hour later. I felt good finally :D
Since then, I do take ramen still, but only as a backup meal. And eating it? Sometimes I get the craving. But it is rare!