Weight of Food and What

[bredler]

Before I get any annoyed responses saying something like "This has been asked before and it really just depends on what you take." please read this question in full:

I'm still trying to decide what food to pack (not for thru-hiking, but one week to a month, but since you resupply every 4-7 days it should be the same) and I'm just trying to get a handle on food value vs. weight.


What is your average packed food weight per day, and what does that consist of?

Thanks in advance,
Bred

[Tipi Walter]

My pack weight goes from 45 to 75 pounds, all depending on time of year(winter)and food choices.

There's one word that sums up backpacking food: Variety. Take anything and everything, take what you want whether it's a cantaloupe or an avocado, take canned sodas or pints of ice cream. Take grapes, apples, pears, baby carrots, cabbage. Take cereal and dry milk. Take a dozen eggs.

Why not? You can easily eat your pack weight down, so take that loaf of bread you like or a pack of bagels. Take a deep frypan to add optional choices, mac and cheese one day and toast and eggs another.

When you think, "I can't take that!", well, why not? Quick spoilage is the only concern, not weight or bulk. Rice cakes are bulky, take them anyway. Cheese may spoil but it probably won't, take it. Sprouts won't last long so eat them the first day. Tomatoes are hard to pack and can go south quick, so eat them the first two days.

If you're sick of the old Liptons, the same old oatmeal(all hail the oat), the usual sticky mac and cheese, the boring soup mixes, dump them and use a little imagination when shopping. If you see something you like, TAKE IT.

[Peaks]

I look for backpacking food that has at least 100 calories per ounce. So, if I'm looking for 4000 calories per day, that works out to a little over 2 pounds per day per person.

Popular backpacking foods fall meets this criteria. It includes things like Liptons. Peanut butter is a favorite because it has about 150 calories per ounce.

[JAK]

Before I get any annoyed responses saying something like "This has been asked before and it really just depends on what you take." please read this question in full:

I'm still trying to decide what food to pack (not for thru-hiking, but one week to a month, but since you resupply every 4-7 days it should be the same) and I'm just trying to get a handle on food value vs. weight.


What is your average packed food weight per day, and what does that consist of?

Thanks in advance,
BredI am overweight so I don't need or want to replace the fat I burn while hiking. I only need to replace the protiens I destroy and the carbohydrates I burn. I think I need some dietary fat for proper digestions, and some fibre is always a good thing. I am typically 200-220 pounds and like to hike 8-10 hours a day, typically with an average weight on my feet of about 240 pounds. In flat terrain I travel further and burn more fat but can't seem to hike as many hours, so I need less food. In rolling terrain I can burn more and travel longer and about the same total distance. I rugged terrain I burn alot more carbs cover alot less distance but I can still put in an 8-10 hour day including catching my breath stops. In colder weather I burn more calories but those tend to be fat calories.

So in Flat Terrain: 1.25 pound of food per day
Rolling Terrain: 1.50 pounds of food per day
Mixed Terrain: 1.75 pounds of food per day
Rugged Terrain: 2.0 pounds of food per day
=================================
Target weight loss of 0.5 to 1.0 pounds per hiking day

Typical composition in my hiking diet, per pound of food:
~20% protien calories = 80g x 4.2 kcal/g = 336 kcal
~35% slow carb calories = 150g x 4.1 kcal/g = 615 kcal
~35% fast carb calories = 150g x 4.1 kcal/g = 615 kcal
~10% fat calories = 22g x 9.3 kcal/g = 205kcal
~0% fibre calories = 23g x 0.0 kcal/g = 0 kcal
===========================
~1750 kcal per pound = ~3.9 kcal/g

Some food is less dry, which drives the weight up or the calories down. If I hiked enough to drop my weight down, I would add more fat to my diet but pretty much keep everything else the same, except maybe more fibre, so the fat could increase to 40-60% or more, and the protiens and carbs would go down proportionally as the total calories increased. The weight of food might go up as high as 3 pounds per day, if I can eat that much.

[rafe]

On a thru-hike, food weight per day will vary all over the map. A few observations:
you may start off with reduced appetite for a week or two
you'll probably want more food in colder weather, less when it's hot
I tend to like sweet stuff in cold weather, salty/crunchy food when it's hot
use towns to full advantage; eat well in towns. That may enable you to carry less on your back.
when in town, eat the stuff you can't eat on the trail -- fruit, salads, veggies, fresh dairy
all but the very fittest hikers will lose weight on a thru-hike. most of the weight loss occurs in the first month or two
thru hikers who make it from GA to ME often are thin and hungry as hell by the time they're in ME.
you need carbs for quick energy, protein for long-term energy
you can live for days without food, but you'll die within 24-48 hours without water. Water intake is extremely important.Anyway, when all is said and done, you'll carry anywhere from 1 to 2.5 pounds per day. I averaged about 1.5 lbs/day hiking the middle portion of the AT last summer.

[Appalachian Tater]

Terrapin's right. It depends on the weather, the terrain, how many miles you cover, how long you've been hiking, what you're craving, how old you are, how much weight you've lost, if your intake has sufficient nutrition. Protein is important for repairing your body. If you actually read the labels on what you eat, you will see why so many hikers crave red meat when in town--they're protein deficient.

So the weight of your food will vary. The first few days out, I'm not so hungry, especially when the temperature is warm, and may eat a little less than I do at home.

[Wise Old Owl]

All excellent reply's I use a lot of dried foods both storebought and homemade that I can add water to. On a one week experience the food bag weighs 6-10 lbs from experience. On one trip because of others I carried two food bags each the size of a bear cannister.

[Footslogger]

Before I get any annoyed responses saying something like "This has been asked before and it really just depends on what you take." please read this question in full:

I'm still trying to decide what food to pack (not for thru-hiking, but one week to a month, but since you resupply every 4-7 days it should be the same) and I'm just trying to get a handle on food value vs. weight.


What is your average packed food weight per day, and what does that consist of?

Thanks in advance,
Bred
=====================================

Regardless of the number of days out ...I average 2lbs of food per day.

That consists of a mix of the following:

Breakfast

Oatmeal Bars (I generally eat 2/day), Tang, Coffee

Lunch

Crackers/bagel, Peanut Butter, cheeze

Dinner

Lipton style meal, Stuffing mix with chicken chunks, pasta wheels/sause - always throw in one EXTRA meal (ramen or the like) just in case.

Dessert/Snacks

Fig Newtons or other small cookies, candy bars (mainly Snickers), GORP (my own mix), Hard candy

Miscellaneous

Packets of Emergen-C (Basic, Joint Health and ElectroMix)

'Slogger

[Frosty]

I am overweight so I don't need or want to replace the fat I burn while hiking. I only need to replace the protiens I destroy and the carbohydrates I burn. I think I need some dietary fat for proper digestions, and some fibre is always a good thing. I am typically 200-220 pounds .
Doesn't sound so bad. How tall are you?