Silly Little Food Question

[GratefulHike]

I am packing up for a 6 night trip in the smokies and my biggest problem is the amount of food I am bringing. The total weight of my food is just about 9lbs, well within reason I think. Weight isn't the issue, it is the volume and amount of space it is taking up. I have the osprey atmos 60 and it takes up about half my internal compartment. All my food is vaccuum sealed as well. My food consists of jerky, nuts, dried fruits, pepporroni, totollinni, raman, you know the norm.

I haven't yet backpacked with this pack and in the past I used a north face and didn't have this problem because the compartment was more square. Dropped the north face and saved 3lbs.

Did I miss something? Does this sound right to everyone or am I way off somewhere.

On another note, I am starting from Davenport Gap next Saturday, to those of out there this week, can you keep me posted on the trail conditions. I have heard it is pretty messy out there.

Thanks!

[10-K]

Just hiked the Smokies and dealt with the same thing though I had the "full pack syndrome" before this particular section.

I guess what it boiled down to for me was what else was in my pack besides food. I traded in my synthetic sleeping back for a down bag. The down bag compressed at least 2/3's more than my old bag and save over a lb on top of that. Next, I looked at my tent - got a smaller, lighter tent which had the same result - less weight, more room. Got a smaller pot to cook in, eliminated things I carried and never used, etc.

What I'm getting at is that by reducing the size of other things and getting rid of unnecessary items I was creating more room in my pack so that when I did hike the Smokies I had plenty of room to carry 6 days worth of food.

Don't know if that's the line of thinking your on but that's what came to my mind when I read your post.

[Peaks]

9 pounds isn't much for 6 days worth of food. I'd expect 15 pounds or so.

[gumball]

This won't save you space, but try separating your food into two separate sacks, perhaps one for snacks and one for meals? It makes it easier to pack that way. 9 lbs is not a lot of food for this time of year and a six day trip.

If you divide it into two smaller sacks, you could always latch one on top, I suppose.

[GratefulHike]

gumball, i am already there I have two sacks divided exactly as you suggested, one is meals and one is snacks... dude were you going through my pack?

10-k, cool, i think you hit the nail on the head. I have really upgraded some of my stuff and haven't done a 6 day no resupply lately. so i guess i am just amazed at how much of my pack is food and how much of everything else it isn't.

[JAK]

Some foods are definitely denser than others for the same kcal per gram. A far as fats go, they are all about the same and very dense, but of course you can't live on fat alone. As far as carbs go, honey is most excellent. Sometimes you can pack stuff in honey, which helps preserve it as well. By weight, water is your main enemy. By volume, air and water are your enemy. Of course packaging is your enemy also, but because of the extra air as well as the extra weight. I cut down on volume and weight by packing everything in bulk rather than individual meals. It is also cheaper and simpler for me to buy stuff and pack stuff that way, and gives me more to do and more flexibility once on the trail. I don't pack alot of variety, but it tends to be stuff that can be combined in different ways.

Oatmeal
Honey
Skim Milk Powder
Trail Mix
Jerky
Tea

As a very rough target, food can be as dense as 1 litre per day. I think 1.5 pounds per day is about right this time of year. Leaner folks would need to carry a fattier diet but it doesn't add that much extra weight or volume. The rest is about the same for everyone. It is the amount of air that varies the most.

[Monkeyboy]

Cut down on the nuts and trade out for something like soy nuts.....you get protein but not as heavy as peanuts.

Also look into the type of dried fruit, which can be heavy. Dried apples are light, but things like apricots and pears tend to be heavier. Try substituting things like bananna chips....very light and good source of potassium to prevent cramps.

Also, freeze dried fruits are lighter than dehydrated.

Sam's Club in our area has bags of freeze dried cherries, raspberries, strawberries, etc... Very tasty and super light. Also rehydrate well.

Some snacks you also may want to look into are instant pudding and powdered milk. Mix the pudding and enough powdered milk in a ziploc and just add water, and maybe a few of the freeze dried berries. Wait about ten minutes and eat. Quick and light.

[Cuffs]

Just for clarification, is it the Atmos 50 or 65? If its the 50, your food will take up quite a bit more space obviously. The 65 will give you a tad more room. But as others have said, I think 9# is good. On hikes of that duration, I dont find that I get too hungry anyways...

[shelterbuilder]

This won't save you space, but try separating your food into two separate sacks, perhaps one for snacks and one for meals? It makes it easier to pack that way. 9 lbs is not a lot of food for this time of year and a six day trip.

If you divide it into two smaller sacks, you could always latch one on top, I suppose.

Brad, I think that Gumball is heading in the right direction, but I'm going to suggest that you take it one step further - can you split off your first 2 days' worth of meals into a 3rd sack, and VERY SECURELY fasten it to the top of your pack? (You don't want it swinging around AT ALL - it has to be secure.) This will give you a bit more space inside the pack, and after the first 2 days, you'll have eaten your way through the extra sack and be able to stow it inside.

[winger]

Actually I think 9 lbs is a lot, maybe a list of your foods with weights would help.

[fiddlehead]

I rarely take 6 day food with me.
But on times that i have, i think half of the pack being food is correct.
You gotta eat!
Once i carried 12 days food (unnecessarily as it turned out) and of course i had to make changes in my diet to do this and eat a lot more ramen, oatmeal, instant mashed potatoes, etc. (thing i don't really like that much but HEY! you gotta eat!)

[GratefulHike]

here is my list... ignore the prices, this is part of my pipe dream to sell meals for backpackers....

Like I said weight in this case isn't my issue it is the amount of space it takes....

Also, I create a menu just to know I have enough food for the time. I don't actually eat what is on the menu each day.

I may be a tad bit ocd which would account for why I have spreadsheets like this.... My music and bills are in spreadsheets much like this too...

[excuses]

When you downsize the pack you can really appreciate all the things you probably don't need. Keep the food and look at the other gear like others have said. It'll be sloppy but hey, becareful and have a great hike.

[tchiker]

yes, kcal per ounce is definitely something to look at when you pack your food...you want the most "bang for your buck" for the most part. It's usually a good excuse for me to eat some junk food and feel good about it.

[PJ 2005]

You should be able to carry 9 pounds of food in a 60 liter pack... what else do you have in there?

Be thankful that they don't require canisters in the smokies

[winger]

I looked at the spreadsheet. Lots of good choices, I just wouldn't eat a 1/3 of it all, and cereals take up space, are less "dense" in comparison to the jerky, peanut butter etc. I usually rely on one "meal" a day, then use gorp etc and candy bars in between. Packets of tuna, and chicken are good choices to go with the ramen.

[GGS2]

I looked at the spreadsheet. Lots of good choices, I just wouldn't eat a 1/3 of it all, and cereals take up space, are less "dense" in comparison to the jerky, peanut butter etc. I usually rely on one "meal" a day, then use gorp etc and candy bars in between. Packets of tuna, and chicken are good choices to go with the ramen.

Snacking is good. Easy to digest, you get calories all day long, and you don't have to stuff food down your gullet more than you can stand. Also don't have to cook so much. Good way to go, but you have to eat your snacks!

[Turd Burner]

If your whining about 9 pounds of food for 6 six days........don't forget to grab your skirt.

[Monkeyboy]

Dump the Capn Crunch and go with something like oatmeal or instant grits that take less space and stick with you longer.

You can also save space by replacing bagels with pita bread.


And that's a lot of pepperoni......I'd have heart burn for a week.
Maybe change for some chicken or something, dang!

[Monkeyboy]

If your whining about 9 pounds of food for 6 six days........don't forget to grab your skirt.

He's wanting to save space, not pounds.