Lightweight Backpack Food Planning and Preparation Calorie and

Lightweight Backpack Food Planning and Preparation Calorie and nutrition planning for sustaining energy and minimizing pack weight on backpack trips A simple approach to backpack food prep that reduces pack weight, gear, trash and hassle Going beyond Mountain House and Pop Tarts!! Tips to eat tasty, healthier, more varied meals on-trail even if you’re too busy to cook Notes on resupply boxes, bear cans Lessons from 20 years of trial and error (lots of error!) 1

Lightweight Backpack Food Planning and Prep Premise: • You can go lightweight and very simple at camp, get the calories you need, and still carry rich, varied foods that you love to eat. • A trail menu that you love to eat can really add to your enjoyment of a backpack trip (and increases the likelihood that you’ll consume enough calories!) • This concept fits well into an overall system that can also reduce your fuel use, kitchen gear and trash…and eliminates pot scrubbing! 2

It’s a total system!! 1. Plan ahead to ensure the calories, nutrition and sustained energy you need for extended trips, with the minimum weight and bulk. 2. Remove the water from your food – unnecessary weight. Ø Adapt your favorite “comfort foods” for the trail increase your enjoyment, control the nutrition. 3. Eliminate cooking – just boil water. Minimizes fuel use and time/fuss at camp (including pot scrubbing and associated paraphernalia!). When you do the above, you are then able to: 4. Simplify and lighten your ‘camp kitchen’: stove, cookware, dishes, utensils. 5. Minimize your trash and ‘footprint’. 3

Lightweight Backpacking Food Prep System 1. Plan ahead to ensure the calories, nutrition and sustained energy you need for extended trips, with the minimum weight and bulk. 4

Food Planning Fundamentals: Eat Enough!! Calorie deficits can be fine on a short trip where you can ‘load up’ before and after, or if you can resupply every 3 -4 days or so during a longer trip. However… • On strenuous trips of 4+ days without recharge options, big deficits could seriously impact your energy & muscle performance, possibly even abort your trip… (or at least make it MUCH less fun! • Even on more moderate trips, you need to provide your body with fuel for steady energy from the right balance and quantity of foods through the day. 5

Food Planning Fundamentals: Eat Enough!! How much food do I need to bring? Think of food as the fuel to power your trip. Plan for enough to get the job done. • Depends on terrain, pace, total pack weight, conditions: (elevation, temperature) and individual size, metabolism • 300 to 600 calories per hour of vigorous walking with a pack is a good rule of thumb (2500 -5000 cals for an 8 hour day) Ø more for bigger people, very strenuous, cold, high altitude trips, less for smaller people, less strenuous or more leisurely trips Everyone is different! It’s critical to work out for yourself how many calories YOU need for particular types of trips! 6

Food Planning Fundamentals: Nutrition The kind of calories you choose matters! – – – Simple carbs/sugar Complex carbs Fiber Fats Protein Role in maintaining your energy level and muscle performance over an extended trip Drives energy (calorie) contribution of your food menu per unit of weight https: //blog. hyperlitemountaingear. com/build-better-ultralightbackpacking-meals-with-heavyweight-nutrition/#more-8125 7

Food Planning Fundamentals - Nutrition • Simple sugars deliver a quick energy ‘punch’ – but insulin levels can over-react and lead to an energy ‘crash’. • Complex carbs convert to energy a bit more slowly maintain steady insulin levels and energy flow. • But only lasts about 45 minutes, so you need to eat them regularly thru the day. • Fats are your body’s “go-to” energy supply for long-term exertion. • Twice the energy per gram as carbs or proteins, but burns the slowest • Require oxygen to burn not accessible for quick ‘anaerobic’ bursts. • Steady burn means no spikes – won’t drive mood or energy swings 8

Food Planning Fundamentals: Nutrition • Protein is important to maintain & repair strained or depleted muscles. Ø 1. 2 to 2. 0 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight per day is a general recommendation for athletes, though less if you are not “body-building”. Ø 65 -110 grams/day for a 120 lb person, 87 -145 grams/day for a 160 lb person Ø 10 -20% of your total food weight as a general guide Ø Eating high-quality protein (meat, fish, eggs, dairy or soy) within 1 -2 hours after exercise enhances muscle repair and growth. Ø Delivers the same energy per gram as carbs. Ø Protein metabolism generates by-products that make kidneys work harder – increase water need (so more isn’t necessarily better). 9

Food Planning Fundamentals: Nutrition • Fiber adds bulk and weight but provides no energy Ø Helps maintain steady blood sugar and “regularity” Ø Don’t need to deliberately build extra fiber in your trail diet – a small amount does the trick (and there is fiber in most trail foods anyway). 10

Food Planning fundamentals: Nutrition • Electrolytes (particularly potassium, calcium) are essential for healthy muscle function. – Start your trip in good balance. – Add electrolyte powders or tablets to your water, especially on very hot or cold or windy hiking days; or bring Shot. Blok chews or potassium tablets. • Sodium can be excessive in many pre-packaged foods. – Most issues from dietary sodium come from getting too much. – Mountain House spaghetti sauce: 1500 mg/2 C serving, vs. homemade pasta sauce with 1 tsp sea salt: 250 -500 mg/2 C serving. – Even if no specific health implications, excess sodium can make you very thirsty. 11

Maintaining energy for extended exercise • Your liver and muscles can store up to 4000 calories to meet short-term energy demands. • You can deplete this short-term energy supply with sustained exertion without enough calories going in • "hitting the wall". (or “The Bonk”!) 12

Maintaining energy for extended exercise • To reduce the risk of ‘bonking’ during sustained exercise: – ‘Top off the tank’ by consuming complex carbs above your normal ‘burn rate’ for 1 -2 days before you start your trip. (“Carbo-loading”) – Shortly before high intensity bursts, eat quick-burning carbs. – Maintain a steady intake of fats and complex carbs throughout the day – don’t just wait for big meals. – By conditioning your body through aerobic training before your trip, you will burn stored fat more efficiently and reduce the rate of depletion of short-term energy supplies. 13

Food Planning Fundamentals: Calorie Density “Calorie density” = Calories in a food serving divided by the weight of the serving Ø By packing more calorie-dense foods, you can deliver your target daily calories in less than half the weight!! Drivers of high calorie density in food? Ø Fat: 9 cals/gram; Carbs, protein: 4 cals/gram. Ø Fiber: No energy for the weight. Ø Water: Many foods average >60% water, and water adds significant weight (2. 2 lbs/L) without any energy! 14

Food Planning Fundamentals A common guideline for backpacking is a 50 -35 -15 diet : Ø 50% of food weight from carbohydrate Ø 35% of food weight from fat Ø 15% of food weight from protein The more important it is to minimize pack weight, the higher the percentage of fat you need to plan for in your trail menu. Since carbs and protein have 4. 5 cals/gram and fats have 9 cals/gram, a 50: 35: 15 diet would deliver 6 calories/gram, or over 2700 calories per pound of food weight…right? NO…. because not all food weight is carb, fat or protein – as much as 85% of fresh food weight is in water! 15

Food Planning Fundamentals: Calorie Density If you can achieve an efficient carb-fat-protein ratio AND get your trail food down to a low water content, you can pack your target daily calories in less than half the weight!! 16

Food Planning Fundamentals With careful planning and calorie-dense foods, a good target average is 2000 calories per pound of food weight (average >4. 5 cals/gram). Ø 1. 5 -2. 5 lbs/day to fuel a strenuous extended itinerary. Ø 1 -1. 5 lbs/day to fuel shorter, lower-intensity trips. 17

How to Choose Calorie-Dense Trail Foods Check product labels for : ØCalories per gram > 4. 5 – the best simple indicator ØHigh “nutritive weight”: sum of carbs, fats, protein grams per serving / total serving grams § Indicates the amount of water in the product ØHigh % of grams in fats ØLower % of grams in fiber 18

Example – Chunky Peanut Butter Ø Calorie density: 188/32 = Ø 5. 9 cals/gm Ø % wgt in fat = 16 g/32 g = 50% Ø “Nutritive” weight = 16 g fat + 4. 3 g non-fiber carbs + 7. 7 g protein = 28 gms Ø % nutritive wgt 28/32=88% 19

Example – Instant maple-brown sugar oats Nutrition Facts Serving Size 1 Packet (43 g) Per Serving Calories 170 • Calories from Fat 18 Total Fat 2 g • Saturated Fat 0. 3 g • Polyunsaturated Fat • Monounsaturated Fat Cholesterol 0 mg Sodium 190 mg Potassium 110. 94 mg Carbohydrates 34 g • Dietary Fiber 3 g • Sugars 14 g Protein 4 g • Calorie density = 170/43 = 3. 95 cals/gm • % wgt in fat = 2/43 = 4. 6% • “Nutritive” Weight = 31 g nonfiber carbs + 2 g Fat + 4 g protein = 37 g • % nutritive wgt 37/43 = 86% 20

Example – Cooked Tuna in a Pouch Ø Calorie density? Ø % wgt in fat? Ø “Nutritive” weight? Ø % nutritive wgt? 21

Examples of Calorie-Dense Trail Foods • Flavored olive oil – 9 cals/gram, 100% nutritive weight, 100% fat • Macadamias – 7. 3 cals/gram, 88% nutritive wgt, 86% fat • Almond butter – 6. 5 cals/gram, 90% nutritive wgt, 59% fat • Peanut M&Ms – 5. 8 cals/gram, 99% nutritive wgt, 37% fat • Mountain House scrambled eggs w/ham – 5. 2 cals/gram, 94% nutritive wgt (before rehydrating), 29% fat • Banana chips – 5. 1 cals/gram, 87% nutritive wgt, 39% fat • Whole powdered milk – 4. 8 cals/gram, 87% nutritive wgt (before mixing), 31% fat 22

Examples of Less Calorie Dense Trail Foods • Tuna or chicken in pouch – 1. 2 cal/gram, 25% nutritive wgt, 14% fat • Dehydrated bean flakes – 2. 4 cals/gram, 56% nutritive wgt, 4% fat • Full-fat tortillas – 2. 8 cals/gram, 60% nutritive wgt, 14% fat • Teriyaki beef jerky – 2. 9 cals/gram, 68% nutritive wgt, 5% fat • Dried blueberries – 2. 9 cals/gram, 70% nutritive wgt, 4% fat These foods aren’t “bad”!! Just less efficient in energy vs. weight. Dehydrate, balance or ‘boost’ with more caloriedense foods. Pack a mix of foods that you love to eat!! The least efficient food weight is food you carry but don’t eat. 23

Food Planning Fundamentals • WAIT!!! Isn’t a high-fat diet bad for me? Ø Not if you are engaged in extended intense exercise! Ø During long-duration intense exercise, you burn the fat as energy soon after you eat it, so won’t accumulate on artery walls. Ø Trying to go ‘low-fat’ on a strenuous, extended backpack risks not having enough calories (BONK!!)…. or carrying more weight and bulk than you need to! 24

Optional Backpack Menu Planning Worksheet 25

Backpack Menu Planning Tools • What if I don’t have a package label to refer to? http: //caloriecount. about. com/ • A lookup table is provided with many common trail foods, pre-made freeze dried meals and meal bars. • How about home-made dishes? Ø Use the label info or caloriecount. about. com for the major components Ø Doesn’t have to be exact 26

Food Planning Fundamentals: Measure! Measure your portions when you pack so that you only bring what you need! – Serving sizes on a package label are a good starting point, but can be much less or much more than you want in a meal. Invest in an inexpensive food scale (accurate to the gram level) – pour out a portion that looks right to you for a meal and record the weight (and number of cups). Adjust after you come home from each trip. 27

Food Planning Fundamentals: Measure! Why go to all this trouble? Ø Pack enough calories Ø Minimize weight needed to get your calories Ø Avoid bringing too much Use the tool a couple of times with your favorite trail foods and tune up your serving sizes and daily menu over a few backpack trips to achieve your target daily calories with the best reasonable calorie density and food weight – and foods you love to eat! After that you can use the same quantities and checklist on subsequent trips without having to work out the numbers. 28

Backpack Food Planning – Key Take-Aways Bring enough calories to fuel the trip you’re taking. Plan ahead for the highest calorie density you can achieve in a menu that you will look forward to eating the lowest reasonable food weight you can achieve. § A good target is 4. 5 calories per gram or 2000 calories per pound across your entire day’s menu. Mix up your menus for tasty, enjoyable and varied meals. Maintain a balance: Ø Ø simple carbs for quick energy, complex carbs for steady mid-term energy (every 45 mins), fats for steady longer-term energy and reserve supplies, protein to mend muscle along the way. Measure and bring only the amount you need! 29

10 MINUTE BREAK! 30

Lightweight Backpacking Food Prep System (cont. ) 1. Plan ahead to assure the sustained energy you will need for your trip. 2. Remove the water from your food. 3. Eliminate cooking – just heat water (or go cold!). – Minimizes fuel use and time/fuss at camp. – Eliminates pot-scrubbing paraphernalia) (and associated 31

Cold-food backpacking • Many ultra-light backpackers go this way to save stove, fuel, pot weight (1 -2 lbs), reduce food-prep fuss during short hours at camp. – Cold options are not always the lightest – may outweigh the weight savings of leaving your stove at home. Do the math! • A range of tasty options are available: – Ready-made deli sandwiches, pre-packaged salads (for short trips) – Peanut butter or cheese in a tortilla – Dried hummus or bean powders rehydrated in cold water – Cold instant mashed potatoes with chopped sundried tomatoes, dried onion or pepper flakes, chunks of cheese, jerky, sauce mixes Experiment! 32

Removing the water from your backpack food • Purchase quick-cooking noodle, grain or rice mixes – Downside: requires cooking at camp – more fuel, pot scrubbing; can be high in sodium – Get rid of packaging before you head out • Explore some of the healthier, tastier new brands of pre-made freeze-dried meals! – Check calorie density and sodium; get rid of excess packaging. • Purchase freeze dried and instant components and mix at home or at camp (meats, vegies, bean flakes, ramen, instant potatoes/rice/polenta, packaged flavorings and sauces). – Websites like Trailcooking. com provide many ideas! • Dehydrate your own favorite comfort foods! – Control over flavor, nutrition, quantity, variety 33

Freeze-Dried vs. Dehydrated Foods? • Freeze-drying and dehydrating are two ways of removing water from food, a centuries-old preservation method. • By converting solid water directly to water vapor, freezedrying "locks in" the composition and structure of a material by drying it without applying heat. Ø Preserves the original shape of many foods better than dehydration which requires heat. Ø Freeze-dried foods are lighter than dehydrated and can store nearly indefinitely because all the water is removed. Also rehydrate very quickly. Ø However freeze-drying is an industrial process – can’t do it yourself, choices are somewhat limited, and the products are expensive! 34

Freeze-Dried vs. Dehydrated Foods? • Dehydrated foods are less widely available commercially, but easy to produce at home with an inexpensive dehydrator. Ø Variety and flavors are limited only to your imagination! Ø Very inexpensive, and you control the nutrition! Ø Must get fully dry to achieve good long-term storability Ø Most dehydrated foods take longer than freeze-dried to rehydrate (though you can make your own ‘instant’ soups and sauces) 35

Preparing Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried Food At Camp • Rehydration strategies at camp: – Put (treated) cold water in the bag mid-afternoon and let it soak for 1 -2 hours or more before eating. – Heat (treated) water to almost boiling, then rehydrate for 5 -30 minutes in freezer bag, mug or pot. OR…. . – Boil the dehydrated food in a pot of water for 4 -5 minutes (can use untreated water for this). • For most foods my rule of thumb is to add enough water to cover the dry food with a little extra. – Powderized sauces or soups will need more water. – Can check, stir and add more if needed. 36

Preparing Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried Food At Camp • CRITICAL: The hotter you can keep your food packet while rehydrating, the more quickly the food will be ready. Ø Use a cozy or foil, keep in closed pot or insulated mug, or continue to apply heat. • Keep foods with very different rehydration times separate and mix them afterwards. • Heat just enough water for rehydrating, rinsing – does not need to boil if you’ve treated it (conserves fuel). 37

Keep your food hot to speed rehydration Cozy, foil Or insulated mug 38

Preparing Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried Food At Camp • Boost the flavors and the fat at camp! – Bring your favorite spices/flavorings, packets of condiments and dressings, or sauce, dressing or gravy mix powders – Bring flavor-infused olive oil with you in a squeeze bottle – Add whole milk powder – Bring goodies to add at camp: nuts, dried fruit, fresh onions and peppers, pesto paste, dried tomatoes, wasabi peas, parmesan • Warm up some tortillas or good artisan bread in the cozy or on top of the pot lid. 39

Preparing Dehydrated or Freeze-Dried Food At Camp • Eat right out of the bag, pot or mug (long-handled spoon). • Rinse your mug, pot or bag with leftover hot water; fold the used bag small and bring home to reuse later. • NEVER burn your trash or throw leftovers in the stream! 40

Lightweight backpacking food-prep system: Unhappy with available freeze-dried or off-theshelf backpacking meal options? Bringing your trail food home because it just isn’t appetizing? Can’t find options that meet your dietary requirements? Ø DEHYDRATE YOUR FAVORITE COMFORTFOOD MEALS FOR THE TRAIL! 41

Dehydrating home comfort foods for the trail Lots of options – and doesn’t require a lot of time or cooking prowess! • Purchase your favorite frozen or deli-counter casseroles, vegies and meats – chop and pop them in the dehydrator overnight. Will be ready to bag up in the morning. • When you make a favorite recipe to eat at home, double it and dehydrate the leftovers overnight. Control the flavor, nutrition and variety – choose only foods that you already know you love to eat! 42

Dehydrating home comfort-foods for the trail Foods that work well: • Casseroles, stews, soup bases with thick sauces & strong flavors • Grains, beans, mixtures (but test them to be sure they rehydrate in a timely way) • Thick sauces or purees that can be served over ramen, instant rice, mashed potatoes or polenta – or turned into soup at camp! • Deli-counter Rotisserie chicken, pressure-cooked canned meats • Vegetable mixtures (fine dice) – (freezer packs with sauce or butter packs are great!) Key is uniform consistency, small pieces. 43

Dehydrating home comfort-foods for the trail Foods that don’t work well: • • • Big pieces of meat, large pieces of vegies or fruit Require frying, baking at camp Dishes requiring multiple pots to prepare at camp Recipes with high oil content, or oil-packed (fish) Smelly foods Thin soups (make a thick soup base and dehydrate that, then dilute at camp) Layered dishes (enchiladas, lasagna) ok, but must be chopped up 44

Tips for successful dehydrated meals • For casseroles, stews or sauces, prepare as you would to eat at home. Be sure to cook all components thoroughly. – Can prepare-dehydrate sauces, vegies, meats separately – gives you the flexibility to mix them in different combinations or use different rehydration time for different components at camp • Chop or puree all components to uniform small size • Minimize fat in recipes – can impact storability. Bring olive oil or other high fat goodies to add to the food at camp. • Many vegetables and fruits and raw meats for jerky require treatment in advance for good results & safe storage. • Frozen vegetables are already blanched provides an easy short-cut! • Look online for specific methods to dehydrate and store meats, fruit, veggies – each are somewhat different. 45

Tips for successful dehydrated meals • Measure the food into servings before you put it in the dehydrator (Note the original volume before dehydrating. Add water at camp to bring the food to the original volume. • Spread the food thinly & uniformly over the dehydrator trays – key for fast, thorough drying. – Use solid plastic tray for runny sauces, mesh tray for drier recipes – Foods dry faster on mesh trays. Transfer from solid tray midway. 46

Some common types of dehydrators Excalibur Dehydrator - 4 Tray Horizontal fan - ~$100 L’equip 6 -tray, expands to 12 Horizontal fan, multiple temp settings - ~$120 Nesco American Harvest 700 watt with vertical fan, multiple temp settings, expandable ~$70 with trays included Nesco American Harvest Snackmaster – Vertical fan, expandable - ~$60 How about your oven? * Usually can’t set below 170 degrees – and very energy inefficient 47

Dehydrator Trays Stackable racks – can add up to 7 Mesh and solid plastic trays 48

Tips for successful dehydrated meals • The optimum temperature range for dehydrating is 140°F (vegies, fruits) to 160 o. F (meats, eggs) – Higher temps can ‘harden’ the food on the outside before it dries the inside, and the remaining moisture can breed pathogens. – Check your dehydrator (empty) with a food thermometer • Don’t scrimp on drying time (overnight or longer). • Food should be crisp-brittle, no moisture or stickiness to the touch, after cooling. (jerky, fruit will be hard but pliable) • May want to re-chop sauces or stews in food processor after most of the liquid has evaporated. – The closer you can get sauces to a powder consistency, the richer the sauce will taste when rehydrated. – The smaller the pieces, the faster it will rehydrate (but you may prefer a bit more texture). 49

Tips for successful dehydrated meals Tricks for dehydrating meals: • After the food is fully dry, let cool, then chop, process or crumble, place in a zip-loc freezer bag, and store it in a cool, secure place until time to pack. • Use sturdy freezer bags with a very secure seal. – Particularly useful if you plan to rehydrate and eat out of the bag at camp. – No harmful chemicals to leach out into your food. • Put a tag into the bag with name of the food, # servings and date it was packed. 50

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Safe Storage of Dehydrated Foods • The fully dried product should be crispy, brittle dry. Test for brittleness (or, for fruit, lack of stickiness) after fully cooling. Cool down fully before packaging. • Keep the food from re-absorbing moisture or contaminants during storage, which could allow bacteria growth. – Package in single serving bags – don’t dip out of larger bag. • If dried to the brittle stage it is not necessary to freezer-store the food (though colder is better). Can safely store most foods for 4 -6 months or longer if kept dry. • Vacuum-sealing may add some length to storage 52

Why go to the trouble? • Control over your own diet and nutrition • Can bring your own favorite ‘comfort foods’ on the trail • Meal variety is only limited by your imagination! • Much cheaper than purchasing freeze-dried meals • If you like to cook and experiment, it can be fun and satisfying to ‘do it yourself’! There are plenty of alternatives if this path doesn’t interest you. 53

Considerations for Special Diets • The same principles and methods apply. • Look for alternatives to supply the calories you need at the highest possible calorie density within your dietary constraints. • You can avoid most processed foods, but will require some time and creativity to recreate them at home. – Adapt recipes you already enjoy at home – For long trips and resupply boxes, you will need foods that will not go stale or moldy 54

Hands-On Session – 20 minutes • Compare some freeze dried and dehydrated foods • Taste some meal options prepared from offthe-shelf instant foods and sauce mixes • Explore adapting home recipes for the trail – Dehydrator demo – Sample various dehydrated meals from the freezer case and from my home cooking, compared with the original before drying 55

Lightweight Backpacking Food Prep System (cont. ) 1. Plan ahead to assure the sustained energy you will need for your trip. 2. Remove the water from your food. 3. Eliminate cooking – just heat water (or go cold!). – Minimizes fuel use and time/fuss at camp. – No need to boil the water if you treat ahead of time. – Eliminates pot-scrubbing (and associated paraphernalia) 4. Simplify and lighten your camp ‘cook kit’ 56

Camp cookware and dinnerware Pot: Get the smallest, lightest pot that will hold the amount of water/food you need at one time. § 5 -600 ml capacity (2 -2. 5 C) for 1 person, 900 ml-1 L for 2 § Aluminum: much less expensive but a little heavier than titanium for the same capacity. Can rehydrate and eat out of the freezer bag or use an insulated mug. § § § Sturdy freezer bags can be used to carry food, rehydrate in and eat out of. (“freezer bag cooking”). Need to wrap them in a cozy or foil to keep the temperature up while rehydrating. Insulated mugs hold the water temperature up for quicker rehydrating – then rinse for your next course! Lightweight collapsible bowls are- Seattle available Backpacking Mountaineers 57

A Simple Backpacking Food Prep System - Review 1. Plan ahead to assure the sustained energy you will need for your trip. 2. Remove the water from your food. 3. Eliminate cooking – just heat water…or go cold! 4. Simplify your camp cook kit. 5. Minimize your fuel and trash odor, bulk, footprint…. . ØBy removing foods from packaging before the trip – put into zip-locs ØBy being efficient in your use of fuel 58

Get the most out of your stove and fuel Plan your fuel supply for the # of meals/drinks you will prepare. § Rule of thumb: an efficient canister stove will use ~. 25 oz of fuel to bring 2 C of water up to a near-boil. (. 4 oz of alcohol or white gas per 2 C) • 8 oz of canister gas will bring ~64 C of water up to a boil if you are efficient. • Typical hot water usage is 4 -6 C per day (hot breakfast + coffee/tea + hot dinner). Ø One 8 oz canister can be enough for 11 -16 days for one person § More fuel will be required at cold temps, high altitudes, windy conditions or if you plan to cook (i. e. boil something for several minutes). Backpacking - Seattle Mountaineers 59

Get the most out of your stove and fuel Extra fuel means extra weight! Be efficient! Ø Use a windscreen (can use heavy-duty foil) if your stove design allows – but never enclose a fuel container!! Ø Use a lid on your pot (can also be heavy-duty foil!) Ø Get pan ready before lighting the stove Ø Do you really need to boil the water? (not needed if you plan to filter or treat it first) Backpacking - Seattle Mountaineers 60

Tip for dealing with those partial canisters…. • An “ 8 oz canister” is actually 8 oz of gas and 5 oz of empty canister. A “ 4 oz canister” is 4 oz of gas and 3 oz of canister • Weigh your canisters after use or before a trip. Subtract the canister weight to determine how much fuel you have left. Then multiply by. 25 to determine how many 2 C servings you can heat with the remaining fuel. • BEFORE DISPOSING OF CANISTERS: Use a Crunchit tool to empty the remaining gas and puncture the canister – then you can throw the canister away safely in the trash. Backpacking - Seattle Mountaineers Use 61

Considerations for resupply boxes • Weigh it out – you WILL be tempted to pack too much! – Bag it by day inside the box • If high fat content and not shelf-stable, or likely to mold, vacuum-seal before putting in the box (or don’t risk using that food for resupply). • Get rid of the packaging before it goes in the box. • Include treats to eat right out of the box. • Gas canisters can be mailed but only by ground. 62

Securing your food (and other scented items) Do I need to worry about this? 1. Critters are all around us, and very motivated to gather food! 2. They learn to get easy food around humans and can become very aggressive. 3. Habituated creatures almost always lose from the experience. Backpacking - Seattle Mountaineers 63 4. Good food storage and camp sanitation are an essential part

Securing your food (and. Your other. Food scented items) Securing Ursack (usually combined with odor-proof bag) Bear canister (range of sizes) Backpacking - Seattle Mountaineers Bear bagging (with stuff-sack and 50’ paracord) Many ways to do it, but very hard to do correctly 64

Other considerations for bear country • Bear canisters are increasingly required in many popular backpacking areas. • You can rent a bear can at most ranger stations where they are required. • Even when bears aren’t present, good food storage and camp hygiene are essential to keep your food secure and protect the wildlife. – Hanging food is very difficult to do properly. Carrying an Ursack can destress your backpacking food storage! • Avoid heavily used camps if possible; ALWAYS cook & eat well away from your tent, keep a clean camp, and never store food in your tent. • Animals always lose when humans cut corners! 65

Packing a bear canister • With care and practice: 3 -4 days of food in a 440 cubic inch bear can (BV 450), 6 -7 days in a 700 cubic inch can (BV 500). Other sizes and brands are available. • Low-volume, calorie-dense foods are particularly important • Choose foods that can be molded to the inside of the can – Tortillas, flatbreads – Nut butters in individual serving packs rather than jars – Lots of small packages vs. a few big ones • Don’t bring smelly, oily foods; minimize trash • All lotions, toothpaste, bug spray, wipes need to be in the can • The more miles you can cover per day, the fewer meals have to fit in the can smaller can 66

Planning, recipes and food supply resources Planning and Methods • www. onepanwonders. com/ • www. trailcooking. com/ • http: //backcountrybeacon. com/2010/08/on-trail-nutrition/ • http: //thru-hiker. com • http: //sectionhiker. com • www. adventurealan. com/food_general. htm • http: //www. backpacker. com/skills/12399? page=3 Suppliers • http: //outdoorherbivore. com/ • www. packitgourmet. com • www. maryjanesfarm. org • www. backpackerspantry. com • Redwick’s Preserves: https: //www. facebook. com/Redwicks/, http: //www. ebay. com/sch/scotred 2012/m. html? item=282182806635&r t=nc&_trksid=p 2047675. l 2562 67

Light & Healthy Backpack Food Made Simple Go forth… Experiment! Eat well! Travel light! 68