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 Boundary Waters Quetico Forum Trip Planning Forum Food weight averages? Reply
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| Previous Messages: | |
| Author | Message Text |
| Deeznuts |
05/11/2023 12:02PM I had my food pack at about 30lbs for 8 days, but that included about 10lbs of trail mix that I definitely overpacked on. By the end all I had left were a handful of tea bags, a little drink mix, a packet of oatmeal, and about 8lbs of trail mix lol. I usually pack granola bars for the day and plan on a hot meal for lunch only every other day. Tea and oatmeal for breakfast, hot meals for dinner. Don't ever plan on fish for a definite meal, sometimes it just doesn't happen. I was lucky that i packed a little extra; one night everyone in the group had planned on fish and the little extra I brought fed everyone when we didn't have luck that day. I usually only plan on 1 or 2 lightweight "extra meals" (Like instant potatoes, soup packets, or an mre). Being well-fed is a pivotal part of tripping. One hangry person is all it takes to ruin the day. I would rather pack out 10lbs of extra food than get super grumpy because I'm starving. I can go without a chair or any other "extras" because the experience is fun enough, but hunger is one point of comfort not to be messed with. |
| RMinMN |
05/11/2023 06:29AM I'm more concerned with the weight of food that I have stored around my middle in the past year than the weight of food in my pack. |
| montanapaddler |
05/10/2023 10:04PMFrenchy19: "I do not weigh my food nor anything else. I bring what I deem will make my trip comfortable/successful and do not worry about the weight. I have tripped with folks who weigh all of their gear out to the .001/gram, and I can say I will never do that again." Agreed, especially on BWCA trips. Why bother when buoyancy does the lifting most of the time? |
| ockycamper |
04/26/2023 04:16PM I have changed it up over the years. Now I just cook a group dinner. Everyone is on their own for breakfasts and lunches. That solves a LOT of issues on wait and portaging. Most guys do oatmeal or something similar to that for breakfast then hit the water and stay out for the day. We do a big meal at dinner, but all deydrated, supplemented by fish. Cuts way back on food weight |
| Loony_canoe |
04/26/2023 02:16PM I assume 1 to 1.5 lbs per day. It’s an average. I look closer at calories. I’m comfortable with fewer calories (around 1800- 2000/ day) and usually only eat a small breakfast and dinner, even with traveling. So, it’s not too hard for me to stay on the low end of the weight. My present food bag prepared for an upcoming 12 day solo is 15 lbs. I also like super easy to prepare meals (dehydrated and bars). This is not necessarily reflective of other people’s needs. I have a smaller frame and I’m the older than dirt side of life, so I don’t need or want as much food. When I took teenagers, I would assume 1.5 lbs/ person a day with at least 3 meals. |
| Argo |
04/26/2023 11:09AM Last time I flew our barrel for two people x nine nights was 50 lbs. That include the weight of the barrel, harness and some non-food items to fill the void. |
| sns |
04/25/2023 07:38AM In years past I came up with 18oz per day for week-to-ten-day backpacking trips, off-trail and at/above treeline in Colorado. Came out of one of those weighing less than I had in 25 years...I lost 9 pounds in 10 days. But those were very high calorie days to be sure, and those days are largely behind me. In the BWCA/Q I would guess that for solos I am taking around 20oz, give-or-take, and I eat some fish. Group trip in the spring: we eat fish every day, so taking less than 1.5 pounds per day per person still means we bring out excess food. Family trip in the mid-summer? Probably closer to 2lbs. |
| EmmaMorgan |
04/25/2023 05:55AM On solo trips my food weight averages about 18 ounces per day. Keeping the weight as low as possible is important to me, especially on longer trips. I don’t fish, so like others have mentioned, I select calorie dense food. Everything I take (except tea and instant coffee) provides at least 100 calories per ounce, usually more. |
| boonie |
04/24/2023 09:40PM I never paid much attention until I starting planning longer solo trips. Going from 5 days to 14+ adds considerable weight and bulk, especially if you're not portioning it out. I noticed I was carrying out quite a bit of food and started reducing that, taking note of how much I ate vs. didn't eat. Like straighthairedcurly I took a page from the hikers book and watched caloric density, with an eye also to weight. Mine comes to about 16 ounces and provides 2,000+ calories a day. But I'm not a large guy and not young either. Many soloists have noted that they don't eat as much as when with others. I usually only carry out a few ounces of nuts/trail mix and a couple of coffees. |
| HayRiverDrifter |
04/24/2023 09:15PM I figure about 1 lb per day per person. I pack a lot of things in single serving bags and eat most or all of the food for each day. I carry very little food out. I plan for fish every other day. A follow on question to how much food do you bring would be how much food do you typically bring out? |
| AceAceAce |
04/24/2023 08:30PM I’ve been at around 1.5 - 2 lbs a day for two people. I tend to do a little heavier now as good food is worth it to me. It’s also something I’d rather carry a couple pounds back to the car than run out. |
| straighthairedcurly |
04/24/2023 08:16PM Solo trips: 10 lbs for 8 days is typical for me. I carefully plan nutrient dense food, and as a post-menopausal woman, my caloric needs are quite low, even when canoeing and portaging everyday. Family trips: I don't really have weights on this, but if my teenage son is along, I typically need about 2 lbs. per day for him in order to prevent mutiny. My husband's needs are somewhere in between. So we probably average about 1.5 lbs./day |
| Frenchy19 |
04/24/2023 08:15PM I do not weigh my food nor anything else. I bring what I deem will make my trip comfortable/successful and do not worry about the weight. I have tripped with folks who weigh all of their gear out to the .001/gram, and I can say I will never do that again. |
| Tomcat |
04/24/2023 07:56PM About 2 lbs per day. |
| YetiJedi |
04/24/2023 07:44PM For my solo trips, I carry 1.5 to 2 pounds of food per day and usually eat fish a little more than every other day. When I go with family, food usually ends up weighing close to 2 1/2 to 3 pounds a person per day. The longer the trip, though, the lower the weight per person per day for weight and volume reasons - we eat more fish too! |
| Rockriver |
04/24/2023 07:19PM Just curious to what folks food bag weighs? I've never weighed mine honestly. Starting to meal plan and dehydrate for our first trip in May which will be two people for six days and got to wondering. I'll compare to our 2 people 6 days bag in Sept. I'm also planning to get an average of my June, July, and August solo trips. I always take basicly the same as far as weight goes. Just curious what other folks food weighs on average for different trips. Thanks |
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