Backpacking Food & Hydration

[brett01]

my big one is 5500 cu. in.

I have a internal frame Kelty pack, i believe its 110 litres (its big) but can't remember for sure and don't have it handy to check. Had a external frame for a few years, not nearly as comfortable for the long haul, and harder to pack certain stuff into.
The kelty's one of the best purchases I've made, i think i got it for around $300 4 or 5 years ago (hard to remember). Sure tough. I haven't packed game out with it but have packed out 150 lbs or rocks when out fishing and finding some nice landscaping materials. I was thinking how many trips its been on (I've lent it to my brothers and friends as well) and its done around 100 days of back country camping. Nothing wrecked, little bit of color fading on the bottom but no rips, zippers fine, etc.
I'm planning on buying one of there day packs. I see they cater to hunters as well which is nice.

http://www.kelty.com/kelty/products.php?type=4&cat=66

The last great purchase i made was a Cabelas sleeping sleeping bag, i switched from down after spending a night in the woods in a rain storm. I was soaked one night sheep hunting year before last and i still slept comfortable. On my moose hunt this year (slept in horse trailer with no heat) it went down to -10, was hard to get up in the morning but i stayed warm.
Tent wise for back country i carry a lightweight tarp similar to a tent fly and a light groundsheet (thin plastic). My entire setup (for 2 people) weighs about 2lbs including the rope which is always nice to have lots of anyways. If i successfully make it down to Cabelas i may look into a back up but i love the setup i have now. For a late season sheep hunt next fall (hopefully last week of October) i may look into a enclosed tent, can get pretty cold by then some years.

[brett01]

thats what breed mine is a kelty an awesome pack. Its called the "Tioga"

[Mintaka]

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[Simpatico Outdoors]

External 75L

The maker is Eureka. The hip/waist belt has torn twice at the rear cinch straps' webbing. The external is camel skin a soft texture for "quietness, but it does squeak when loaded. No big deal due to breezes & winds up high. Other game may be a problem if still hunting for game on lower ground.

Anyways this time I contacted Eureka due to the tear. It's obvious the material & web location don't jive. So the belt now gets mailed in and replaced with an upgraded belt taking care of the error. "it's been tested". So We'll see if it works.

I really like the Eberlestock J1 Series.

[Springer]

What food to bring ....? thats the one thing i always have the hardest thing deciding to pack.Well it used to be when i was always the one planning the trips. Now its everyone pack for themselves,seemed taking out newbies ended up having me pack most groceries and gear while they for example brought their -50 sleeping bag that took up 2/3 of their pack and their cotton clothes the rest Buddies pack felt like a he was packing a pack full of popcorn compared to mine.
Like TJ said having your own tent is well worth it.
Sharing a tent with someone with horrid B.O from wearing the same polypro and drying socks above your nose,never again.!!
Ok Groceries. I take a small package of frozen sandwich meat,cheese,precooked bacon for the first few days. Eat that with the heavier bagle.quick and filling while enjoying the hunt. I dehydrate my meals of leftovers and store in the freezer so when i want to take off its on hand.I buy a couple mountain house meals as well. The pita & peanut butter in a tube is always in the pack as well as some greasy pepperoni sticks. minute rice is light and easy,makes awesome rice pudding with some dehydrated milk,raisins and icing sugar.
Energy bars may taste chalky but well worth it. Oatmeal is there of course and can be eaten anytime. The knorr meals can be bought in any grocery store,light and way less expensive.Dehydrated spuds are filling....
I took a course on backpacking long ago before i did my first excursion on the West Coast trail and still refer to it from time to time.
I have a Bora Arcteryx 90 litre that fits like a glove.
Water treatment has always been Iodine tablets and some crystal lite,never failed me yet.
Ibuprophen and first aid kits are tucked in a pack pocket for sure.

the Nalgene bottle Hoax Gimmee a break,we better make sure we dont drink out of the plastic 1 litre bottles the 20 litre you put on your water cooler etc.just think how much of our eats and drinks are plastic wrapped.
Now we are getting rid of Nalgene and replacing it aluminum which causes alzheimers !

My 2 cents

[Rockymtnx]

Originally Posted by Springer

The pita & peanut butter in a tube

Can you explain more?

[Tundra Monkey]

Originally Posted by Springer

the Nalgene bottle Hoax Gimmee a break,we better make sure we dont drink out of the plastic 1 litre bottles the 20 litre you put on your water cooler etc.just think how much of our eats and drinks are plastic wrapped.
Now we are getting rid of Nalgene and replacing it aluminum which causes alzheimers !

Regardless, it was on the news for whatever that means. It was the only the ones with a #7 on the bottom....my understanding is that they have been recalled.

tm

[nof60]

I dehy mostly alll my own with a dehydrater. A little mountain house to top up. 1L water jug and filter (one dose of beaver fever is enough from drinking from one of those pristine mountain streams). As well the filter allows me to get water from almost any old sinkhole....mostly concernered with mineralization now.

[Mintaka]

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[bingo1010]

Originally Posted by Mintaka

Your food and garbage:

Odours attract bears. Reduce or eliminate odours from yourself, your camp, your clothes, and your vehicle.
Use dried foods if possible, they have less odor than fresh and canned foods.
Don't sleep in the same clothes you cook in.
Store food so that bears cannot smell or reach it. Don't keep food in your tent - not even a chocolate bar.
Properly store and pack out all garbage.
Hang stored food between two trees or from a tree branch, at least 3 1/2 metres off the ground (1 1/2 metres from a tree trunk) and at least 100 metres from your campsite

There is no such thing as a "GOOD" human-bear encounter.

on that note.. how many extra clothes do you pack? i pack an extra pair of socks, and that would be it. g bears can smell blood at 2 1/2 miles, don't you think your extra clothes in your pack will absorb the smell given off of your food in the same pack, when you cook that smell goes into your skin, clothes, tent, and the area surrounding your camp,... a wise man once told me "if they are hungry they will come".

[gunslinger]

and dont forget about noise on this note, a hungry grizzly will come to smell, noise, gunshot, whatever if he is hungry he is gonna chekc out camp,

[Rockymtnx]

I would have to agree. I don't think having multiple sets of clothes is really an option on a backpack hunt.

[Go4Game]

Originally Posted by Mintaka

Your food and garbage:

Odours attract bears. Reduce or eliminate odours from yourself, your camp, your clothes, and your vehicle.
Use dried foods if possible, they have less odor than fresh and canned foods.
Don't sleep in the same clothes you cook in.
Store food so that bears cannot smell or reach it. Don't keep food in your tent - not even a chocolate bar.
Properly store and pack out all garbage.
Hang stored food between two trees or from a tree branch, at least 3 1/2 metres off the ground (1 1/2 metres from a tree trunk) and at least 100 metres from your campsite

There is no such thing as a "GOOD" human-bear encounter.

minimizing odors is not a bad idea but very tricky on an extended outing above or at treeline eg: no trees to elevate food, everything you own smells like food/smoke... The experiences I've had with grizzleys (more than a dozen) have given me cause to believe they would rather keep their distance. a fire and flapping plastic in the wind detered many I believe - even with fresh meat in camp.

[Springer]

Rockymtnx,I got a couple little reusable plastic tubes that you can fill with peanut butter and squeeze out like toothpaste. I use the pita because they last a long time and you can stuff whatever you want in it,roll it up and chow down.

TundraMonkey Yes i hear they recalled the #7 Nalgene bottles. I'm in the business of producing plastic pellets that are sold to customers for Manufacturing whatever into their intended purpose. There are hoax's and company's that blow things out of proportion so take what you read with a grain of salt. Maybe if you put your plastic into the microwave and bring it close to the melting point you might be concerned.

Mintaka,you bet, elevating food away from camp is a great idea,but dont forget about squirrels,I remember coming back to camp to find a squirrel had climbed down the string and had eaten a whole in my food bag and was happily enjoying lunch. a small section of light picture hanging cable keeps them from climbing down now.

How about heating your food?? what kind of lightweight stove and fuel do ya'all use? Ok now check out this site if you haven't seen it before. The Bushbuddy that you build your fire in which saves packing fuel. A windscreen would be my only other add on.
http://bushbuddy.ca/

[Rockymtnx]

Originally Posted by gunslinger

except one thing is i forgot you cant take them on the planes so of course they took them away when we went through screening.lol

Which part did they take away? The fuel cell?
I never even thought of that.

[gunslinger]

thats right , they will take away the butane or gas that you are gonna use for your backpack stove..we had three of them taken away goign through the whitehorse airport, when i looked in the bin there was at least 15 cans of it.

[Tundra Monkey]

yup....no wet fuel either. Have to buy everything when you get there....or ship it ahead.

[archdlx]

this is a great thread guys! please keep it coming.....

Thanks, LeRoy.

[Treefarmer]

Unlike most of you guys, I'm not a hunter (something I think you have t learn from your dad or your uncle. Not something you can pick up at night school at the local community college.)

However I've done extensive back country travel. I worked for Saint John's School of Alberta for 30 some years, Each year had a 2-3 week canoe trip, a 7-10 day backpack trip, and several years I did the Senior boys Christmas Dog Run, which was up to 12 days. All in all I think I've spent over two years under the stars (or a tarp.)

Water:
I've never filtered water. I've gotten mildly sick a few times. The worst water I've had was on the Red Deer just before it joins the S. Saskatchewan. But the Athabasca below the tar sands comes close. By mildly sick: Stomach cramps, diaorhea, gas for a couple days. Never bad enough that I couldn't run my end of a canoe.

Food.
Lots of good ideas already presented here. Anyone who is interested in group cooking, contact me personally at sgbotsford@gmail.com (I don't check in to this board often enough) and I'll send you my brief article, "How to cook for 50 in a rusty bucket" along with my spread sheet for calculating food amounts.

My cooking methods use a lot of pasta, a lot of dried soups, some rice. Pepperoni, summer sausage, or turkey jerkey gives life to the meals. Bacon for the first week. Big spice kit. My measure for success working with kids: How many days before I heard the first McDonalds fantasy. Worst was 2 days. Best was 7. 5 was typical.

Most of our trips went 7-8 days between food drops. In the last few years of the school more and mroe trips tried to be self sufficient and carry all of their groceries for the trip. On a canoe trip it's not unreasonable to carry 45-60 days supplies. Portages are hell, of course. On hikes, I think 9 days is the most, and those first three days were not pleasant even when I was a young man. But 6-7 is a piece of cake. Winter means you can bring more fresh food along, and with the dogs to pull, the weight penalty is endurable. That same weight is one factor that made "Where's the ^*(&&^$% trail uphill bits especially memorable.

Carrying water.
The thirstiest trips I've done have been the dog sled trips. On a canoe trip, you dip your cup over the side. On a backpack trip in most of Willmore and Rocky Clearwater, you cross a stream every hour or so. But on dog sled trips what you take from the fire at breakfast is what you've got for the day.
the best system for that: Make up a big (1 gallon) thermos of orange juice crystals first thing in the morning. Make it double strength with boiling water. During the day, you stuff your cup with snow, then pour hot juice on it. This in effect doubles the quantity of juice you have. Even so we were often running dry by the end of the day. (In passing we weren't doing nice easy quad trails. Most of the time we didn't have trails. I especially remember going over the Starlight range to the Medicine Tent River, then takeing the teams across a cable suspension bridge over the Brazeau somewhere downstream of where the South Esk flows in. @*#($& wardens had removed half the treads, I think to reduce snow load. Just try to convince a siberian husky that crossing a bridge with half the treads missing, over open water, with a 20 km wind blowing is a good idea.)


On most hikes, I carry a 1 liter water bottle, but I don't bother to fill it until we come to a pass. Some passes I know are dry. South end of Lost Guide, entirety of Washout Creek. Job pass once you leave Coral Creek. Persimmon pass once you leave the bowl.

The sports jocks will call me a liar, but I think a large part of water is what you are used to. My brother tells stories of working for the forest service, and not bothering to carry a canteen. He'd drink a quart of water before leaving camp in the morning, and drink like a fish (water, not booze!) when he got back, but during the day he didn't drink, except for a juice pack at lunch. This was doing survey work in northern California.

This doesn't mean you can be casual about it. In the mountains, lower pressure, lower humidity, and hard work all contribute to dehydration, and we are so spoiled by having flavours and sugar in our liquids, that we tend not to drink enough when it's plain water. But I think most people can learn to train their body to overhydrate when it's available, and run drier (with reduced efficiency) when necessary.

Anyway, I wander, but I hope my wanderings were entertaining.

[Ramblinman]

Question for those of you that use the freeze dried food bought from the store: Do you find the caloric content and nutritional value is sufficient? I have heard that store bought freeze dried is lacking in both. Comments? I usually pack simple store bought foods high in calories ... Trail mix, multi-grain buns. Peanut butter, Granola Bars, dried fruit etc. For the extended stays I like the quick cooking rice packages with tuna packaged in the foil bag. I always prefer foods packaged that are easy and light to pack with, ease to manage in the garbage dept.