Lots of us are gettin ready to head for the mountains in a couple months. I usually bring lots of energy and protien bars with me and sometimes peanut butter nuts or dried fruit. Sometimes MRE's even. What everyone elses favorites to pack with ya all day in the mountains?
Maybe we can all get some new ideas from one another!
It depends whether I am backpack hunting or base camp.
By the end of the season I am getting tired of protein bars and trail mix.
If I am base camping I like to pack an Apple, maybe a couple boiled Eggs (all-ready peeled)Pb&J sandwich makes for a great mid day lunch.
Mountain house until the backstraps hit the fire.
bagels and apples hold together well and are pretty cheap. I will supplement with cliff bars as well. I usually have done single day hunts for elk though, so I am not the best person to ask. It is really nice to live 45 minutes drive from your hunting grounds...
I usually don't eat much when I'm out but usually have a granola bar or two with me plus a couple candy bars, maybe some raisins. Not usually a sandwich but I do have a half gallon of water flavored with either powdered gatoraid or Crystal lite. Staying hydrated is much more important than having something to eat.
Sandwiches made with tortillas.
Tortillas handle backpack storage better than bread.
Can't beat Mountain House unless you are hunting with Mike and Jason..... Terry
I like instant oatmeal for breakfast. A mix of peanut butter crackers, cliff bars and trail mix works well for snacking. I usually have a lipton rice dish with pre-packaged turkey or salmon for my big meal of the day.
I like to carry a baked sweet potato (or two, depending on the size and how long I'm hunting) into the woods. Reminds me of squirrel hunting with my uncle years ago, and you can throw away the wrapper without feeling like a litter bug.
For day trips I like fruit, trailmix and maybe a granola bar. But I'm with Pete, take lots of water and stay hydrated. I start drinking all the water I can take about a week before I leave on my trip and they stay with it. I usually only eat 1 large meal each day when I'm hunting. A light snack here and there and lots and lots of water.
Another plug for Mountain House haven't tried any I did'nt like.
For a good light weight lunch time meal I really like a soft tortilla loaded up with the contents of a packet of flavored tuna. Add one of those little single serve packs of mayonaise. Great eats and light weight.
Like Pete said, water is the most important ingrediant.
The tortilla is a good idea. I like to use bagels, they hold up better than bread also. I also use the envelope of tuna, trail mix and granola bars. That boiled egg idea is good also!......I think I'll grab a snack....lol!!!
What does everyone do for water? I know you can only carry in so much. What do you do when you need fresh water?
As for food while hunting, I love MRE's. 1 a day, and a little snack here and there, and your good to go. I have always prefered 1 big meal a day anyway.
I use a hydration pack, if out in the back country I have a small filter that I take. I also carry a small Alcohol stove to heat water for tea or coffee, I use the coffee bags or tea bags. Sometimes a hot drink is needed to keep you going!!
I use a bladder and always carry my water filter, as far as food goes - mountain house is lite and rather tasty but after 7 straight days of it.............. granola/fruit snacks/ emarld breakfast on the go bags and jerky are all good options that are lightweight snacks. I also bring 2 packs of emergen-c for each day, I think it helps and its nice to drink something flavored once in a while
For water I have a SteriPen Adventurer. Purified water in 90 seconds. Tested all over the world (think 2 months in Mexico, 3rd world etc)
But the water sources where I hunt/hike are pretty clear. If you have a lot of cloudy water sources then you need a filter. The Pen does not filter water. It just purifies it.
Never going back to carrying all I need for the day. Ever. Filter of ultraviolet, either is better than lugging water for all day.
Joshua
I couldnt stand the mountain house meals they are nasty, and we all hated them.All four of us started taking ramen noodles out each day.Try one before you buy lots of them.
Joshua,
Thanks for the Steripen heads up, I wasn't familiar with that unit. Checked it out and I may be in the market for one. Sure looks convenient.
My food plan for our trip this year goes something like this-
Breakfast- homemade granola,protein powder and powdered milk in baggies. Add water, shake- good cold or hot.
Larabar,jerky.
Lunches-ortilla with PB, bacon and honey.
Larabars, or pemmican(homemade) with honey or almond butter. Trail mix snack throughout day.
snack on trial mix,larabars, or homemade energy bars,I'll take small packets of almond butter, honey etc. A fe bagels early on.
Dinners- Mountain House or backpacker pantry FD meals. Fast, easy, filling at night when tired.
Water- we each carry a 100oz bladder. I have a pump filter, as well as AquaMira purification drops. Theyre faster than the tablets.
Hopefully supplement with some sage grouse and a few trout.
Addinga little olive oil or some spices to the MH meals dresses the plavor up, and adds some calories.
Instant Idahoan mashes potatoes, spam singles, boxed meals such as Zatarains jambalaya etc divided in half are good too, but take a little longer to prepare.
Food for backpacking should be a minimum of 100 calories per oz. I figure on 2500-3000 calories per day.
The tuna or salmon packets are good, but not enough calories per oz, so I dont take but a few ofthose.
My trail mix xonsists of almonds,walnuts, cashews, dried currants, raising, sunflower seeds,raw pumkin seeds,shredded coconut and choc chips.
Longbowben, I must be different then you. After hiking hard all day and eating dinner as late as 9:00 pm a mountain house heated meal tastes great in my opinion and has a lot more good stuff in it to keep you going the next day compared to ramin noodles. If I backpack in I usually bring power bars or Big 100 bars, goop (or whatever it is called now), nuts mixed with raisans, tea bags, instant oatmeal and a double serve mountain house meal per day. For water I take a hiking filter with my 70 oz. bladder and then 2 lightweight plastic platypus water bladders. When I use up the bladder it weighs the same as a plastic ziplock so it goes with me during the day and I refill it. I try to get the most calories out of the lightest weight and easiest gear/meals I can. The last couple of years I have gone to ultralightweight gear as much as I can, so I was stoked when Kuiu came out with their gear this year. My pack weight has gone down from approx. 45 lbs. for a bivy setup to about 30 and I am looking to add a Kuiu pack in the future to bring it down even more. The mountains are hard as it is and I'm not getting any younger! Now when I am base camping it's all the good food we can bring!
This post is giving me some good ideas guys- thanks!
Mountain House is high in sodium but tastes fine to me. I have eaten worse that's for sure!
another mountain house fan here. also, love trail mix but i have to make it myself, because im hopelessly addicted to craisins, gotta have em!!!!! the peanut butter and bacon sandwich that i read cameron hanes uses is actually pretty good as well, and does put a lot of calories into something small.
I normally go through 3 liters of water in the morning and 3 liters in the evening. So my camp routine is to filter 6 liters when I get back to camp before I take a nap. If I am on a herd I filter where ever. I always carry enough trail mix to stay out if the hunt requires it. I drink tea with instant oatmeal [3 packs] stirred in to start the day.
MAP
Trail mix, jerky, Snickers, oatmeal, and Mountain House. And grilled lasagna when you get back to base camp!
I am an MRE guy on backpack hunts. I buy Redipack meals from Ameriqua. It is the standard military MRE. I break down the cardboard boxes and throw them in the fire at base and have seperate ziplocks for entree's, snacks, drink powders. I then try and ration my food for 3 days at a time, meaning I set up a base camp and return every 3 days. Of coarse if I were further away from base, say more than 3 miles, I pack more in. Here's the website for the MREs. Made in Evansville, IN. http://www.ameriqual.com/
I make my own dehydrated meals and I like the results. But it's only fair to say that ANY dehydrated meal is better in the field after a hard day of hunting than taste-testing in the kitchen. :)
Daily Food
1 lipton rice or pasta meal
2 Granola bars
1/2 cup GORP
4 tbsp peanut butter
2 oatmeal packs
1 tuna in oil packs
1 tortilla
1/4 pound jerky
That's about 2500 calories and around $5 a day. Weight is 1.6 pounds average.
East coast archer, At night we had steaks,ribs,spaghetti,bbq chicken,briskits.The ramen noodles where for lunch.We returned to base camp every night.
I also pack in and utilize the microvavable hamburger helper packets & mac'n cheese. They both cook in about 2 - 3 minutes using my little jet stove. Also we use a basecamp water filter at camp and pack in another small H2O filter for spike camps. The key to staying light is being a minimal list and knowing were to find water to filter. Don't forget to get into shape or you will be sucking wind if you are hunting at any altitude.