Calorie dense foods for winter backpacking?

Even though the food is the most important thing on such a trip, I think one should also prepare for not getting into risky situations. A proper equipment is really worth the while. First aid and a compass are equally important in case of emergencies. There are actually a few watch brands which offer a range of models able to fulfill the purpose of a compass very well. Most of them are quite simple in their usage and as they are worn like wristwatches, they do not obstruct the wearer in any way.
 
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Add Nutella, the eight wonder of the world.
Great source of protein and fat and you can find it all over the planet.
 
I fill muffin tins with dehydrated ground venison and potato flakes, then fill them to the top with tallow that I render from beef suet. I usually add some granulated garlic for flavor as well. They're little pucks of energy that don't need heating. My hiking companions find them unpalatable (they call them Beef Candles), but they do exactly what I need them to.
 
Inspired by this thread I prepared some emergency ration bars: I heated up roughly equal amounts of suet, sugar and rolled porridge oats in a saucepan and stirred for a while. I added a small amount of lard, a little salt, a glob of golden syrup, a few drops of vanilla essence and some sultanas. Then pressed it into a tray to cool, cut up into bars and wrapped them. I'm going to keep them in the car but the leftover bits were quite tasty :)

Some calories in that, eh?
 
Fig Newtons, Nature's Valley sweet & salty nut granola bars, Canned fruit cocktail(imo), rice crispy treats???, trail mix, chocolate, pop tarts(also IMO), and meat sticks/jerky.
 
A.W.U.K. said:
Inspired by this thread I prepared some emergency ration bars: I heated up roughly equal amounts of suet, sugar and rolled porridge oats in a saucepan and stirred for a while. I added a small amount of lard, a little salt, a glob of golden syrup, a few drops of vanilla essence and some sultanas. Then pressed it into a tray to cool, cut up into bars and wrapped them. I'm going to keep them in the car but the leftover bits were quite tasty :)

Some calories in that, eh?
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These sound exactly like the oatmeal biscuits we got in Comp Rations in Army Cadets in England in the 60s
 
One of the simplest things I make is chocolate covered shortbread. Scroogle a recipe for Scottish shortbread. Dead easy to make, kids do that at infant school. On top of that a layer of goop. Simple goop can be made from boiling a can of condensed milk in a saucepan full of water for a good long while 'till it turns to a sort of brown caramel colour and thick. Screw that. Obviously if you don't poke holes in the can you could have an accident. If you do poke holes in the top of the can and a little bit bubbles out it makes the tin opener phase a pain. Nah, just tip it into a bowl and whack it in the microwave. [Caveat: As is turns brown it is going to bubble away like lava – kinda savage substance you'd want to throw over your battlements at people you don't like. It'll carry on boggling along like that well after you take it out the microwave. You really don't want to catch a burn off that]. While that is still hot and soft spread that over the shortbread. I usually stick it in the freezer for a bit then while I'm melting the chocolate. That too can be done in the microwave but it's a bit too easy to louse it up like that and it isn't really any quicker than a Bain Marie. Failing that in a bowl over a saucepan full of water 'll do it and eliminate the chance of cock-up provided you pay attention. Anyway, smear that on the layer you chilled and let the whole lot mellow. I make that in roasting trays and then cut it into bars when it is cool. I dread to think how many calories are in that. I mostly make proper healthy stuff not this, but this tastes ok to me and there's a lot of energy in quite a modest amount.
 
Overnight winter trips w/o stove or fire are nutz.

Don't suffer like that, unless you need to. Even so much as a hot drink per day is a Big Deal on a cold weather trip.


Let us know how it goes, and don't allow yourself to get wet.
 
Yeah, whilst I'd enjoy the challenge afterward it's probably going to be a miserable trip after a few days. And as A.W.U.K. touched on diminishing returns is going to kick in real quick. In the short term you're going to save weight by not humping a cooking kit. Longer term, without some dehydrated stuff to cook up / rehydrate the weight of food you're going to need to carry will dwarf any saving you made there in very short order. It's akin to those folks that lug pounds of woolly blanket to bolster a modest sleeping bag when a simple hot water bottle weighs not a lot and exerts a better effect.
 
The last person i knew that took a water bottle camping was called a sissy

But perhaps it was a good idea instead of 4 pounds of blanket....
 
I have them in small, medium and regular. I've just weighed the ickle kiddies one and it is 6oz. Invaluable way to reduce all up weight. I know you can get the chemical ones and the set light to ones, and I've tried a few from the disposable to the boil to recharge, but I came back to these 'cos I like the simplicity of the looping potential. Plus the heavy bit, the contents, will probably be very close to where I pitch up. Yay.
 
Check out http://www.backpackingchef.com

They teaching simple techniques on how to dehydrate meals yourself that provide pretty well balanced meals for backpacking. Given the fact there is no water content to the meals the weight is minimal. I've been using his recipes for 2 years and have not looked back. Use them all the time for backpacking in all seasons, as well as for emergency meals in my truck, my wifes car and in my house.
 
I agree with the previous posts that your crazy to not bring a stove in cold weather or easy means of fire......folding saw, firestarting kit and a decent knife.
If something goes wrong be it weather or injury that extra 1 or 2 pounds might save your life or the very least your comfort and sanity.

If I was to pack for a 5 day trip without a stove or fire the food weight would be 15 to 18lbs

a 5 day trip with a stove and/or the means to make fire easily the food weight would be 7.5 to 10 pounds.

That is 8 to 10 pounds minus 2lbs for stove/firekit so 6 to 8lbs lighter PLUS hot food, tea, hot chocolate a cracklin' fire when its miserable
Say the trip is 8 days, the weight saving is now 15 to 18 pounds!!!!

I have done 7 day trips with a pack weight of 35 to 40 pounds(including a 3litre water bladder), the thought of carrying 18 extra pounds on that without warmth is not my idea of fun. Save that crap for the grunts(thank you for serving) that have no choice in lugging a huge pack.

I would be a miserable sob after 3 days of rain hiking without morning tea and hot oatmeal

Been dehydrating meals for 14 or 15 years now and would never go back to prepackaged food. Just about any meal you cook at home can be dehydrated, make sure to cut all meat/vegetables very small, grating root vegetables(carrots). That way you do not have to simmer(burn) your food to hydrate. I have fed meals to people that swear they could not tell it was rehydrated and very palatable. Cook pasta/noodles to a very firm al'dente so they are not mush when rehydrated.

Take care and I hope we can sway you to the "Fire side", at the very least a 1 lb bottle of alcohol and a cat food tin.
 
razorsdescent said:
while not the cheapest, i gotta tell you the absolute best way to do it us with paleo mre's
http://www.stevesoriginal.com/cart/Paleo-MRE/
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Got this today:
photo.JPG


Thanks for the link and the tip. :)

It was GOOD!

B
 
quick question, because i thought they were the same thing -- what's the difference between lard & suet? pork fat vs beef fat? partof the animal it comes from?
 
For a truly cold camp:

Cliff bars and Power Bars turn into glasslike 5 Minute Epoxy in freezing cold weather.

You can simulate a stoveless winter trip at home by throwing the circuit breaker, opening up some windows, and trying to eat whatever you've got around in your pantry. Without cooking. You will quickly discover that eating frozen food in a frozen house and taking cold showers is simply too unpleasant to pass as a fun trip.

I liked the canned Bully Beef suggestion, but it'd be an inedible(?) block of ice in this scenario. Truly hardcore individuals defrost each frozen meal against their stomach. Similarly, they mfg. drinking water by wearing a widemouthed flattish plastic bottle under their coat, and periodically stuffing snow into the mouth. Body heat melts it. Melted snow always seems to make water with suspicious specks in it. Thirsty hikers shrug and drink anyway. Ain't kilt me yet.


Anyway, if you do this trip as planned, at least take a Chicken Out Kit in the event it doesn't work. This should contain matches, a small stove w/ fuel, a cooking pot, and some durable food that needs cooking, i.e. Spaghetti noodles, a 6 oz. can of tomatoe paste, a wedge of Parmesan cheese, and a can of sausages, + cocoa/tea bags/coffee.


This way, if you discover your trip isn't going to make it w/o fire, you have given yourself the option to salvage the wreckage, and keep going. As long as you get through this with out any permanent damage, and SAR isn't called out, it's all fun and games.
 
In WWll, the nazis capture a heavy water plant from Norway, A commando team was dropped in 50 or a 100 miles north of the plant in the dead of Norway's winter. So the commandos skied all the way in on the target twice actually, because the had to go back and move up supplies. and fr energy the ate BUTTER. If you go to youtoob and search "Telmark" or maybe telemark you may find a video on this. I think Ray Mears did a show on this too. Seems like they were burning 5 or 6 thousand calories a day and to get enopugh dense caloric intake, start knawwing on a stick of butter.
 
1066vik said:
quick question, because i thought they were the same thing -- what's the difference between lard & suet? pork fat vs beef fat? partof the animal it comes from?
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You've got it.

Lard = Oink
Suet = Moo or Baa

:)

B
 
Some of these suggestions seem a little extreme for backpacking. Who wants to eat a stick of butter and a cup of lard for energy? At least you wouldn't have to pack toilet paper as you sure as hell wouldn't have any bowl movements for a while.
 
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