food for 3-5 day hikes

A

allenC

Joined
Jun 18, 2000
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What food do you guys pack for a 3-5 day hikes? I had been packing MREs but I'm looking for something different.
Thanks.
 
A lot depends on where you are and what kind of wild life is about. If there are lots of food-stealing animals and bears, I find its best to go with dry food that carries little odor. Freeze dried meals are good, trail mix, powdered soups, noodles, cereals (granola, grape nuts, etc), powdered milk, dense (usually dark like pumpernickle) bread, dried fruits (maybe mix extra in your trail mix). Get a good strong plastic bottle with screw on lid and you can add some honey to the collection.

You can do a lot with powdered soups, noodles, and freeze dried chunks of beef, chicken, shrimp, etc. Just make the noodles, but instead of throwing out the water, add the soup powder and freeze dried meat, etc.
 
I avoid most freaze dried meals. First because it's expensive and I'm poor and second I can usually make something better with only a little extra effort.

I really like pancakes or biscits in the morning (make extra for the days lunch too). Just carry a meals worth of pancake/biscit mix in a ziplock bag. When you are ready to cook just pour water into the bag and mix it around (this avoids some dish washing) then pour it into the pan.

Don't skimp on the fruit (fresh or freaze dried). After a few days of nothing but granola you'll start dreaming of fresh peaches (at least I do).

Also remember that good hard sausage will keep for several days (or even weeks). This way you can get some real meat in your diet (that is if you have no luck hunting).

Beans, rice and noodles also pack well and are easy to prepare.

A little bottle of Ms Dash is very helpful.

There were some other discussions on this forum that had some pretty interesting recipies if you want to try something a little different. Use the search function, the discussions are dated 11-30-1999 and 09-13-2000 (I'm too dumb to figure out how to post the links)
 
The hard salami suggestion is good, and there were places I could carry other things as well like sardines (yes I packed out the crushed cans), but these things have odors that carry a long way in the woods given the sensitive noses of animals like racoons and bears. That's why I prefer freeze dried. Rice and beans are also great, but take a long time to cook. If you can control a small pot simmering for an hour or more over a camp fire more power to you! If you have to do it on a stove, you're going to be carrying more fuel than you would otherwise need.
 
Oatmeal, with Folgers coffee singles, for breakfast. Remove oatmeal from single serving packets ahead of time, mix with protein powder (from healthfood store), store in double zip lock bags. I take a variety of bars along, trying to find the optimal combination of taste / weight / nutrition. My lunches tend to be quick, yet I want something good, so cheese sandwiches on bagels which pack well, or possibly an instant chili if you don't mind firing up the stove for lunch. Canned salmon, sardines, or tuna for a change one day. I also tend to munch prunes which do good things for your digestion, and jerkey of various kinds, usually a brand of Turkey jerkey that has only salt as a preservative. For dinner I like combinations of freeze dried, like beef strogonoff with jerkey added in. Some of those instant cup dinners are great when mixed with other stuff like instant garlic mashed pototoes (put together in a zip lock at home). MREs are really pretty good but I can't justify all that weight to carry. I usually carry a ziplock back of fruit flavored sports drink to revive me along the way. Carrots and apples pack well. If it's going to be relatively cool most of the hike, dice up an onion or two, some green peppers, and some tomatoes, and put the dice mix in a bag to add to brighten up a freeze dried dinner on the first or second night. Take a near-frozen steak, throw it in a ziplock with worstershire, diced garlic, pepper, a little red wine, and wrap the bag in a towel, it will easily make it to the first night in cool weather, and tastes great after a long hike. (take a marinated tofu facsimilie if you are vegetarian, although I don't think it unleashes the same primitive pleasures as flesh sizzling in a frying pan beneath an open sky). Don't take too much food, and stay hydrated.
 
Freeze dried food. It costs more than MRE's but is much lighter and easier to pack.
 
oatmeal & sugar Coffee & tea Gatoraid type drink,1qt per day. instant rice,gravey mix,
MRE main course 1or2 I use these with the rice. I find MRE's to saucey. and I need to steam the MRE anyway so making rice with the water is no big deal. 1 complete MRE just in case. dried fruit & rasins. homemade GORP.
cheese w/ crackers or bagles,jerkey,hershey
bar/snickers.
I just mix and match. sometime dinner is lunch.
Go take a look at a complete freeze dried meal and the ingredents. it is mostly fillers.rice or noodles with a sauce mix.
buy the filler and add sauce. buy the meat if you want and vegs. in a large size and break it down. look for end of season deals and save it for next yr. Frediver<><
 
Not exactly odor free, but I'm considering the new canless tuna I saw at a grocery store recently.

It was vaccuum packed in a mylar container. More expensive than a can at $2, but much cheaper than freeze dried gourmet backpacker chow. I plan to mix them with the $.99 mac/cheese dinners or tuna helper meals.

All in all, an easy one pan dinner for four.
 
Thanks for all the ideas. I can hardly wait to try some of the suggestions. But I will wait till spring because I don't really enjoy winter camping that much (and my wife simply refuses to camp in rain or cold).
 
One thing about MREs that a lot of people forget is that you can cut the weight drastically by discarding the extraneous wrappings before you pack out. A lot of the meal items are sealed in a plastic/mylar pouch which is encased in a cardboard box. And everything is packed into a larger plastic pouch. Get rid of everything you don't need, unless you want to use the large plastic pouch to keep other things dry (extra ammo) or plan on using the cardboard for other uses (starting fires). Also, discard anything in the accessory packet that you won't use. No sense packing coffee and creamer if you're not a coffee drinker. If you're taking, say, 10 MREs, you certainly won't need all 10 plastic spoons. Nonessential items don't weigh a lot individually, but it all adds up collectively.



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Danny
aka "kuma575"
 
I'm somewhat limited in my camping meal selection because my girlfriend hates beans, so that eliminates a lot of what my standard fare used to be.

for 3 days i have 2 MRE's per person just because they contain so much stuff that's useful - - matches and the tiny tabasco bottles being at the top of the list. i don't care how crappy whatever you screwed up over the fire tastes, if you add enough tabasco, it'll come out edible ;)

For the other meals, I use mostly freeze dried stuff. Backpacker Country is a GREAT brand to get- - -When I first started camping in the early 80's freeze dried stuff tasted awful. The BC meals actually taste pretty good. They even managed to make the powdered eggs taste good (they mix bacon in 'em too). For the first morning I always have bacon. That's just a requirement for me. I have a collapsible bear canister, and my "kitchen" is always WELL away from wherever I pitch my tent. Generally I'll cook 100 yards away from the tent, and the tent will also be at least 100 yards from any water source. This ensures that if something unpleasant does come looking for water or my food, they will probably not muck around near my tent. It goes without saying that food of any kind is NEVER permitted inside the tent. following those rules, I've never had a problem with any animals coming after my bacon.

I also make pancakes. A doublebagged ziploc bag holds the mix. (doublebagged because of what happened the one and only time I singlebagged it ;)

Rice is a good lightweight food to carry as long as you're sure you'll be camping near water (I never pack more than 4 quarts of water in. I filter and purify all the rest of the water I need). Finding water isn't usually a problem where I usually camp (north woods of MN) because there's water just about every 5 inches in this state, but if you're camping in places like New Mexico and don't pack a lot of water in, rice should probably be avoided.

 
Hi All,

Great topic.... great input.

I used to carry MRE's. Afterall, I was raised in the military and that's what we had. After leaving the service, I continued to carry them until one day I noticed... I was starting to get a little fat and those hills made me breath a little harder
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Now I go as light as I can.... Personally, I carry the dehydrated meals made specifically for camping. However... I realize this cost may be prohibatory for some... In that case... don't be upset... Improvise.

Who said you couldn't take:

1. Instant oatmeal
2. Minute rice
3. Mac and cheese
4. Dehydrated soups
5. etc. etc. etc.

I have been out with some people who even make their own dehydrated soups, etc.

So my answer is... when your young... go for the MRE
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... I love the complete meal and actually enjoy the taste... but for you middle aged guys and gals (like me) consider the weight and its impact on your journey.

I'm hungry...

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Greg Davenport
Simply Survival's Wilderness Survival Forum
Simply Survival's Web Page
Are You Ready For The Challenge?
Are You Ready To Learn The Art Of Wilderness Survival?
 
Hi all. Just a few comments on the MRE's (as an Army Officer in the '80's, I worked on improvements to the MRE as part of Combat Developments and Materiel Acquisition).

--Each MRE is designed to provide 1200 Kcal if you eat everything in the pouch. Three a day equal 3600 Kcal., the amount needed for the stress and physical exertion of combat.

--The MRE is designed with very little fiber. You might want to take some whole grain cereal, bran, or other fiber-containing foods with you or you won't need those little toilet paper squares in the accessory packets!

--My legacy for my whole Army career is that I put the Tobasco sauce in the MRE. It's in a glass vial because the stuff will eat right through the single serve pouches mustard and ketchup come in. The troops specified "Tobasco" sauce, not some other brand.

--The MRE contains just slightly less than 30% calories from fat (the upper limit allowed by the Army's Surgeon General).

A mix of MRE components and a few other dried or shelf stable foods makes a good outdoor meal.

Bruce Woodbury
 
If you're interested in reading material I thought "The Well-Fed Backpacker" by June Fleming well-written and full of ideas for do-it-yourself food.
 
I just recently tried the "canless" tuna. It is awesome. Very little water, all meat. If you are traveling in colder weather you can get it packed in sunflower oil for added fat (unsaturated). The premium chunk white albacore is absolutely the best. Higher in protien almost 60 grams in a 7 oz bag. 4 grams of unsaturated fat, good omega threes the whole nine yards.

I was looking for something that I could keep at work for days when I miss meals. I was hoping it would be ok and it is much more it is flat good!

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Hoah! (Its an Army thing!)
 
Hmmm...do I have to eat what I suggest? ;-)

I read something that makes sense. The writer said why spend money on stuff you would not necessarily use at home, especially for a short trip.

His emphasis was pasta, pasta, and more pasta....and any other standard home fare, that keeps and carries easily. Rice was mentioned above. Sounds just like home with my youngest child!
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You won't go hungry and hopefully one could forage and/or mix with some other the things mentioned above.

Pancake complete works at home, requires only water, and is relatively inexpensive, take it on the trail. (Don't blame me if it sticks, at home I'm blessed with a nonstick pan....and ready access to oil if necessary.) If that is too easy, or not flexible enough, mix up some bannock á la Karen (the Hoods camping video).

For the bacon fanciers, and animal evaders, take Ready Crisp Bacon by SHK Foods. It is packed in an inert gas pouch and needs no refrigeration until opened. (Yes, you can get rid of the cardboard outer box, no you can't practically speaking, repack the inner pouch--Duhh!!) It is not cheap at $4 a box, but IT IS already fully cooked. At home I microwave it just under 5 seconds a slice. On the trail crumble it into something hot, or it would be easy to heat fast on a stove or fire.

Throw in a few Cliff bars, also available at the grocery store, and some of the other indredients people have mentioned, and you are ready.

For the Bug Eaters among us, see instead or as a supplement, the link to the entomology article I posted.
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Hey, the article was great, I am not sure about the bugs.
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OK, the article is for Australia.....I am trying to add a little humor, to my "home food" comment.

Speaking of humor, in a backwards sort of way, some of the contestants in Survivor, miles away from anywhere in Australia, were whining about the rice not being cooked quite right.
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Now OK, I may be more of a keyboard survivalist (or whatever) but when I am outside, I remember being hungry enough to eat most things within reason and there are many reading this who would eat more than that!!! I would be to busy eating!!! the rice (and hopefully some other stuff) to complain! Sigh, .... perhaps the complaints were part of the stage management....part of the smoke and mirrors, to add misdirection to the plot....or plotting.
 
I Would be careful how I carried onions and such. A restaurant was in the news a couple years back when a bunch of people got batulism there after eating onions that were left out at room temp in an airtight container, if I remember correctly.
 
In Asian supermarkets you can get, usually very inexpensively, dried cuttlefish/squid and pork floss. These are normally eaten as snacks but are good trail food both as snacks for a picnic and eaten with rice or whatever starch you happen to carry. (Pork floss sandwiches are pretty normal in some parts of Asia.) They don't come packed for economy of space, but if you decant them and cram them into ziploc bags, they'll do very well. You just have to like how they taste.

Also, there are usually dried mangoes and preserved plums flavoured with orange peel and other Good Things which are as good for snacks as dried apricots or raisins and provide some variety.
 
What I find to be a very good trail food that is very easy to pack is instant rice with soup stock added to it. The only work that is involved before setting out is adding some soup base (I use the stuff from the bulk containers). You should look at different types of instant rice as they vary in cooking time and the idea is quick meals that take little energy to make. This makes for a good meal. I also like to make a thick dough consisting of salt, flour, baking powder, and water. Once you have the dough you roll it really flat like a tortilla and stick it in frying pan with little or no grease and cook it till it is almost the texture of a cracker (getting the right heat is sometimes a challang). This is a very good base to add on to for example if you have troubles staying regular you can buy flax from a health food stoor and put a little in (only a little though becuase if you are not used to it it is very potant). One of the best things about this tortilla/cracker is that if you have them for breakfast you can easily make extra and they are great cold for a trail snack or even a lunch. The cracker/tortillas also compliment the rice quite nice.

Hope these ideas are usefull
 
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