Backpacking: Food for thought

Here's the sketch of our recent trip:

• 4 days, 3 nights
• mid-November (late autumn)
• maritime & alpine barrens
• 5+ miles per day (as the crow flies)
• 28 to 50°F

For this type of excursion, our approach to food involves:

• continous intake

Meal planning starts, of course, with breakfast, lunch and supper. But one needs more, a constant flow of energy all through the day.

And that means snacking. Continuously.

• high calorie count

With no trails (save caribou-made), soft footing (bog, bog, more bog) and see-sawing elevations, trekking on the barrens is a ton of work. As a mainland friend once remarked, "Phew, it's like walking on spongecake".

Supplying sufficient energy for activity and body heat can require upwards of 5000 calories a day. This is double the intake of the average, moderately active male.

• varied choices

Handful upon handful of peanuts or dates risks nutritional imbalance. There's also the boredom factor, which shouldn't be discounted. On multi-day trips, it is healthy to be able to look forward to meals, to food that's hearty and flavorful. Surprising how much something novel can boost spirits or pull one through a rough patch.

• going light

This means dehydrated foods. It also means foods that are calorie dense, to get the most bang per ounce. Hence, we tend to eat a much higher proportion of fats than usual, since they pack considerably more caloric energy by weight than either carbs or protein. (In the wilderness, Fred has taken to guzzling olive oil, straight from a hip flask.)

• being organized

Can't afford culinary miscalculations or mix-ups, not when it is dipping sub-zero and we're days from anywhere. To ease sorting and to avoid making decisions while tired, cold or wet, we apportion — and label — our food in advance. I'm talking every portion of every meal, including snacks.

Consider this an overview of how we think about foods for backpacking. Tomorrow, I'll begin looking at some particulars.