How much Food can you pack....
I have never done more than 4 nights on the trail at one time, I was wondering how many days you can hike with out resupplying.
I have done 9 nights / 10 days. That is about 30,000 calories and about 13 lbs of food for me.
In case that seems like an exaggerated calorie density, I can list my diet. It is the same every day.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
That is dependent on several variables: What size pack one is using, what season (thus determining how much cold weather gear you have), what food choices you make, and what kind of distance you are trying to cover.
I've never tried to do more than a six-day food carry. It worked fine. If I did a really careful job of packing, and an equally careful job of choosing compact foods, I could probably cram a 10-day supply in my larger bearbag. That would be a heavy pack on the first day, but no worse than what I used to carry a few years ago, before I cut down some of my gear weight. And certainly lighter than what I used to lug in the 1970s!
I always know where I am. I'm right here.
~200 miles/ 12 days
Maybe 250+ in easy terrain.
Last edited by MuddyWaters; 03-30-2015 at 20:37.
All my backpacking trips are long without food resupply. My longest was 24 days and my last trip in March was 22 days on one food load. It's easy, you just have to be willing to carry 40 or 50 lbs of food along with all your other gear.
To me frequent food resupply ruins a backpacking trip as I go into the woods to avoid cars and roads and stores and folding money and syphilization. Constant food resupply is very common for AT backpackers as they seem to need their ultralight packs and their frequent town visits as they will never carry a 40 lb food load.
I wouldn't say "easy"..... but yeah, I've packed 21 days before for a "hike" (actually a very big, cold mountain climb) that was a total of only 50 miles but with zero chance of resupply. I had ~38 pounds of food and 1 gallon of white gas fuel. It was mid-summer and we had regular temps of -20 degrees F...Originally Posted by Tipi Walter
For kinder, gentler (but still long) hikes I like to keep food down to 7 days, makes for much more comfortable and enjoyable hiking.
I've been working out a plan to do the entire LT unsupported, but not racing, never leaving the trail. 40 pounds of food is my target weight for 20 days. Going to scare the heck out of the AT thrus on the first hundred miles with that load or at least put them at risk of hurting themselves laughing. That isn't why I want to do this, but it is an added benefit
I prefer to carry no more than 6 days of food at a time if I can avoid it. This allows me to keep my total pack weight around 30 pounds which is pretty comfortable for me.
I hike to enjoy myself and a really heavy pack takes away from that. As I have learned to be a lighter packer over time my enjoyment has increased.
The actual food weight varies a bit depending on how much freeze dried stuff I'm carrying. I enjoy having an apple or two and some cheese and often a summer sausage in that mix along with a good bit of gorp but as I increase the number of days I'm going to be out then the quantity of those food types decreases and the amount of freeze dried food increases.
If I really wanted to I suppose I could kick out a luxury item or two and then handle about 14 days worth of food without getting much over 35-37 pounds but the price would be going up and the amount of fresh items would be zero.
I'm joining a friend for a BMT thruhike soon and since I need to keep up and make more miles than I'm used to I decided to carry a 3 lb tent and a lighter pack and go stoveless for 15 days with no-cook foods. Mostly bread and hummus and oatmeal and probars and rice cakes and nut butters and jam etc. But once it's over I'll gladly go back to my 8 lb tent and my 44 ozs of white gas and the stove.
Well there. I feel like a wimp now. You are the man Tipi. No. I am not being sarcastic. I agree. I would rather be on the trail when I go on the trail. I avoid towns as much as possible. Okay... as much as I feel is reasonable. For me that is 6 to 10 days. I believe you win in showing what is possible.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
I did the LT and met a woman who only did 1 resupply going sobo. And that's partially due to her having to carry a fair amount of her dogs food. I think going that long with trail food and no "real" meal thrown in would be the worst part. However, if you dehydrated all your own meals I feel food satisfaction would be fine. Luckily on a trail like the LT, your appetite is there, buy not ravenous so you can eat normal amounts of food.. But come on.. One of the best parts of the LT is all the damn good beer!I've been working out a plan to do the entire LT unsupported, but not racing, never leaving the trail. 40 pounds of food is my target weight for 20 days. Going to scare the heck out of the AT thrus on the first hundred miles with that load or at least put them at risk of hurting themselves laughing. That isn't why I want to do this, but it is an added benefit
Other than the fact that it amuses me the primary reason I'm doing this trip this way is to save all the B&Bs, inns and restaurants for when my wife is able to do this trip with me in a few years. It just seemed wrong to do all that good stuff without her when I know how much she would enjoy it.
I do make my own freezer bag meals and with things such as lobster marinara pasta with shrimp I won't exactly be suffering in terms of food. As a dedicated Long Trail Double Bag drinker being so close and not visiting the brewery will be a challenge though!
Longest I did without resupply was ten days. I had about a day's worth of food left when I was done.
Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day; teach a man to fish and he will eat for a lifetime; give a man religion and he will die praying for a fish.
thanks I enjoy riding informational post, There no question now that I can do a 6 or 7 days on the AT trail threw the smokies...
I'm not sure what I will carry but this thread has been a breath of fresh air. I was getting tired of the constant drum beat of carving oz(s). I will probably start with an external frame pack as for me, it carries weight more comfortably. I am hoping to stay under 40lbs total in the winter.
I never tried a external pack before but I really like my external frame tho, I take good food with me which is heaver but I am not a long distance hiker, but I do want to do the AT in the Smokies from one end to the other... I have don't part of it already but I find the other trails way more enjoyable...
Easy now. Just because I carry 6-10 days of food, it does not mean that I don't measure it all in grams.Okay... swing away.
In the end, it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years. - Abraham Lincoln
There's more to discover in this vein. I calculate a normal adult can go around 30 days without resupply if that person dries everything at home and is careful with meal planning. On my 24 day winter trip I still had around 5 days of food at the end (being that I always carry extra in the winter to plan for an end-of-trip blizzard and a longer stay).
It's a fascinating subject for those of us who are retired and have to time to pull such long trips on a monthly basis. Zero resupply means, generally, more time in the woods w/o interruption---what it's all about in my opinion.
For the heavy loads I prefer external as well. They tend to put the load up higher keeping it closer to the spine. Overloading my Osprey tends to make it sag backwards.
Going heavy doesn't mean you can stop worrying about weight though
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