Food For The Backcountry

Are you interested in doing a backcountry hunt but have no idea what to pack for food, or how to pack it? Well, I’ll dive in to what I typically bring with me on an extended hunt where I don’t have the luxury of having beer on ice and a grill to cook burgers and hotdogs. Believe it or not, it is possible to have hot and delicious meals throughout the day and everyday, when you are miles from the truck. 

Everyone has their own favorite brands of dehydrated/freeze dried meals, whether it’s for taste or nutrition. For me, it has to taste good and not leave me feeling like crap. I’ve had some meals that taste really good but when I wake up the next morning I’m extremely puffy and swollen. Too much sodium and unknown ingredients tend to make me feel awful and not perform at my best when I need to be on top of my game in the mountains. Other backpacking meals may be on the healthier side, but sometimes they don’t fill me up and leave me satisfied after a hard day of hunting. Peak Refuel meals have been my go to lately. They taste amazing and I can pronounce most of the ingredients that go into their meals. If I had to choose one breakfast and entree it’d be strawberry granola and beef stroganoff. You can have the breakfast hot or cold which is nice if you don’t want to burn your fuel to boil water. My wife has experienced a little with dehydrating her own meals for my hunting trips and that is another option as well. But it can be a lot of work, and it’s hard to compete with the simplicity and taste of Peak meals, in my opinion.

Aside from meals, I like to bring coffee and a lot of snacks. One time I even brought a three pound jug of peanut butter for our high buck hunt a couple years ago. It might have been heavy but everyone seemed to want a bite when we got back to camp after hiking all day. For Jeff’s spring bear hunt last year I brought a pint of whiskey to enjoy around the campfire at night, and it was nice to have. Some of my favorite snacks are beef jerky, trail mix, tuna, ramen and a variety of different bars. If you haven’t already, I recommend checking out backcountry fuel box. If you sign up they send you a monthly box of different snacks and meals for your pack that you’d probably never think of buying yourself. It’s a good way to find new foods that you’d likely buy, or ones that you’d never try again. I try to eat around three thousand calories a day while I’m hunting. Everyone’s body is different but I’ve found that it’s enough to keep me going during tough hunts and I am not going to sleep hungry. On our high buck hunt last year I brought some mountain ops slumber and it was a nice treat to have before bedtime. It has collagen for repairing sore muscles and melatonin to ensure a deep sleep. I found that I felt more rested and my body felt better after adding this to my backcountry diet. 

As far as weight goes, for nine days of hunting all of my food weighed about thirteen to fourteen pounds. Roughly one and a half pounds per day. I put each days worth of food into a gallon zip lock freezer bag and a full trips worth of food fits nicely right on the inside of my Exo 6400. When I get to camp I unpack all of the food and only take one bag with me when we set out for a hunt during the day. The items may vary, but let’s take a look at a sample days worth of food. 

• Peak Refuel strawberry granola- 530 calories

• Dark Timber ascent pack X2- 4 calories 

• Justin’s almond butter pack- 220 calories 

• Clif Bar X2- 480 calories 

• Tuna/Ramen- 300 calories 

• Off Grid trail mix- 740 calories 

• Off Grid beef jerky- 210 calories 

• Peak Refuel beef stroganoff- 810 calories 

• Mountain Ops slumber- 57 calories

So all of this adds up to 3,351 calories and like I said, it can vary because I don’t take the exact same thing every time. If you’ve never had to cook a freeze dried meal before and you’re wondering how it’s done, I use a Jetboil Flash to boil water and add the recommended amount to the meal. I also use it to make coffee and anything that needs hot water. Jetboil makes a isobutane/propane fuel mix  and the whole setup is lightweight and fits easily inside your pack. For my water system, I carry two 48 oz nalgene water bottles and a Katadyn Hiker Pro to filter the water. I used to carry the 32 oz bottles but found the larger ones to be way more efficient. In the past I’ve used a bladder to carry water but in my opinion they’re a pain to fill up and keep clean. Oh, don’t forget your spork to eat your meals with! There are a ton of different options but I use a Morsel Spork. 

Before I forget, let’s talk about the best backcountry meal that a hunter can have. Fresh game meat cooked over fire! If you are successful on a hunt, it’s a great way to celebrate your harvest and lighten the pack out by stuffing your face with fresh, wild game. My personal favorite is either backstrap or tenderloin. Eat it plain or toss your favorite seasoning into your pack to add some flavor. Like I said, everyone has their own favorite foods and these are just a few of mine. If you are eating good and feeling good, it’ll definitely have a positive impact on your next hunt. Stay hungry my friends and happy hunting.