Food packing station gets an overhaul

[Becca]

Every year I set up a food packing station at the beginning of the season. The idea is that I will have all our backpacking food components in one location, so I can keep tabs on quantities through out the season, and also so that I can pack for multiple trips in a hurry. Last year, while functional, it ended up taking over the entire bay window in our living room. I had boxes half full of stuff, and no easy way to tell what was where. Worse still, we sometimes came home from trips early (changed plans, bad weather, early tag outs, etc) and so I had tons of bags of "partials" everywhere. Totally NOT organized, and it was an eyesore that stayed up from mid May through late October. Here it was at the height of "disaster area" status in the middle of sheep season (granted with some miscellaneous gear mixed in):

I have been getting things set up and organized for this season, and trying to come up with a better way to organize and store stuff (here's what I did with some of the small gear: http://www.rokslide.com/forums/showthread.php?7020-Space-saving-storage-idea-for-small-gear). I cleaned out one of our spare bedrooms, and set the food packing station up in there so I can keep it from invading the living room. I ended up buying several sets of small drawers, and sorting various food items into them for easy packing. The drawers fit under the table to save space, and minimize the boxes and bags everywhere. Also will be super easy to move the drawer units around if I want to store them someplace else during the off season.

I still have the entrees in boxes, and will probably stack them at one end on the tabletop when I am packing. Pretty excited to be starting off the season with things organized so I can spend more time outside and less time packing

 

[luke moffat]

Thanks for taking care of this darlin'! I take it for granted that all the food is magically packed for each and every trip sometimes, mostly cause food is so boring to me. So now what are you going to do with yoru free time while I'm getting the gear together

Speaking of which, spring grizz Thurs-Sat via snowshoes?

 

[larryschwartz]

...Speaking of which, spring grizz Thurs-Sat via snowshoes?

Boy, Luke, you sure know how to show a girl a good time...

 

[shaun]

Speaking of which, spring grizz Thurs-Sat via snowshoes?

Talk about rubbing salt in a wound haha

 

[larryschwartz]

Becca,

That should certainly help, especially on those trips where you bring home extras. Just put them back into their respective boxes for the next time.

BTW, have you thought about making up a bunch of bags with one days worth of food each so that all you needed to do was grab two times the number of days you will be out and you've got your food ready to go? Make up a fifty or so of those at the beginning of the season and you are set.


Larry

 

[Becca]

Thanks for taking care of this darlin'! I take it for granted that all the food is magically packed for each and every trip sometimes, mostly cause food is so boring to me. So now what are you going to do with yoru free time while I'm getting the gear together

Speaking of which, spring grizz Thurs-Sat via snowshoes?

I am always down for a grizz hunt! But it sort of depends on how quick you can sort through the rest of your gear/clothes you have been ignoring since last fall! I have almost reclaimed the spare room from the waist deep gear that was in it, but you can sort out your own clothes and also whether you still want to do the three day float hunt AFTER we get back from our week long black bear hunt...

Boy, Luke, you sure know how to show a girl a good time...

Talk about rubbing salt in a wound haha

Yep....welcome to my life...this is why I have to be able to pack food in a hurry, and have everything on hand so I can pack on short notice Last year I literally packed Luke's food for a last minute 8 day sheep hunt in twenty minutes while his hunting partner helped him sort out his gear...less than 12 hours after we both returned home from another week long sheep hunt with a different buddy, which was two days after my 8 day sheep hunt.

 

[luke moffat]

Make up a fifty or so of those at the beginning of the season and you are set.


Larry

That could work, but making up only fifty would only get us through May/June/July

And another 50 just for August.

 

[tstowater]

Talk about rubbing salt in a wound haha

Got my first email of the year of an Alaskan bear about an hour ago. Nice bear, good hair. Just wanted to make you feel better Shaun. I've been so busy at the office that I hadn't really even thought about bear hunting. Good luck to Becca and Luke. BTW, my wife won't even go in my toy room and it looked like your living room until I cleaned it up a couple weeks ago.

 

[Becca]

Becca,

That should certainly help, especially on those trips where you bring home extras. Just put them back into their respective boxes for the next time.

BTW, have you thought about making up a bunch of bags with one days worth of food each so that all you needed to do was grab two times the number of days you will be out and you've got your food ready to go? Make up a fifty or so of those at the beginning of the season and you are set.


Larry

Thanks for the suggestion Larry. I have toyed with the idea of packing food by the day, and may have to give it a shot. My current method is to pack by the meal, I.e. for a 6 day trip, breakfast x6 in one bag, entrees x6 in another, snacks x6, etc. The food we take for each trip isn't really standardized...some trips we are going super light, and others I can splurge and bring heavier extras like cheese, salami, or tortillas. Sometimes we have a woodstove along and sometime it's just the jetboilette, to cook with. Fly out hunts can have pretty strict weight limits to contend with as well. But still, I like the idea of just counting out the number of days needed and heading out...will ponder it some more and give it a try!

 

[luke moffat]

I am always down for a grizz hunt! But it sort of depends on how quick you can sort through the rest of your gear/clothes you have been ignoring since last fall! I have almost reclaimed the spare room from the waist deep gear that was in it, but you can sort out your own clothes and also whether you still want to do the three day float hunt AFTER we get back from our week long black bear hunt...

What I have chores to do before I go hunting...LAME!!!

 

[BigSurArcher]

How do you not scrounge on all of your backpacking food supplies while hanging out and doing everyday things around the house? Or do you? I would have a hard time not grabbing a handfull of bars every time I walked out the door.

 

[chippewawarrior]

A little of topic but... Happy early Anniversary to you two! Hopefully it ends with a bear hide? Luke, sorry the trip didn't work out. We couldn't seem to catch up with one another, and I couldn't get the days off in time to make a serious commitment... Life got in the way. Maybe next year? GOOD LUCK!

 

[luke moffat]

How do you not scrounge on all of your backpacking food supplies while hanging out and doing everyday things around the house? Or do you? I would have a hard time not grabbing a handfull of bars every time I walked out the door.

Like I said, food is for the most part boring. In the field I only eat cause I know it'll keep me going. At home, I forget to eat often until the afternoon (not healthy but its how I roll a lot of the time.

A little of topic but... Happy early Anniversary to you two! Hopefully it ends with a bear hide? Luke, sorry the trip didn't work out. We couldn't seem to catch up with one another, and I couldn't get the days off in time to make a serious commitment... Life got in the way. Maybe next year? GOOD LUCK!

No worries man...life happens. Time off is the most precious commodity for hunting, save it for the fall.

 

[Becca]

How do you not scrounge on all of your backpacking food supplies while hanging out and doing everyday things around the house? Or do you? I would have a hard time not grabbing a handfull of bars every time I walked out the door.

I eat backpacking approx 100 days each year, and spend a fair bit of my non-field time organizing and meal planning for trips. I NEVER find myself craving backpacking food at home I am glad to have it relegated to the spare bedroom so I don't have to look at it anymore than I already do

A little of topic but... Happy early Anniversary to you two! Hopefully it ends with a bear hide? Luke, sorry the trip didn't work out. We couldn't seem to catch up with one another, and I couldn't get the days off in time to make a serious commitment... Life got in the way. Maybe next year? GOOD LUCK!

Thanks a lot CW! I wish we could have worked the dates out with ya, but its a standing invite...look forward to having ya along sometime! And for what it's worth, we are having a tremendously late spring this year. So you might have picked a good year to sit one out, I am thinking snowshoes are going to be required equiptment for this trip...

 

[Ray]

For my sheep hunt I have been debating about groups of food type or daily food lots. After some messing around I am going to do daily lots.

Still sorting out paleo foods. Making some pemmican soon. Plain old dried caribou is surprisingly tasty.