How are you getting your calories on the mountain?

[pugwylde]

As I'm getting prepared for a six day backpacking elk hunt in October, the topic of nutrition is top of mind. With three guys, miles of steep pack outs, and the potential for filling multiple tags, every ounce matters.

Now, it's really easy to put a lot of calories in your pack, if you want to spend a lot of money. Even then, though, that's no guarantee you will actually want to eat what you packed. So, the challenge is finding lightweight food, that you want to eat, and that won't break the bank.

What are your must-have calories? What is the best bang for your buck (and weight) mountain nutrition? How are you avoiding the bonk?

 

[grfox92]

I'm bringing one of these for every day this year. But, I am a peanut butter junky. Might not be for everyone but that pouch costs $2.50 has 950 calories, and weighs 6oz.

That's a great addition for me. I'm dehydrating my own meals for the first to try right now as I type this. That will give me lots of freedom also.

The other one that should be obvious is nuts and or trail mix. A 1 oz of roasted and salted pecans (my favorite) has 200 calories. You could easily eat 1000 calories a day of nuts or trail mix. Then thrown in your freeze dried meals and a few bars and your golden. I'm a fan of the most calorie dense food I can get. When I'm hunting I don't worry about enjoying gourmet meals, I'm strictly focused on fuel.

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[manitou1]

Man, I shouldn't even post this since it is in the "Fitness/nutrition section, but I hammer spam packets, summer sausage, cheese, jerky sticks, and payday candy bars during season... and enjoy every minute of it!

 

[Drenalin]

Brazil nuts and gummy bears

 

[feanor]

Sometimes I really can’t stand the bars and individually packaged stuff as snacks. So a bagel sandwich with a hard cheese(keeps pretty well if it’s not super hot for days ) dill pickle, salami, and a spicy mayo or mustard really hits the spot.
Talking about bonking- this combo helps me feel like I’m eating a “normal” meal without eating 4 different snack packages.
Making a coconut heavy, peanut butter oat ball is a good one too.

Is it ultralight? Not necessarily, but powering my body is more important than cutting ounces on the food end personally.

Power crunch bars are one of the lightest, highest fat content bars available I believe. They actually agree with me, so I’ll pack those.

 

[grfox92]

Man, I shouldn't even post this since it is in the "Fitness/nutrition section, but I hammer spam packets, summer sausage, cheese, jerky sticks, and payday candy bars during season... and enjoy every minute of it!

I've never eaten spam. That is, until last week I saw the single serve packets at Walmart for $1.78, 230 calories and only 2.5oz.

I ate it cold, because that's how I would eat it hunting and it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. I'll definitely add those for this year also.

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[pugwylde]

I've never eaten spam. That is, until last week I saw the single serve packets at Walmart for $1.78, 230 calories and only 2.5oz.

I ate it cold, because that's how I would eat it hunting and it wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either. I'll definitely add those for this year also.

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So my dad sort of ruined Spam for me as a child. Fast forward a few decades and my Filipino wife finally got me to try it again... $#!+ is the bomb. Totally planning on bringing some to fry up on a rock when spirits are low. Salty, fatty goodness.

 

[mtwarden]

I'm bringing one of these for every day this year. But, I am a peanut butter junky. Might not be for everyone but that pouch costs $2.50 has 950 calories, and weighs 6oz.

That's a great addition for me. I'm dehydrating my own meals for the first to try right now as I type this. That will give me lots of freedom also.

The other one that should be obvious is nuts and or trail mix. A 1 oz of roasted and salted pecans (my favorite) has 200 calories. You could easily eat 1000 calories a day of nuts or trail mix. Then thrown in your freeze dried meals and a few bars and your golden. I'm a fan of the most calorie dense food I can get. When I'm hunting I don't worry about enjoying gourmet meals, I'm strictly focused on fuel.

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I use these too for lunch. Early in the trip combined w/ shelf stable bacon and honey packets on a tortilla, later combined with jelly packets (again on tortillas). I get roughly three lunches w/ one peanut butter packet.

I splurge (as in spend $) on suppers though- I've got some new ones to try from Pinnacle Food, but still have some Peak Refuels which are good.

 

[Antares]

It’s not cheap, but since you specifically mentioned “avoiding the bonk”, look at Tailwind. Electrolyte/carb drink mix. Tastes good. Some are caffeinated.

 

[TaperPin]

I use 100ish calories per ounce as a minimum - you’ll see many normal foods or snacks have at least this. Pasta and rice have this. Summer sausage is only 90ish but comes anyway. Mountain house chicken and dumplings has 133 cal/ounce, Crunch and Munch is about 130 cal/ounce, etc.

Just avoid anything with a lot of moisture in it or you’re packing water.

I watched an interesting video of a guy who had his poop tested for calories and it seemed like he was digesting about 70% of his normal daily calories. Nuts, whole grain, oils, etc. won’t digest as completely. He talked about doing a follow up showing poop calories for different diets, but nothing yet. Crap.

 

[grfox92]

So my dad sort of ruined Spam for me as a child. Fast forward a few decades and my Filipino wife finally got me to try it again... $#!+ is the bomb. Totally planning on bringing some to fry up on a rock when spirits are low. Salty, fatty goodness.

I was thinking for lunch 2 or 3 of them bitches and start a little tiny fire to cook them on.

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[pugwylde]

It’s not cheap, but since you specifically mentioned “avoiding the bonk”, look at Tailwind. Electrolyte/carb drink mix. Tastes good. Some are caffeinated.

Are you talking about a specific Tailwind product? I use Nuun Sport for hydration/electrolytes recovery, but there is no protein to speak of, and the calories are pretty light as well.

 

[rideold]

Most hard salami will be around 100 calories per ounce. Keeps well and tastes good.

 

[V2Pnutrition]

Are you talking about a specific Tailwind product? I use Nuun Sport for hydration/electrolytes recovery, but there is no protein to speak of, and the calories are pretty light as well.

Tailwind has a recovery product (with some protein).

Their Endurance Formula will have more carbs than Nuun for any big pushes you need to make...especially if you guys get into some elk and don't have time to sit and eat for a while.

Look at something like a whey isolate if you're strictly after protein. We have a protein cheat sheet that will help line you out with your protein needs on something like this. We also have a pack planning template you might find helpful in dialing in your needs. Send me a message and I will get you copy of both to email.

 

[Antares]

Are you talking about a specific Tailwind product? I use Nuun Sport for hydration/electrolytes recovery, but there is no protein to speak of, and the calories are pretty light as well.

Tailwind Endurance Fuel.

200 cal/50 g carbs per packet.

 

[Poser]

The tricky part of this balance is that you need different types of fuel for different types of intensity. Fueling for a 2,300 foot climb up a avalanche chute to jump basins will likely look different than fueling for a cold day spent glassing. Both of these scenarios may look different than fueling for a meticulous stalk through timber.

You probably don't want to stop and eat packets of tuna while climbing an avy chute for 2.5 hours.
Tailwind is not your best bet for glassing all day.
Spend a cold day glassing and you are going to want some fat.

In addition to the highly personalized aspect of food, having some kind of gauge for what kind of intensity you expect to encounter is going to be helpful. Problem with hunting is you just often don't know. You could easily spend 2-3 consecutive days with little more output than a 30 minute hike each way to your glassing spot. Likewise, you might go dark to dark without ever sitting down.

I always think about accommodating to the 2 extremes based on what I expect and then fill out the middleground from there. Sometimes, your food plan doesn't align so well with the demands of reality and you end up sipping electrolytes and eating a honey stinger while you are shivering. Or, you end up eating chicken salad before 3,000 of (uphill) switchbacks. Try to avoid mismatching the extremes.

 

[Antares]

The tricky part of this balance is that you need different types of fuel for different types of intensity. Fueling for a 2,300 foot climb up a avalanche chute to jump basins will likely look different than fueling for a cold day spent glassing. Both of these scenarios may look different than fueling for a meticulous stalk through timber.

You probably don't want to stop and eat packets of tuna while climbing an avy chute for 2.5 hours.
Tailwind is not your best bet for glassing all day.
Spend a cold day glassing and you are going to want some fat.

In addition to the highly personalized aspect of food, having some kind of gauge for what kind of intensity you expect to encounter is going to be helpful. Problem with hunting is you just often don't know. You could easily spend 2-3 consecutive days with little more output than a 30 minute hike each way to your glassing spot. Likewise, you might go dark to dark without ever sitting down.

I always think about accommodating to the 2 extremes based on what I expect and then fill out the middleground from there. Sometimes, your food plan doesn't align so well with the demands of reality and you end up sipping electrolytes and eating a honey stinger while you are shivering. Or, you end up eating chicken salad before 3,000 of (uphill) switchbacks. Try to avoid mismatching the extremes.

I completely agree with all that. However, that question was specifically about "miles of steep pack outs" and "avoiding the bonk", hence my recommendation for Tailwind. I use it as a supplement to snacks, not a replacement. I find it easier to drink than water, so I'm getting hydration plus calories/carbs as a bonus.

If the question was "what do I eat while I'm sitting on my a$$ all day glassing in cold weather?", my answer would be different (and include fat).

 

[180ls1]

I sip olive oil, in addition to all the normal stuff.

250cals per oz...

 

[Antares]

I sip olive oil, in addition to all the normal stuff.

250cals per oz...

I mix olive oil packets and protein powder into my freeze dried dinner meal. Shooting it straight is hardcore. I used to do it, but it doesn't make me feel very good anymore.

 

[TaperPin]

I’ve been adding a few angle food cakes for snacks - the fluffy texture makes no sense and is a pain to get up the hill in one piece, but it is a really nice treat. Lol

I’d pack an ice cream cake if it wouldn’t melt.