Any backpackers or long-trip paddlers around?

fitoverfortymom

One of my 'treats' for successful weight loss is taking a kayak trip for 5 days on the Green River in Utah. I did the same trip almost 30 years ago with school and have always wanted to do it again with my family. Hubby and my son are boy scouts and we're very outdoorsy. We hike frequently, etc. There's no room for a cooler or anything, so we're keeping it pretty ultralight.

Our main challenges are water purification of water with a lot of sediment and making sure we pack the right meals. I have an idea of how I want to do the meals, but not sure if I should pack them individually for each of us, or since we'll all eat the same thing for each meal, do 3 servings for breakfast in one 'bag.' I'm talking things like oatmeal, dried fruit, crystallized eggs, etc.

Thoughts or tips?

I am so super excited to do this and basically get a week of eating however much I want (even if it is 'trail food'). We'll be paddling about 15 miles per day plus some hikes, swims, and the general work of setting up and taking down camp.

I'm a little bummed I'll lose my MFP streak, but in the grand scheme of things, the real win is that a year ago, there is no way I could have safely taken this trip. Here I am in June, a mere 20lbs from goal weight, researching peanut butter packets and dehydrated broccoli. Who'd have thought?

__TMac__

For the no-cook food, I'd keep the portions separate. For the to-cook food, it would depend on what the cooking logistics were. Three single cups or bowls cooked sequentially? One large pot? What sort of stove?

fitoverfortymom

We'll be cooking in one larger pot, primarily using a jet boil. We are bringing a backpacking stove and I *think* a small skillet (like an egg pan). I'm ordering a few different kinds of powdered eggs to see if cooking them w/out a pan a la boiling in a bag is realistic. Breakfasts and dinners will likely be cooked collectively. Lunches will be individual portions/bags of bars, salami, jerky, dried fruit, etc, as will snacks--most likely eaten while paddling in our individual kayaks.

I think I just answered my own question, but the thought process was helpful.

spiriteagle99

Powdered eggs are pretty nasty and a real pain to clean up. Pancakes are tasty, but take forever to cook one at a time. Cereal with dried milk (Nido is whole milk and has more flavor than skim) with dried fruit works well for breakfast for backpacking. English muffins or tortillas pack well for sandwiches. Gorp is good for snacks. Cookies too. (Oreos and fig newtons pack well.) Dinners of Knorr side dishes with tuna, salmon, spam, sausage, etc. For 3 people I would do two dinners. Crystal lite or sugar free Koolade is good for drinks and covers up the taste of bad water.

For filtering your water - Katadyn filter is good, but use a small coffee filter over the intake to keep out some of the grit. Alternately, put water in your cookpot and let it settle, then don't filter all the way to the bottom. Bring iodine tablets as backup because the filter may clog and become unusable.

I'm sure you'll have fun. There is some great hiking and lots of archaeological sites there.

ronocnikral

packit gourmet is pricey, but it is tasty.

You also don't need to do full backpacker meals when kayaking/canoeing/rafting. We'd often bring cheese (oil will leak out, but you can eat it), potatoes, cabbage, onions, bottles of ranch dressing (unopened), etc. Weight isn't as much of an issues and with canoeing, neither was space.

For water purification, I would run through a coffee filter and then use a gravity system like MSR makes (Autoflow). While backpacking, I treat my water with UV, but I don't have the sediment issue....