So, you’re in the process of packing for your upcoming backpacking trip and you are wondering exactly how much food you may need? Perfect, your in the right place!
This is very important because you obviously don’t want to take too much food because the added weight of that food will be weighing you down the entire time. But then again you also want to take enough food so you don’t run out, and begin to starve…
There is a fine line we have to hit between enough food And not enough food. In order to accomplish this, I have put together a few ideas below that you can use to help you figure out the right amount of food you may need for your upcoming trip.
So, The big question is: How Much Food Will You Need For Your Backpacking Trip? Let’s break it down into per day and possible per meal increments. Once you have a solid per day estimate to how much food you will need. You can simply multiply that by the total number of days you plan to be out.
So the hardest part of this whole process will be figuring out your total daily needs.
How Much Food Do I Need Per Day Backpacking?
Personally, I prefer to rely on calorie count when I estimate my daily food needs per trip. It is much easier to make sure you are getting the energy you will need, and. Well, Calories are what make up the energy we need. So, Count what Counts I guess right?
A Good Average range you should aim for is between 3,300 – 3,800 calories per day backpacking. This equates out to be between 1.5 – 2.5 Pounds. Depending on your food selections. The lighter the food you take, the less weight you have to carry. Which is ideal when it comes to backpacking, The lighter your pack, the better.
But do remember, we all have different conditions to which we will be working with. For this reason, you personally may need more or fewer calories per day. So it is a good idea to test and see what will work for you.
Simply put, there are so many factors that can come into play when determining what your specific food intake should be per trip, and per situation. At least at a glance.
That is why I compare it too trying to Judging how long it will take grass to grow… Or just growth in general.
I mean even the slightest difference in output versus input can change things drastically. if you water grass one day fewer, then you had calculated it will throw off the overall planed calculation you had. Or if the Sun comes out more or less often than you had anticipated, that also can obviously throw off the planned trajectory you had originally anticipated as well.
Don’t mind the grass metaphor, as this is just an example to try and explain how the slightest thing can throw off the overall calculation. Which applies to required backpacking food intake as well. For this reason, any calorie or food amounts will be estimates. At least until you have had some time to experiment a little bit on your own.
By experiment I mean: You have had some time to test and get to know your body when it’s under stress and needs more or less food. Obviously carrying more food then you will need will put your body under more stress because of the added weight you have to carry. And not having enough food, you will begin to see declines in motor functions or worse…
Is It A Good Idea To Take An Emergency Meal?
It defiantly can be a good idea to take an extra meal or two with you. At least if you are in the beginning phases of getting into the backpacking scene. Then once you’ve had some time to learn what your body needs, then start narrowing you food amounts down to what you will need.
One thing you could do when you’re out on the trail, and you know you have way more food then you could eat throughout the duration of the trip is. Simply give away some of your food you know you won’t eat to other hikers. The weight decrease will be worth it more than the cost of the food. But be sure you don’t give away food you may likely need.
Said Simply, we all have different body types and different bodily needs and for this reason, it becomes very hard to determine a straightforward answer to this question. Nonetheless, there are ways to determine how many calories a person needs per day in order to gain, or lose weight, and of course to simply maintain their current weight as well.
We will be using some of those tools here to determine what your average daily caloric intake should be, and from there we will do some simple math in order to tack on those added calories that will be burned throughout the duration of your Backpack trip.
Like said above, the average Backpacker needs about 1.5 to 2.5 lbs of food per day on their backpacking trip. However, going about this using simply food weight is not enough. because different foods, have different amounts of nutritional value to them for this reason it becomes tough to Simply say “ you need this much food (In pounds) per day…”.
Because what if you have heavy foods such as raw fruits, can’d foods and so on… you could easily hit that 2 LB mark and have maybe 1000 calories for that day… Nonetheless, I do see some positives to using weight, but not by its self. You need to make sure you have the calorie count, and nutritional value as well.
Below we will be going in-depth on some strategies you can use for your food packing methods. Yes, some of these strategies do use weight when figuring out the total amount of food you will need. However, we also will mix in nutritional value as well.
How Many Calories Should I Eat Per Day Backpacking?
The average backpacker will need somewhere around 3,300 – 3,800 Calories per day. Depending upon your hiking speed, Body type, Pack weight, the Terrain you hike, Weather conditions, and so on… You may need more or less. Below we will go into greater detail in order to narrow down the number of calories your body may require.
Many factors will come into play such as body weight, height, pack weight, temperature, elevation gain, Terrain, your metabolic rate and so on… however, we can get a decent estimate as to the calories you will need per day on your backpacking trip.
Let’s begin by figuring out how many calories you will need per day on average, not considering the energy you will be exerting as your hiking. This will simply be the required calories your body will need in order to sustain its current weight on an average day.
You will need to know:
- Gender
- Hight
- Current Body Weight
- Age
- Average Physical Activity Level
Use this Calorie Calculator to find your Average daily calorie intake. I Like This Calorie Calculator, As it provides me with many options, it is simple, and seems to work well. Below is an example Ive done on my self.
(Example)
From here on out I will provide an example I’ve done on myself for each section in this throughout this post. To help guide you.
- Gender: Male
- Hight: 5’11”
- Current Body Weight: 142 LBS
- Age: 22
- Average Physical Activity Level: LOW ACTIVE
Results: To Maintain My Current Weight Ill Need to Consume somewhere near to 2,671 Calories Per Day.
By this point, you should have your Needed daily calories. Be sure to write it down. Now Again, Remember this is more of just an estimate. In order to get your true Daily Needed Calories, you would have to go through a lot more testing than simply punching in a few of your body’s specs. But this will definitely get us into the ballpark.
Tack On Those Extra Calories
Now, let’s go into how we can Tack on those extra calories (To our average) that will be needed for the added energy Used
There are a few different methods you could use in order to figure out how many extra calories you should pack. Some of these methods may not be the most accurate however they will give you a good base estimate as to how many calories you should go for per day on your Backpacking trip.
Obviously, you will likely have to manipulate the numbers a little bit depending on the terrain you plan to be hiking, Temperature… For Example: If you are going to be gaining a lot of elevation very quickly, and hiking in colder weather it will be a good idea to take extra calories because your body will be working a lot harder, verse if you were hiking a less aggressive ascent.
Don’t get me wrong, both will require hard work and a lot of extra calories. However, the first will require more because in order to climb the steeper, more aggressive mountain you will be using up more energy, then you would the less aggressive ascent.
Factors That Will Impact How Much Food You Will Need
Your body will require more calories in colder environments, as well as if you have a fast metabolism, or will be gaining elevation quickly. Use your best guess as to understand what the overall environment of your trip will be. Then using a little intuition, and the Methods below to tack on the added calories to you Average (Gotten above). To give yourself a good estimated calorie level to hit per day on your backpacking trip.
- What will the weather conditions be like? (Check the local weather forecast)
- What will the temperatures be like?
- What is your Current body weight?
- What does your Gear weigh?
- What speed does your Metabolism run? (Fast / Slow)
- What distance do you plan to hike per day?
- What speed do you plan to hike?
- What is the terrain like? (Easy, Mild, Difficult)
- What will your estimated elevation gain be?
- What is your current fitness level?
- Do you want to Lose weight?
- Do you want to Gain weight?
- How many days will you hike for?
- How many miles will you hike per day?
- How many hours out of the day will you hike?
- How many hours of rest, per night you will get?
Method 1: Add A Fraction
This is my favorite option! But does require some intuition. simply speaking you will take your average daily calorie intake (As Found above using the tool). and you will take a fraction of that and add it to your avg. daily calorie intake.
For Example, My Average Calorie intake should be 2,671 Calories per day now if I take 1/4th of that (2671 / 4) = 667.75. And simply Add my Average to 667.75 Giving me a total of (2671 + 667.75) = 3338.75 Ideal calories for my backpacking trip.
The beauty about this is you can adjust it based on the terrain you will be hiking, or the weather you will be hiking in. If you are going to be hiking a more aggressive hike it may be a better option for you to add ½ Your average calories to your avg. calories (2671 / 2 = 1335.5 (1335.5 + 2671)) = 4006.5 calories for my trip.
Equation:
(AvgDailyCalories / Fraction = FractionOfAvgDailyCalories) (AvgDailyCalories + FractionOfAvgDailyCalories = TotalCaloricNeeds)
Example: (2671 / 4(1/4) = 667.75) (2671 + 667.75 = 3,338.75) Calories
Adjust the equation to your needs. If you will be hiking a much rougher terrain, and be hiking a steep slope you will likely need more calories. For that, you should adjust by adding 1/2 or 2/3rds to your Avg daily caloric number.
Method 2: Double It
Simply double your average daily caloric intake. this is one I have heard of other Backpackers using and I think it could be a viable option if you’re going to be hiking some Aggressive, Steep terrain. And you will need the added calories
However, I do see a lot of potential for bringing a decent amount of food Back with you. Which is something you don’t really want because that will mean you have carried around extra weight for no reason at all?
As an example for myself, my average daily caloric intake should be 2,671 Calories to maintain my current weight. Now if I Am to Double that. That Would put me At 5,342 Calories Per Day! I honestly don’t think I’d be able to eat that much food. Let alone the amount of weight that will add to my pack if I’m going on a Week-Long Plus Trip.
But Maybe doubling your average daily calorie intake would be a good idea for you if you are new to the backpacking scene, this way you likely won’t run out of food. However, you will be carrying a lot of extra weight, most likely.
Equation:
(AvgDailyCalories * 2 = AvgDailyCaloriesDoubled)
Example: (2671 * 2 = 5,342) Calories
I Don’t really like this option because it just seems like too much for me. I mean going from an avg daily intake of 2700 – 2800 calories a day to nearly 5400 calories a day seems a little over the top. But if you’re going to be doing an aggressive hike you may need to double your avg caloric intake.
Just there is a risk of carrying along a lot of extra weight in food that likely won’t get eaten.
Method 3: Calories Per Pound
I like this one because it factors in the weight you’ll be carrying along with your body weight. However, it won’t factor in things like the terrain you are hiking or the elevation gain you will be having, and how quickly that elevation gain will happen.
But then again most of the tools out there won’t back to that and either. this method is quite simple: First, you will add up your complete weight (Backpack Included). Weigh yourself as if you had just gotten out of the truck and you’re suited up ready to start hiking. Shoes and all.
For Example, I Weigh 142 LBS (Wearing all my hiking clothing), My pack weighs 37 LBS. All Together weight (142 + 37) = 179 LBS.
Obviously, you won’t have your food packed so you will have to compensate for that by estimating each day worth of food weighs around 2 LBS. So, for example, if you’re going on a 4-day backpacking trip (2 LBS * 4 Days) = 8 LBS of food needs to be added to your pack weight.
Now you will take your overall weight (Example: 179 LBS) and multiply it by… For this example we will use 20 (179 * 20) = 3,580 Calories per pound out of the total weight carried.
Equation:
(TotalBodyWeight + TotalGearWeight = OverallWeight) (OverallWeight * 20 = TotalCalorieCountPerDay)
Example: (142 * 37 = 179 LBS) (179 * 20 = 3,580) Calories
The 20 Above resembles, calories per pound of total weight. A good average hikers and backpackers tend to aim for is between 14 – 24 Calories per Pound per total weight. This will vary depending upon your answers to the “Factors That Will Impact How Much Food You Will Need” as listed above.
For example, if you have a slower metabolism, and the overall environment of the trip will be… Say a Level 3 out of 10 (10 = Hardest, 1 = Easiest). Then you could simply aim toward the lower end of that range. Say 16 Calories per overall weight.
That Equation will look like this: (TotalBodyWeight + TotalGearWeight = OverallWeight) (OverallWeight * 16 = TotalCalorieCountPerDay)
And vice versa for say a Level 9 Hike. Which will require more calories. So, target say, 22 Calories per Pound per overall weight.
Method 4: Food By Volume
Have you ever heard of a bear canister? If you have been involved in the backpacking seen for a while I’m sure you have heard of a bear canister. It’s likely you probably have one.
For those that don’t know a bear canister is a canister meant to place your food and scented products in, in order to keep your food and odorous items away from wildlife.
Now a lot of manufacturers of these bear canisters say that 1 day worth of food will take up about 100 ml of space inside the canister. If you have a bear canister you can use it to estimate your daily food needs.
but again this isn’t going to be a perfect method to use because different foods will take up different amounts of space… especially if you don’t repackage your food into small baggies.
To be honest, you could probably just use a simple measuring Cup / Bowl that goes up to at least 100 ml, Mark the 100 ml level, and pack your food in until you hit that point. then add up the calories per each item you put in the bowl and see what your overall calorie count is?
I know this one is a little far-fetched but it is an idea that you could test and see what comes of the results. Personally, I don’t use this method because there’s too much variability for my liking. But you’re more than welcome to try it.
How Many Pounds Of Food Do I need A Day Backpacking?
The short answer: A good average to go by is. Take about 1.5 – 2.5 Pounds of food per day you plan to be out, with an estimate of about 3,300 Calories per day. So, For Example, Say you’re going on a Week long Backpacking Trip (7Days). You will need to take 14 Pounds of food with you. But Again, this is an average, your body may need more or less. Depends upon your body type.
Again this will vary depending on your body type and gender. below we will go into greater detail on the subject. And I will provide you with tools you can use in order to find the right amount of calories, proteins, fats and so on… you will need to take with you on your backpacking trip.
You will definitely need to take, and consume a greater amount of food then you would on an average day. Given the fact that you will be hiking throughout the duration of the day, Which will cause your body to use up more energy, intern making it crave more.
Final Thoughts
I know we have gone over mainly just calories… Obviously, you will want to balance out your Proteins, Fats, Carbs, & Fibers accordingly. Now that you have a good estimate as to how much food you will need. Be sure to check out my write-up on the Best Lightweight Hiking Food, & Meal Plans! Where I also go into more detail on nutrition on the trail as well.
All n All, No simple tool on the internet can give you a perfect, Exact calorie count, or food weight. This is simply something you will have to figure out for your self. Or go see a specialist, but that could get pricey.
Honestly, use the tools and ideas above. And simply test it and see how your next backpacking trip goes. If you had too much food? Fine, just take a little less next time. If you had too little food? Take more next time.
But as you are in this testing phase, be sure to take an Extra “Emergency” Meal or Two, just in case you do run short.
I hope this helps and provides you with some value. Enjoy your Trip!
