I recently became curious as to whether or not it would be possible to take perishable foods on a backpacking, or thru-hiking trip? What would the process look like, and how would it be done I wonder?
So, How do you keep food and drinks cold while backpacking? By simply using a small cooler you can accomplish this. Soft coolers or Cheap thermal bags work well. It is a good idea to freeze what food you can beforehand. This will help your perishables stay colder that much longer. The biggest struggle to taking perishable foods is the added weight in cooling equipment needed.
And even then you may only get 3-4 Days out of it before your food will begin to spoil.
Truly, when you go backpacking it is not ideal to take perishable foods. it becomes much more of a hassle than it’s really worth. There are many great alternatives such as:
- dried milk: you simply add water in it is like regular milk.
- freeze dried foods: you can get full meals from the store that you simply add Hot Water too.
- dehydrated fruits and vegetables are much lighter and easier to carry, and don’t spoil as easily.
- dried Meats: jerky can be a great option to replace your perishable meets.
These are just a few alternatives that you can take with you in place of your perishable food items. by taking these you will not have to carry a cooler, or device that will keep your food cold. And you won’t have to worry about eating food that could likely be bad…
To Be honest, with technology nowadays you could probably think of any perishable food item you may want to take with you on your trip, and they likely have a dehydrated or freeze-dried version of it??
If your open to taking freeze-dried or dehydrated food with you I’d recommend you do some looking around. You may just find something that will replace your desired “eggs for breakfast” that will act as a great alternative.
But I do get your desire to take some “Real” Eggs or milk with you on the trail. Alternatives rarely are able to mimic real food. With that in mind, let’s dig into the options we have for keeping food cold on the trail!
Ways To Keep Your Food Cold
Take a small Cooler or Lunchbox. Ideally a soft one. By using a soft lunch box or cooler you will be able to fluctuate the structure of the box slightly, which can help when attaching the box to your pack. Whereas using a hard box it could take up much more space, be greater in weight, and cause you more of a hassle to carry…
Another great idea I ran into was using a Thermal bag, which can be purchased from most grocery stores. You will need Ice though, and its probably a good idea to freeze your food before leaving, as this will help keep it cold for that much longer.
On the same topic of using Thermal Bags, There is a great write-up on creating a makeshift lunch box size cooler using 2 Thermal bags, 1 mylar emergency blanket, and a couple of Ice packs. Its quite simple really, but brilliant. Check it out “Here“.
If you can keep your cooler out of direct sunlight, you run a greater chance of keeping the inside of that cooler cold for a longer period of time. resulting in your food staying cold for an extended period of time.
Which is obviously the goal here.
What About Not Using A Cooler / Ice Chest?
Use The Snow:
This will be quite simple if you’re out hiking or backpacking during the winter months and there is snow on the ground. simply take plastic bags or some sort of container you could pack snow into and then place it next to your perishable foods.
or simply place your perishable foods in the snow, preferably tucked underneath, packed inside of the snow.
Use The Elements:
Yes, there are ways to keep your food cold even if the weather itself isn’t cold (winter). however, you will need to keep an eye on the temperature of your food very closely, as you could be pushing the limits as to how cold your food must stay in order to keep it safe.
For example, whenever I go fishing, often times as we catch the fish we put them on a catchline and just let them sit there in the water right there near the shoreline, just after we have gutted them. I’m sure if you do much fishing your self you understand what I’m talking about.
Even though in my example I do this with fish, it could also work with really any perishable food just as long as the water temperature is below the safety zone (40°F). And you must put your food items in a plastic bag or something alike. the reason for this is so that no bugs or bacteria begins to disrupt your food.
Ideally, It is best to do this if you have running water.
I do not recommend you do this for an extended period of time unless the temperature stays at a consistent level, Remember you basically need the water to stay at or below Freezing (30°F). Relating back to my fishing example, we only leave our fish there in the water for maybe a few hours at most as we finish up our fishing, then we take them to a cooler filled with ice.
How Long Can Perishable Food Sit Out?
This is likely the biggest problem you will run into when taking perishable foods and drinks with you on the trail. as well, it will be tough to know exactly how long your perishables have gone without cold…
it’s not like you’re going to be sitting there watching a temperature gauge on your cooler the entire day, for this reason, it makes knowing how long your food has been thawed tough to decipher.
It has been said that any perishable food items that have set out longer than 2 hours at room temperature is no longer safe to eat.
that does not mean Frozen perishable food items are no longer safe to eat after sitting out for 2 hours, this rather means in general food sitting out at room temperature for 2 hours is no longer safe to eat.
with this in mind, obviously you must pay close attention to the temperature of the food you have in your cooler, but as long as it is below 40°F (As said by FDA) You should be okay. though this could very dependent upon the perishable items you take.
Really there are probably many different varieties of using the elements in your area to keep your food cold, it will all depend upon where it is you’re going to be backpacking, or thru-hiking.
Obviously, in the desert, you likely won’t come across many areas where you can keep your food cold. However, if you are in, or near the northern hemisphere you may come across many different areas where you could stock up on cold elements.
For example, if you are hiking in an area that is known to have glaciers? you likely could use them to your advantage, as dependent upon the time of year you will likely have access too cold running water, and/ or ice…
All depends upon your location.
How to keep drinks cold while backpacking
Simply freeze your drinks before you leave, and by taking the idea from above “Creating a makeshift Thermal bag cooler” And placing your frozen drinks in it. You could have cold drinks for days. Maybe you could even use the frozen drinks, In place of your ice packs. This way you don’t have to carry around the added weight of the ice packs as well.
But you will have to time the eating of your cold foods right. You won’t be able to drink your drinks until after you have eaten your perishable foods, otherwise, you will have the problem of no ice to keep the food cold… I guess you could take a few drinks??
Or Use The Elements
Like was said above about using the elements to keep your food cold. You can do the same with your drinks. Honestly, using the elements to keep your drinks cold is probably a better option than using it to keep your perishables cold. Because I’m going to assume for the most part you won’t be taking perishable drinks? Unless you take milk then Yes, you should probably have that frozen in a cooler / ice chest.
The problem with using natural elements to keep your food cold is that it’s tough to monitor the temperature. Obviously, if you’re in snow you don’t really need to worry about this, but if you’re out during late spring or early fall? The water may not be cold enough for your perishables.
Use your best judgment if trying to keep perishable drinks cold.
Careful When Freezing Drinks!
If you plan on taking soda with you on your trip or anything that may be carbonated. I do say above to freeze your drinks before leaving, but be careful with this. You see, carbonated drinks like soda can, and typically will explode if frozen in its original container. It is a good idea to put the drink in a separate container, and leave some room near the top for expansion. And if possible leave the lid off, as carbon dioxide gasses can build up pressure inside the container.
It’s not only carbonated drinks you have to worry about. Typically carbonated drinks are the worst when it comes to freezing, but even water will do the same. Water, when frozen, will expand a little so be sure there is some space in the container for that added expansion when frozen.
What happens when you freeze a drink
Now that we are down this rabbit hole of freezing things mine as well post this video by “Periodic Videos”, and it’s entertaining as well!
Conclusion
In closing, there are many different ways to which you can keep your food cold as you go backpacking or thru-hiking. However, the biggest factor that you must pay close attention to is Keeping your perishable food below the recommended temperature to keep it safe. The last thing you want is to get sick on top of the mountain and have to struggle your way down vomiting…
Ask yourself before you take perishable food with you: Are you going to be able to keep your food Cold enough, and how long will it likely stay cold enough for?? As well as, How long do you intend to wait before eating that food?
Just be sure you take all the precautions necessary in order to keep yourself healthy and illness free.
I hope this provides some value to you and helps you as you prep for your trip!
Have a great one!
