Food packing for a wilderness canoe trip requires some thought. Cans and bottles are not allowed in either wilderness area. Just wander through the aisles of the local grocery store and it quickly becomes quite clear that over 50% of America's processed food products come in a can or bottle. Items like spices frequently come in glass jars or metal tins, and concentrated fruit drink products with metal bottoms are both examples of illegal food containers. Repackaging these items into plastic bags or plastic containers meets the legal container guidelines as set forth by the US Forest Service.
Many food products can be purchased in the supermarket. Popular side dishes can all translate well into trail foods. Traditional freeze-dried trail foods are great options too that can fill-in the your food menu with easy to prepare breakfast, lunch and dinner items.
As the meals are put together, keep in mind the food weight, preparation time, cooking time, and clean-up requirements. Whenever possible, keep it simple. Gourmet is great, but it takes a lot of time to plan, space to pack, and effort to prepare. Fresh fruits and vegetables can be taken out, but must be used right away before they spoil or become severely bruised. If fruit and vegetables are desired consider; cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, onions, potatoes, apples and oranges. Most other fresh produce will not hold up to trail abuse.
Normally, the trip will begin sometime mid morning the first day, so the group will probably eat breakfast before hitting the trails. Likewise, most trips will end around noon or mid afternoon the last day. For these two reasons one less breakfast and dinner are packed. However, all lunches are planned. Here's a sample menu for 4 people on a trip for 5 days/4 nights:
Breakfast
2nd Morning - Eggs, bacon, toast, beverage and orange breakfast drink
3rd Morning - Pancakes, bacon, syrup, beverage and orange breakfast drink
4th Morning - Oatmeal, dried fruit, beverage and orange breakfast drink
5th Morning - Pop Tarts or cereal bars, dried fruit, beverage and orange breakfast drink
Lunch
1st Lunch - Bologna sandwiches, cookies, hard candy and fruit drink
2nd Lunch - Cheese sandwiches, granola bars, hard candy and fruit drink
3rd Lunch - Sausage, crackers, trail mix, hard candy and fruit drink
4th Lunch - Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, cookies, hard candy and fruit drink
5th Lunch - Beef jerky, trail mix, dried fruit, hard candy and fruit drink
Dinners
1st Dinner - Hamburger steak, rice side dish, vegetable, chocolate covered granola bar and beverage
2nd Dinner - Steak, noodle side dish, vegetable, candy bar and beverage
3rd Dinner - Ham steak, red beans & rice, vegetable, cookies and beverage
4th Dinner - Macaroni & cheese, fried fish, vegetable, trail mix and beverage
Figuring Out Food Portions - Per meal
Trail mix - 1/2 cup child, 1 cup adult
Dried fruit - 1/2 cup per person
Side dishes - 1/2 cup per child, 1 cup per youth or adult
Cookies - 3 per child, 4 per adult
Peanut butter - 2 tablespoons per sandwich
Jelly - 2 tablespoons per sandwich, or 2 tablespoons/person at breakfast
Syrup - 1/4 cup per person
Eggs - 2 per child, 3 per adult. Package in plastic egg crates whenever possible. If crates aren't available, wrap the egg carton with cardboard for additional protection.
Cheese slices - 2 per child, 4 per youth or adult
Sausage - 3 ounces per child, 5 ounces per youth or adult. Make sure the sausage does not contain dairy by-products. It should be what is called "shelf stable" which means it doesn't need to be refridgerated before opened.
Crackers - 8 per child, 12 per youth or adult
Beverages - 2 cups per person/meal, plus extra for around the evening campfire
Orange breakfast drink - 1 cup per person/breakfast
Bologna - 2 slices per child, 4 slices per youth or adult. Use this only on the first day. Most luncheon meats contain dairy by products and will only be good for the first day's lunch.
Bacon - three slices per person
Pop Tarts - 1 package per person
Breakfast/Cereal bars - 2 bars per child, 3 per youth or adult
Oil - 1 1/2 cups per meal for up to 4 people, 3 cups per meal for up to 9 people
Fish Breading - 1 cup covers 6 people for one meal
Spices, Salt and pepper - as needed, in plastic containers or bags. Usually 1 to 3 ounces of each will cover any and all seasoning needs.
Sugar, powdered creamer and artificial sweetner - as needed for beverages, oatmeal or cold cereal.
Sandwiches - 1 per child, 2 per youth or adult
Bread - Take the group size times the number of days the group is out and divide by 4. Example: 4 people for 5 days = 20 man days divided by 4 = 5 loaves of bread.
Margarine - choose bottles of squeeze margarine instead of tubs - they pack much easier and are definitely less messy. One bottle will cover 28 man days. Example: 6 people out for 6 days = 36 man days, they will need two bottles for the trip.
Meats - typically one 8 ounce portion per person.
Snacks - figure one snack per person each day. One bag of marshmallows will cover a group of 4 for two days, or a group of 9 people once. Combine cookies, trail mix, dried fruit and hard candy for a pleasant variety.
Freeze all meats and lunch meats the night before the trip. Pack everything except the first day's lunch and dinner in a soft sided cooler. Place the first days lunch and dinner in top of the pack, so it can thaw over the course of the day. The steak will thaw in time for the second night's dinner. The ham and bacon are smoked products that will be fine without refridgeration for several days. They typically thaw out during the second or third day.
Cheeses, margarine and eggs can also be put in a soft sided freezer bag. Eggs should be used early in the trip to avoid breakage.
Other Food Preparation Needs
SOS pads - one pad per hot meal
Chore boy cooper scouring pad - one pad per trip
Dish soap - 16 to 20 ounces for 5 days, 26-28 ounces for 7 days
Bar soap - one personal sized bar per trip
Handi Wipes - 1 for each 3 days out (Ex: 5 day trip needs two handi wipes), they also work well for wash cloths, so more may be required.
Raid Outdoor Bug Spray - 1 can per trip. Use this to lightly spray the inside of the tent during bug season, right before bedtime. After the tent has been sprayed, close up all windows and doors and wait 15 minutes. Do not spray the bug repellant directly on the tent - it may melt the fabric.
Water bottle - one quart bottle per canoe
Matches/Lighter - 1 large box Strike Anywhere matches in plastic bag or container, or two lighters
Firestarter - 5 to 10 commercial firestarters, or 5 - 10 three foot sheets of wax paper
Aluminum foil - required only if baking fish. Use heavy duty aluminum foil and plan on 2 three foot sheets per meal for groups of 4 people, 4 three foot sheets for groups of 9 people.
Toilet Paper - a 1000 single ply roll per 2 people for 7 days (14 man days per roll), so 4 people for 5 days would require two rolls.
Dish towel - optional, comes in handy for drying dishes. Should be light weight material that dries quickly.
Potholder - one oven mit or pad per trip
Make up a menu that will go in the food pack(s). It is helpful and a real space saver to package all breakfasts together in a plastic bag, and likewise for lunches and dinners. Beverages can all go together along with any sugar, creamer, and artificial sweetner. Snacks can be packaged in its own bag for easy access. Soaps, cleaning supplies and bug spray should be packaged together in a plastic bag and slid down the outside of the food pack (between the pack and the plastic liner). That way if anything leaks or sprays, it won't contaminate the food products.
The average 3.5# Traditional Duluth pack will hold 2 people for 7 days (2 people x 7 days = 14 man days/pack), plus the cookkit. Items such as the axe, saw, tarps, and tent poles are typically put around the outside of the food pack (between the pack and the liner. A specially made cardboard box goes inside the plasic liner and pack to offer support and stability to the food items. Four people for 5 days will normally require two food packs.
Keep it simple. Hearty portions will "keep the belt buckles from scrapping on back bones" any day. Fancy isn't necessarily hearty.
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