How Much Food For A 2 Night Backpacking Trip?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Summary. You’re not going to starve to death on a 1 or 2-night backpacking trip.

1.5 lbs of food per day

will be sufficient. Don’t stress out about how many calories you’ve packed.

How do you pack for a 2 night backpacking trip?

  1. Hiking boots or shoes.
  2. Backpack.
  3. Tent.
  4. Sleeping bag and sleeping pad.
  5. Stove and fuel.
  6. Kitchen supplies.
  7. Plenty of food.
  8. Water bottles and water-treatment supplies.

How much food do I need for a 3 day hike?

As a rule of thumb, you can figure on using

2 lbs of food per person per day

on a 3 season backpacking trip. Depending on your body weight and exertion level, you may need more or less food, but that’s a pretty reliable estimation to begin with.

How many days worth of food can you carry backpacking?

There’s a very wide range and it depends on your hiking pace. You do need to be able to carry

60 to 100 miles worth at times

(and that could be up to ten days for some), but at others you need little more than a picnic lunch if you can hike 30 miles in a day, which some can.

How much weight should you carry when backpacking?


A loaded backpacking pack should not weigh more than about 20 percent of your body weight

. (If you weigh 150 pounds, your pack should not exceed 30 pounds for backpacking.) A loaded day hiking pack should not weigh more than about 10 percent of your body weight.

How do you pack food for backpacking?

What kind of food do you take backpacking?

  1. Nuts and Seeds. Nuts and seeds are portable, convenient options for backpackers. …
  2. Dried Fruit. Unlike fresh fruits, which are highly perishable, dried fruits are heat-stable and have long shelf lives. …
  3. Jerky. …
  4. Nut Butter. …
  5. Dehydrated Meals. …
  6. Protein Bars. …
  7. Instant Oatmeal. …
  8. Powdered Milk.

What is a bear bag?

A bear bag is

a waterproof bag with a roll-top closure that protects your food and other items from the weather, animals, and bugs

. For a long time, I used the 13L Sea to Summit Dry Sack. Now bears have an extraordinary sense of smell.

What should you not take on a hike?

  1. Jewelry and Valuables. …
  2. Heavy Zoom Lenses For Your Camera. …
  3. Extra Toiletries. …
  4. Too Many Cotton Clothes. …
  5. Those Nice Shoes. …
  6. Hiking Boots. …
  7. Bulky Towels. …
  8. Guidebooks.

How many calories do you need while backpacking?

How Much Food Should I Take Backpacking? This will depend on your metabolism and how active you’re being during your trip, but just for a rough general ball park estimate, around

1.5 lbs (or 3,000 calories) per day

is a good starting point for most people.

How do you bring meat backpacking?

  1. Eat fresh meat first (pack ham or turkey wraps for your first lunch on the trail)
  2. Eat frozen meat for your first dinner (we’ll talk about frozen steak later)
  3. Save the preserved meat for later in the trip (they can be safely stored for longer)

How many calories should you eat backpacking?

Consume about

2000-2500 calories per day

if you are backpacking at an average rate (3000 calories) to lose 1 – 2 lbs per week. If you are trying to lose weight while hiking, be sure to consume enough complex carbohydrates.

How many calories does a thru hiker burn?

An average male hiker, walking at an average speed, carrying between 21-42 pounds, doing a 15-mile day at 2.75 mph would require 689 calories/hour x 5.45 hours to equal

3,758.18 calories

burned. That’s on top of the hiker’s basal metabolic rate (BMR)—the amount of calories burned sitting completely still for a day.

How much does backpacking food weigh?

For lightweight and ultralightweight backpackers, the combined weight of food and water will regularly exceed that of all the gear they are carrying. For example,

five days food equates to approximately 10 lbs (4.5 kg)

. Half a gallon of water is roughly 4 lbs (1.8 kg).

How heavy is too heavy for a backpacking tent?

In general, you want to choose a backpacking tent that is

no heavier than three pounds

to keep your base weight at a minimum, but remember, your choice in a backpacking tent is based on more than just the weight.

How heavy should my sleeping bag be for backpacking?

Ideally, a lightweight backpacker should try to keep their sleeping bag in the

2-3 pound range

and their pad around 1-1.5 pounds. Ideally, your whole system will be 4 pounds or less. When you are trekking up steep mountains with everything on your back, every pound will matter!

Is my backpack too heavy?

Signs your backpack is too heavy


It’s difficult to put on or take off

. You have pain from wearing it. You feel tingling or numbness in your limbs. Strap marks show on your shoulders.

Is freeze dried food good for backpacking?

Freeze dried meals aren’t just for astronauts anymore. In fact,

they’re some of the most popular meal options for hikers heading into the backcountry

. They’re convenient, calorically dense, lightweight, and tasty at the end of a long day.

How do you keep food cold while backpacking?

Can you bring jelly backpacking?


You can do single serve jelly packets

as Capoken suggested. Then you can stop by Justin’s Nut Butter and get some packets of PB. The PB packaging is great for hiking and the product is amazing. If you have a Whole Foods near you it is likely that they will have this in stock.

How much water should you bring backpacking?

A good general recommendation is about

one half-liter of water per hour of moderate activity in moderate temperatures

. You may need to increase how much you drink as the temperature and intensity of the activity rise.

What food should I bring for 3 days camping?

For a 3-day camping trip, you should bring food items that are suitable for campfire meals, on-the-go meals, and snacks. These include

eggs for omelets, bread for sandwiches, and rice or pasta for easy dinners. You can also carry potatoes, various meats, tomatoes, cucumber, and lettuce for salads

.

Why you shouldn’t hang a bear bag?


No hang method is immune

— bears can: Chew through your cord. Lunge from the trunk, and either grab or cut open your bag while they’re falling. Break the limb, or push down the entire tree.

Can bears smell canned food?

Bears have an insatiable appetite and an amazing sense of smell, and

they consider anything with a scent to be “food.”

This can include canned goods, bottles, drinks, soaps, cosmetics, toiletries, trash, ice chests, sunscreen, bug repellant, fuel, items used for preparing or eating meals, etc.

Do you really need a bear canister?

Protecting your food from bears is recommended in any area that is inhabited by bears, and

using a bear canister is required in many state and national parks, national forests and wilderness areas, and a number of other public lands

.

Timothy Chehowski
Author
Timothy Chehowski
Timothy Chehowski is a travel writer and photographer with over 10 years of experience exploring the world. He has visited over 50 countries and has a passion for discovering off-the-beaten-path destinations and hidden gems. Juan's writing and photography have been featured in various travel publications.