Backcountry Hunting Food Plan

Front or Backcountry Nutrition

I am constantly making tweaks to my training, shooting (tinkering) and food intake.  The style of elk hunting that I do requires me to be properly fueled for the high energy demands.  I will hunt out of my backpack.  I will hunt from a spike camp.  I will hunt from my truck.  Some nights I'll get 8 hours of sleep from my tent.  Other nights I'll get about 5 or 6 hours from my truck.  Then there are those nights where I don't get much sleep because I wake up at 2 or 3 am to night bugle and locate elk.

The energy expenditure of elk hunting with a day pack or bivy setup is high.  We don't want to go on a diet or ration our food in a way that will impede our energy levels or recovery.  We also don't want to lug around extra weight if we don't have to.  So, here's an overview of the type of food I take with me while elk hunting for the entire month of September.  I will note that I personally do better with more carbohydrates than fat.  A keto diet where majority of calories come from fat has never allowed me to feel my best.  You could be different, so find what works for you.

Confession

Admittedly, I used to buy Mountain House in bulk and backfill my mountain food intake with random Clif bars, bagels and trail-mix.  I didn't have a calorie goal, I just sort of charged the mountains with little thought to the quality/quantity of food ...or the actually weight of it.  I wanted to create a post that could save folks time and get them thinking of how many calories to take with them in the backcountry.  Here's a few things to while elk hunting in the backcountry.

[Mountain House is a huge player in the freeze dried food industry and I think they're a great company - but I also think there are way healthier options out there that taste even better].

Consider

• Strive for a calories/ounce ratio of at least 125 calories to 1 ounce.
• Evaluate your urine. Dark and concentrated urine is indicative of insufficient fluid intake. Urine should be clear, pale yellow and copious.
• Always treat your water.
• Add electrolytes to your water often
• Invest in a food dehydrator, here's what I recommend
• Buy your own mylar bags, then test your food before leaving
• You can add oxygen absorbers, here's a link

Calculate Calorie Need

• There's no real accurate way to prescribe a calorie goal 
• 3,000 Calories - generally speaking you'll be plus or minus 500 calories.  Could be over 4,000 in some cases, but it will depend on if you pack a stove, how much weight you want to carry and of course your energy expenditure
• Keep in mind your body weight, terrain or topography, distances hiked or trekked daily
• Hiking with a heavy pack (relative) can burn 500-1,000 calories per hour
• I burn 2500+ calories a day while not hunting, that's a very active lifestyle with training bouts 5-7 days a week.  In the backcountry, my goal is to replenish with a minimum of 3,000 calories a day and I try to keep my daily food bag at or under 2 pounds.

 Here's my two different food bags I'll be utilizing in the backcountry:

PEAK REFUEL DAILY FOOD BAG FACTS:

CALORIES - 3155

MACROS - 18% Protein | 50% Carbohydrate | 32% Fat

WEIGHT - 2lb 1oz

STOWAWAY DAILY FOOD BAG FACTS:

CALORIES - 3069

MACROS - 20% Protein | 49% Carbohydrate | 31% Fat

WEIGHT - 1lb 12oz