Wolf Wilds › Food and Foraging

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Packing food for a trip

How much to bring, what keeps, and how to pack it so every meal is easy to find.

What travels well

How

  1. Write it down meal by meal for every day of the trip, then add a spare day.
  2. Plan roughly 2,500 to 3,000 calories a day in summer, and more for cold weather or hard travel.
  3. Take everything out of its boxes and pack each day or each meal in its own labelled bag.
  4. Choose dinners that cook in one pot so you carry one pot and less fuel.
  5. Keep lunch and snacks in a pocket or the top of the pack so you eat without unpacking.
  6. At camp, keep food and garbage well away from the tent, hung or in a sealed container.

Do and don't

Do
  • Eat and drink a little often, before you are hungry or thirsty.
  • Eat a snack with some fat in it before bed. It keeps you warmer through the night.
  • Carry out every scrap of packaging.
Don't
  • Do not bring food you have never eaten before.
  • Do not keep food, toothpaste or garbage in the tent in bear country.

Watch for

Danger
  • Dried food needs water and fuel to cook. Plan the fuel for every hot meal.
  • Meat and cheese go off fast in summer heat. Eat the fresh things first.
  • A trip that runs long runs on the spare day. Do not eat it early.

Notes

Good trip food is boring to pack and a joy to eat. Most of the work is done at the kitchen table before you leave.

planningcaloriespackingbear country

Updated 2026-09-20

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