How to Choose Food for Cold Weather Backpacking

You burn about twice as many calories backpacking in the winter than you do during your normal daily life. You'll need to eat plentiful amounts of hot foods and calorie-rich foods to keep warm, so forget about starting that diet until you're out of the woods.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• GORP
• Butter
• Candy Bars
• Cheeses
• Granola Bars
• Instant Soup Mixes
• Olive (not Virgin) Oil
• Pasta
• Pasta Sauces
• Peanut Butter
• Roasted Soy Nuts
• Spices

1. Plan on carrying more food than you would for backpacking in warmer climates. You will need at least 2 1/2 lbs. of quick preparation foods daily for each adult.
2. Choose foods that require a minimal number of steps for preparation. You will be cooking with gloves on, and tasks like cutting or measuring ingredients will be more difficult.
3. Choose foods that cook quickly and don't require long periods of simmering. You will need more fuel to bring water to a boil and keep food warm in a cold climate.
4. Pack butter, margarine or a bottle of olive oil. This will add necessary fat and additional flavor to just about any meal you're likely to prepare.
5. Bring instant soup mixes. These are easy to prepare and may save you from hypothermia by warming you quickly and helping you stay hydrated.
6. Pack lots of small, carbohydrate-rich snacks such as dried fruit, granola, energy bars, GORP, candy, corn chips and crackers. You'll need to eat these at regular intervals in cold conditions to keep warm.
7. Pack an emergency stash of sugar snacks, such as candy bars or M&M's, that will metabolize quickly and can be eaten if someone begins to show signs of hypothermia or hypoglycemia.
8. Pack foods high in fat such as cheese, peanut butter or soy nuts. Dinners higher in fat will help keep you warm in your sleeping bag throughout the night, and keep you from waking up from hunger.
9. Bring spices to jazz up the flavor or prepackaged meals. Curry is great with rice; onion flakes, powdered garlic or tamari are good with soup, rice mixtures and stews; sage and basil are nice mixed with butter.

Tips & Warnings

• Avoid drinking alcohol when backpacking during the winter. Not only does alcohol dehydrate you, it's also a depressant that will cause you to lose body heat quickly.