I will be hiking with a group in the S. San Juan Mts. of CO next week. I have found 16 oz per day to be adequate when 3 season hiking in AR, up to 3 days,but not sure it's adequate for the above. I'm female and 130 lbs, small boned.

4 Breakfast
Balance bars x 4 7.6 oz
Via coffee x 4 .6oz
5 Lunch/Snacks
Pbutter Cups x4 6.7 oz
Multi-Grain Sandwich Thins x 4 6.5 oz
Refried beans x2 2.7oz ( will hydrate one at breakfast)(one for dinner)
Torts x 2 3.8 oz
Gorp 12 oz
Lara Bars x 4 7.2oz
4 Dinners
Chili shrimp Ramen 2.7 oz
Loaded taters x2 4.7oz
Stovetop stuffing 1.7 oz
Misc
Ol. Oil .5 oz
Powdered cheese .5 oz
Hot sauce x2 1 oz
G2 packs x2, crystal light hydration x3 1.5oz
hot choc. pak x3 4 oz

Total 65 oz.
I will eat a hearty meal before hitting the trail the first day, as well as another directly after leaving the trail. Should I consider more calories for this short a trip?

Thanks for your input,
Leigh

For a short trip, it really doesn't matter. I would just concentrate on taking food that you know you like to eat, along with plenty of liquids.

Only after several days does your appetite change.

--B.G.--

You may also find that hiking at higher altitudes suppresses your appetite. Be sure not to let yourself get dehydrated...

Edited by jdw01776 on 06/25/2011 19:31:22 MDT.

Hi Leigh,
16 oz per day on a 3-4 day trip is just about right for me too, even with intense exertion. I wonder though if you'll be happy with some of your dinners. One pack of ramen (380ish calories) for a dinner would be insufficient for me. I'd bring two packs, or more olive oil to really douse it. At about 104 kcal/oz, 1.7 oz of stuffing wouldn't cut it for me either. I don't use it much, but the last time I did, I ate a whole 6 oz pack. What are you eating with it? I hope you have fun. Sounds like a great trip.
Ike

16 oz = 450 g.
Typically you should be consuming about 650 g per day, and a bit more in winter or on a long trip. (Hooning after 30 days, we were eating >1000g per day...)
If you don't take the food, your body will eat into your fat reserves. You haven't got that many.

Cheers

I'm about the same size as you and think that 16 ounces would not be enough for me. One and a half pounds is what I bring on a short trip. On long trips hiker hunger really sets in after a couple of weeks, and I increase it to two pounds per day.

Your dinners look kind of light to me. Maybe add something more substantial there. And an evening hot chocolate and a cookie is nice too.

Looks like you are eating pretty much the same thing every day, you might also want to add more variety to your menu as well.

I'm a 160 pound guy (don't let the hair fool ya :) and I struggle to eat a pound of food a day when hiking, so don't feel like you have to pack more. My method is to keep a list of each food and its caloric content and then determine its calories per 100 grams. That way I get the most calories for my 1 pound a day of food.

I only cook 1 meal a day, usually died soup or mashed potatoes. The rest is jerky, trail mix, nuts, etc.

"I'm female and 130 lbs, small boned."

Your menu looks to have adequate carbs to support body fat metabolism, so even if your carried food is not adequate to support your activity level, stored body fat should be able to make up the calorie deficit for a 4 day trip. If your dietary carbs are not adequate, your liver will convert protein(dietary or muscle) to glucose to support the metabolism of the fat. This is not good for an extended period of time, but for 4 days you will be fine. I am assuming that you are of normal height and 130#, not 6'2", which would indicate a reasonable amount of stored body fat.

16 oz turned out to be fine, I actually ended up with about 4.5 oz left. No weight loss afterward. I was pretty certain that for 4 days it would be fine. As for my list, I don't eat meat and don't mind redundancy for 4 days. I had actually gained a bit on a MI paddling trip prior to this trip so had some cushion :) My paddling pals had a ritual of going for ice cream after a day on the river! I should have mentioned I was 5'5" tall. Pretty average.

Edited by leighb on 07/13/2011 06:51:31 MDT.