Doing a short trip this weekend with my middle daughter. She's small, but very athletic (gymnast). Verging on puberty. Wondering how many pounds per day I should plan.

We'll cover, at most, 28 miles over 2.5 days. Weather predicted mid 60s, low-ish elevation (~1700'), rolling trail. She's been backpacking before, but not quite this long. And I wasn't planning food quite as carefully the last time she went.

I 've been doing Mike C!s 1.4# PPPD with good results, avg about 125 Cal/oz. Normal dinner time at home, I'd say Miriam eats ~2/3 the portion I do, but prob. snacks more between meals (tho' mostly fruit and yogurt type stuff--not very caloric).

At a guess, I'm thinking a pound per day for her, maybe a bit less. She'll be carrying her food, so minimizing weight (without her feeling hungry) is a consideration.

Reasonable?

Edited by DavidDrake on 04/23/2012 12:11:35 MDT.

I agree this is a good average, but it depends so much on the stage of the kid in my experience. When my kids are in a spurt, they will easily eat 2lbs.

You need to put her on "trail food" for a day before you do any trips - a day when she is running around, say a long dayhike, and see just how much she eats. Then pack more snacks.