Trekking in the Wild, Paleo Style… What to Bring?

Hi Nell,

I’m going on a back-country ski trip with my family in a few weeks. My husband and daughter will need three days worth of food and everything we eat needs to be brought in. There is a propane stove for cooking, but we need to travel lightly.

What would you bring to eat if you were doing this kind of trip?

I don’t want to eat only Lara bars (lots of sugar and calories)! My daughter says apples and avocados are too heavy!  

I might add that although there is a propane stove and pots and pans for cooking, I’m concerned with the cleanliness of the kitchenware, so would prefer to utilize them as little as possible. No running water either; we have to melt snow in a pot over a fire and then bring it to a boil so that it’s potable. The same is true for dish washing water. It’s true roughing-it!

Thanks, Katie

Wow!  That certainly is roughing it!  I agree, I would not recommend eating nothing but Larabars; as readers know, they fall into a category I refer to as ‘Plan B’ foods, for when you’re in a pinch; NOT something to plan on making a regular part of the diet!

I recently had a client go on a mountain climbing trip in Mexico and here is what we came up with for him to take:

• Homemade jerky (you can make it from wild salmon, grass fed bison, beef, free range poultry, or even better, some of each!)  Since you’re making it, you won’t have to worry about sneaky additives.
• Naturally dried fruit.  Of course, under normal circumstances, dried fruit might be too sugary for people to eat as a normal course of action, but if you’re just having  a little bit balanced out with protein and fat, it should be a non-issue.
• Naturally dried seaweed and kale; an easy way to get in SOME greens.
• Raw nuts. Again, typically nuts should not be considered as a main fat source due to their high OMEGA 6 content but under the circumstances, it’s easier to bring some nuts versus a bag of avocados.  
• Fish oil tablets- only to balance out the Omega 3:6 ratio, not a calorie source
• Natural, flaked coconut.  A great energy source and light and easy to carry

At least you will not have to worry about bringing water!

Hope that helps and have fun!