Great video and food list and weight to calorie ratio.. I hunt heavy bear areas with grizzlies so I have to hang all food and stove from tree 100 yards from tent 12-15 feet up 4 ft out from tree and 4 feet from limb Rope is over and rope done PCT method 👍🏻 wish I could keep it in tent lol no snacks in the sack
Thank you so much for the content. I use a similar system with the ziplocs and love to include my 10 and 12 year old sons. They think sneaking left over Halloween candy bar into the bag is great. I agree that eating all of your food is difficult at times, especially when the elk are on the move. I have a really funny story about food intake and energy. My father and I did not pack enough food opening day of muzzy elk one year. We hunted hard and during the last few minutes of shooting light, I cow called and a big 6x6 chuckled and came in. I put him down at 22 yards and we started packing him out at around 10 pm. When we got to camp, we were so exhausted, we were not thinking straight and all we could find to eat for the night were cheezit crackers because we didn't want to eat the food packs for my dad's hunt. When we woke up the next day, we realized we had fresh backstrap from my elk sitting in camp that we could of had the night before. UGH!
Great tip about the ramen! Eating dehydrated food along with altitude, i rarely take on enough water and get dehydrated my self and have gotten sick from mud butt and couldn’t eat. Ramen is an excellent remedy. Thanks man. Looking forward to September
Don’t forget the jerky from a animal that you harvested in that same area, just an awesome feeling IMO being fueled by an animal you harvested prior to hunting another animal
One more thing I add to my list, which is similar to your list, is a pack of instant garlic mashed potatoes. I take maybe two packs for a two week hunt. That is to go with a grouse we may kill, or to go with that elk tenderloin. Those two pieces of meat rarely leaves our mountain! 😋
I also take the mashed potatoes and use them to basically soak up the excess water in the mountain house meals gives them extra flavor and extra carbs.
Cliff do you have any recommendations for a type 1 diabetic on a insulin pump. I read that you should reduce static basal rates overall by 40-70% online and that seems to work fairly well while training and testing out adjusted rates. I’ve been training with 100 lbs in my back pack trying prepare my body. I was thinking using lots of complex carbohydrates and have a container of powdered Gatorade powder shots if I need quick spike in sugar levels. I do have a continuous glucose monitor which tracks my levels and helps me be aware of my levels and adjusting to them. I figured for me I’m going to have to pack overboard on food just to be safe. I have been dehydrating lots of fruit, fig bars and other energy type bars, peanut butter packets, trail mix, mtn houses, protein shakes packets, instant oatmeal. Trying to be as prepared as I can. I thought to pack a ton of extra food in the car just in case.
Cliff, great info that I don’t normally get from guides, although I’m no guide what and how I pack are similar, love the smoke oyster and bone broth ideas. I swapped out mountain house last year for Hawks Vittles, he’s an Indian chef in ND , really good and way more packable. I have just been reading a lot about pemmican lately, have you ever tried that , high in protein and fat.
have you ever tried the Peak Refuel meals? They tend to be better on my stomach then the Mountain Houses are, specially on longer trips. Good info though might have to mix up my food a bit and try to get a better diet going.
I have, I do like them. When I used them there wasn’t a ton of menu options. We bought mountain house by the pallet, so I never drifted too far. I’m sure there are some great options entering the market.
Peak Refuel is awesome! Compare the nutritional value against Mountain House and it’s not even close! You get way more calories and protein from Peak Refuel and the costs isn’t much more. Well worth it to me. The peak breaks fast skillet is amazing!!
Cliff awesome video! You have given me some great ideas. To add to comment below, do you not worry about attracting bears or do you have a trick that keeps them away?
It's really location dependent. Some areas actually require you put your food in a bear proof container - a huge hassle when backpacking. For the most part, keeping things tidy, camp clean, burn your garbage, etc... has worked for me. Having said that, I am also in areas where bears are not habituated to humans.
Some guys will eat the canned chicken or the flavored packets of chicken - there is less fat in those so you would have to add in some additional calories somewhere
Great info @Cliff! Never seen someone walk through it as thorough, weigh, have %s and some whys like this. Some common themes, but this was a very thorough vid. My question is around more of a base camp hunt where you can get your trucks up to it - would you advise folks to pack similarly so they could get out quickly, stay fuel, be out all day and come back in the dark? Seems like this setup works for that setup too. Dinner could be a diff style, but your principals in this vid seem to work great too! Your thoughts? Thanks in advance!
Yeah, so I think you have the right idea. I stick to a similar breakfast/lunch/snacks, then have a more “normal” dinner. I prep these so they are easy prep. I have a video on those, Prepping Meals for Deer/Elk Camp. When you can drive in - stay away from the dehydrated meals. They are hard on my digestive system, tons of salt, etc… Hope that helps! Thanks
I never viewed them as a necessity for me personally. If I was guiding in an area where water was a challenge and therefore usually off-tasting after treatment, I would use Nuun tablets. Made the water taste better and I suppose the electrolytes were good too!
Too much packaging. I can understand the needs of hunting, but seriously? Whatever happened to keeping it simple? Have you ever tried mixing (at home!) 1/4 part honey with 3/4 part peanut butter in a mixing bowl, then taking a full loaf of the thickest most dense whole wheat bread around, and making the whole loaf into sandwiches, putting them back into the bag, and POOF! Very solid in a space-to-weight ratio. Very calories/carbo/protein/fat/sugar dense food that will guaranteed keep you satisfied for hours of hard going, and all without the 'burnout' feeling from the more sugary types of basically candy types of 'bars'. The honey keeps it all from spoiling. Add a thicker layer of mix to each sandwich for a higher food value. If you are blessed with a health foods store, some of them have bulk sections that sell various pre cooked and dried soup mixes and pre cooked and dried bean mixes, to include (my favorite) just plain dry bean flakes with nothing added but salt. These cook up in just two minutes, or even just put some in a cup/pot, add hot water, let sit a couple minutes, and POOF! a delicious meal that really satisfies. And don't forget the boxes of instant potato flakes, or taking some type of corn chips, deliberately crushing them, putting them into a reusable Ziploc bag. These kinds of things can be added to the soup mixes in a fantastic variety limited only by imagination, BUT, they are FAST to prepare! Bulk sections also usually have granola, which is WAY WAY cheaper than 'bars', and tastes far better too. Throw in a gallon size Ziploc of assorted bulk section dried fruit and you would have to try to go hungry. If this all seems too complicated, then just take a few moments and compare yourself to the real frontiersmen of the old days and try to imagine how they would LAUGH at ALL THAT packaging and waste! Gotta look back at our beginnings, Bro...
Great video and food list and weight to calorie ratio.. I hunt heavy bear areas with grizzlies so I have to hang all food and stove from tree 100 yards from tent 12-15 feet up 4 ft out from tree and 4 feet from limb Rope is over and rope done PCT method 👍🏻 wish I could keep it in tent lol no snacks in the sack
Thank you so much for the content. I use a similar system with the ziplocs and love to include my 10 and 12 year old sons. They think sneaking left over Halloween candy bar into the bag is great. I agree that eating all of your food is difficult at times, especially when the elk are on the move. I have a really funny story about food intake and energy. My father and I did not pack enough food opening day of muzzy elk one year. We hunted hard and during the last few minutes of shooting light, I cow called and a big 6x6 chuckled and came in. I put him down at 22 yards and we started packing him out at around 10 pm. When we got to camp, we were so exhausted, we were not thinking straight and all we could find to eat for the night were cheezit crackers because we didn't want to eat the food packs for my dad's hunt. When we woke up the next day, we realized we had fresh backstrap from my elk sitting in camp that we could of had the night before. UGH!
Ha!!!!!
The little packets of Ghee is a great idea. I've been packing powdered butter for years to add fat and flavor.
Sardines in mustard sauce are the bomb!!!!
I hunt in grizzly land …I wish I could eat those without possibly getting eaten 😂
Great tip about the ramen! Eating dehydrated food along with altitude, i rarely take on enough water and get dehydrated my self and have gotten sick from mud butt and couldn’t eat. Ramen is an excellent remedy. Thanks man. Looking forward to September
Good luck man 👍
Don’t forget the jerky from a animal that you harvested in that same area, just an awesome feeling IMO being fueled by an animal you harvested prior to hunting another animal
This was a fantastic video! Thank you.
good stuff man!
One more thing I add to my list, which is similar to your list, is a pack of instant garlic mashed potatoes. I take maybe two packs for a two week hunt. That is to go with a grouse we may kill, or to go with that elk tenderloin. Those two pieces of meat rarely leaves our mountain! 😋
Good tip! thanks
I also take the mashed potatoes and use them to basically soak up the excess water in the mountain house meals gives them extra flavor and extra carbs.
How are you managing the water needs for this much food needing hydration? Thank you for the content!!
I use the packets of chicken and I take stove top stuffing to make a nice meal.
Cliff do you have any recommendations for a type 1 diabetic on a insulin pump. I read that you should reduce static basal rates overall by 40-70% online and that seems to work fairly well while training and testing out adjusted rates. I’ve been training with 100 lbs in my back pack trying prepare my body. I was thinking using lots of complex carbohydrates and have a container of powdered Gatorade powder shots if I need quick spike in sugar levels. I do have a continuous glucose monitor which tracks my levels and helps me be aware of my levels and adjusting to them. I figured for me I’m going to have to pack overboard on food just to be safe. I have been dehydrating lots of fruit, fig bars and other energy type bars, peanut butter packets, trail mix, mtn houses, protein shakes packets, instant oatmeal.
Trying to be as prepared as I can. I thought to pack a ton of extra food in the car just in case.
Cliff, great info that I don’t normally get from guides, although I’m no guide what and how I pack are similar, love the smoke oyster and bone broth ideas. I swapped out mountain house last year for Hawks Vittles, he’s an Indian chef in ND , really good and way more packable. I have just been reading a lot about pemmican lately, have you ever tried that , high in protein and fat.
I haven’t tried pemmican but I’m sure it would be a great addition. Thanks for the comment
have you ever tried the Peak Refuel meals? They tend to be better on my stomach then the Mountain Houses are, specially on longer trips. Good info though might have to mix up my food a bit and try to get a better diet going.
I have, I do like them. When I used them there wasn’t a ton of menu options. We bought mountain house by the pallet, so I never drifted too far. I’m sure there are some great options entering the market.
Peak Refuel is awesome! Compare the nutritional value against Mountain House and it’s not even close! You get way more calories and protein from Peak Refuel and the costs isn’t much more. Well worth it to me. The peak breaks fast skillet is amazing!!
I’ve looked at my jet boil fuel cans and I don’t see anything about how many boils you get out of them. Where should I be looking?
What a wealth of knowledge thank you
Cliff awesome video! You have given me some great ideas. To add to comment below, do you not worry about attracting bears or do you have a trick that keeps them away?
It's really location dependent. Some areas actually require you put your food in a bear proof container - a huge hassle when backpacking. For the most part, keeping things tidy, camp clean, burn your garbage, etc... has worked for me. Having said that, I am also in areas where bears are not habituated to humans.
Grate info any suggestions to replace the oysters for someone who is allergic to fish
Some guys will eat the canned chicken or the flavored packets of chicken - there is less fat in those so you would have to add in some additional calories somewhere
Great info @Cliff! Never seen someone walk through it as thorough, weigh, have %s and some whys like this. Some common themes, but this was a very thorough vid.
My question is around more of a base camp hunt where you can get your trucks up to it - would you advise folks to pack similarly so they could get out quickly, stay fuel, be out all day and come back in the dark? Seems like this setup works for that setup too. Dinner could be a diff style, but your principals in this vid seem to work great too! Your thoughts?
Thanks in advance!
Yeah, so I think you have the right idea. I stick to a similar breakfast/lunch/snacks, then have a more “normal” dinner. I prep these so they are easy prep. I have a video on those, Prepping Meals for Deer/Elk Camp. When you can drive in - stay away from the dehydrated meals. They are hard on my digestive system, tons of salt, etc… Hope that helps! Thanks
@@CliffGray awesome! I’ll try this out this year!!!
Are you skipping lunch in the backcountry @CliffGray?
Usually just snacks!
Really a useful video; thanks a bunch. J.
Wild zora meals are super clean food, especially when you have food allergies.
great vids
hi Cliff, do you ever use electrolytes on multi day hunts?
I never viewed them as a necessity for me personally. If I was guiding in an area where water was a challenge and therefore usually off-tasting after treatment, I would use Nuun tablets. Made the water taste better and I suppose the electrolytes were good too!
Stinger waffles! #1
👍
Aren’t you concerned with having your food in your tent with you for bear or roedent eating into your tent?
Most of the areas I hunt, bears are fearful of humans. In areas where that isn't the case, I hang my food bag. Thanks for the comment!
If your trying to eat high fat why eat ghee and not butter
Just easier to carry. Either works.
Ghee also has an extended shelf life
Ever had bears or rodents come into your tent with your food being in there?
Too much packaging. I can understand the needs of hunting, but seriously? Whatever happened to keeping it simple? Have you ever tried mixing (at home!) 1/4 part honey with 3/4 part peanut butter in a mixing bowl, then taking a full loaf of the thickest most dense whole wheat bread around, and making the whole loaf into sandwiches, putting them back into the bag, and POOF! Very solid in a space-to-weight ratio. Very calories/carbo/protein/fat/sugar dense food that will guaranteed keep you satisfied for hours of hard going, and all without the 'burnout' feeling from the more sugary types of basically candy types of 'bars'. The honey keeps it all from spoiling. Add a thicker layer of mix to each sandwich for a higher food value. If you are blessed with a health foods store, some of them have bulk sections that sell various pre cooked and dried soup mixes and pre cooked and dried bean mixes, to include (my favorite) just plain dry bean flakes with nothing added but salt. These cook up in just two minutes, or even just put some in a cup/pot, add hot water, let sit a couple minutes, and POOF! a delicious meal that really satisfies. And don't forget the boxes of instant potato flakes, or taking some type of corn chips, deliberately crushing them, putting them into a reusable Ziploc bag. These kinds of things can be added to the soup mixes in a fantastic variety limited only by imagination, BUT, they are FAST to prepare! Bulk sections also usually have granola, which is WAY WAY cheaper than 'bars', and tastes far better too. Throw in a gallon size Ziploc of assorted bulk section dried fruit and you would have to try to go hungry.
If this all seems too complicated, then just take a few moments and compare yourself to the real frontiersmen of the old days and try to imagine how they would LAUGH at ALL THAT packaging and waste! Gotta look back at our beginnings, Bro...
You're going to lose 15-20% of yourbody weight?? No way!