We will be paddling and camping for six weeks with Kris and Leslie. We’ve decided that each couple will cook breakfast and dinner for all every other day. Cooking for four doesn’t take much more effort than cooking for two, so each couple gets a day off every other day. We’ll take care of our own lunches and snacks for each day since we’ll be eating while paddling.

We also plan to mail ourselves a re-supply box that we’ll pick up half way through the trip in Port Alexander, the only town on Baranof Island besides Sitka. So, we are planning to start with three weeks of food and pick up a box with the next three weeks’ segment. If we’re cooking every-other-day, then we figured on 11 breakfasts and 11 dinners for each segment.

Amounts are based on what Dave ate on a previous paddling trip in Alaska. We figured I’d eat about 2/3 to 3/4 what he ate. We double checked this by figuring out the total calories using the food calculator on FitDay. We doubled this amount, and the total is what we’ll cook for the four of us. All amounts are figured in scoops, meaning a level 1/3 cup spoonful of the indispensable MSR Folding Spoon. It serves to measure, stir and serve all our meals. We dehydrated a variety of sauces like Thai curries, Indian masala, several kinds of salsas, etc., which we’ll choose from for dinners.

Planning the Menus

Segment One – Breakfasts

Oatmeal (6 days)
Calories: ~3,700 total

  • 10 scoops oats
  • 1 scoop brown sugar
  • 2 scoops mixed salted nuts
  • 2 scoops dried berries/cherries/raisins
  • 1 scoop chocolate chips
  • 2 scoops ground coffee

Pancakes (5 days)
Calories: ~4,265

  • 10 scoops multi-grain mix
  • 3 scoops oats
  • 2 scoops mixed salted nuts
  • 2 scoops dried berries/cherries/raisins
  • 2 scoops syrup for topping
  • 1.5 oz. olive oil for frying
  • 2 scoops ground coffee

Segment One – Lunches
Each couple is on their own for lunch. This is what Dave and I will be eating each day

  • PowerBar Harvest
  • Clif Bars
  • Nature Valley Granola Bars
  • Dried fruit
  • Mixed nuts
  • Chocolate
  • Tabouli mix
  • Hummus mix

Segment One – Dinners

Lentils & Rice (4 days)
Calories: ~3,750

  • 8 scoops rice
  • 5 scoops lentils, mixed green & red
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 dried sauce
  • 1 oz. olive oil

Couscous & Fish (1 day)
Calories: ~2,800 + fish

  • 9 scoops couscous
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 sauce
  • 1.5 oz. olive oil
  • Fresh fish

Couscous & Falafel (1 day
Calories: ~3,500

  • 9 scoops couscous
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 sauce
  • 5 scoops falafel mix
  • 1.5 oz. olive oil

Quesadillas (2 days)
Calories: ~3,700

  • 8 oz. cheese
  • 10 whole wheat tortillas
  • 5 scoops dehydrated black beans
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 sauce (salsa)
  • 1.5 oz. olive oil

Quinoa & Fish (2 days)
Calories: ~2,800 + fish

  • 9 scoops quinoa
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 sauce
  • 1.5 oz. olive oil
  • Fresh catch of the day

Quinoa & Falafel (1 day)
Calories: ~ 3,600

  • 9 scoops quinoa
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 sauce
  • 5 scoops falafel mix
  • 1.5 oz. oil

Segment One Desserts (7 days)
Will be baked in the Banks Fry-Bake dutch oven.

  • brownie mixes
  • banana bread mixes
  • peanut butter cookie mixes
  • several types muffin mixes
  • gingerbread mix
  • chocolate chip cookie mix

Segment Two – Breakfasts
Same as segment one.

Segment Two – Lunches
Same as segment one.

Segment Two – Dinners
Same as segment one, except for the quesadilla meals because we won’t be able to send ourselves cheese and tortillas and there is no store in Port Alexander.

Black Beans & Rice (2 days)
Calories: ~3,500

  • 8 scoops rice
  • 5 scoops black beans
  • 3 scoops dried mixed vegetables
  • 1 sauce
  • 1 oz. olive oil

Segment Three
We’re packing a second re-supply box with a scaled-down mix of the above meals for just the two of us for our tour into Glacier Bay. We will buy the staples in Sitka and the box will have hard-to-find items and dried sauces and vegetables.

Packing the Three-Week Pantry

Here’s a list of some of the staples to pack the boat for the first three weeks and the re-supply box. Most ingredients were purchased in bulk at the health food store or in large packages from Sam’s.

Breakfast

  • 75 scoops oats
  • 6 scoops sugar
  • 22 coops mixed salted nuts
  • 22 scoops berries
  • 6 scoops chocolate chips
  • 1 32 oz. jug pure maple syrup
  • 50 scoops multi-grain pancake mix

Lunch

  • 63 PowerBars/Clif Bars (mix)
  • 84 Nature Valley granola bars
  • 4 large bags dried fruit
  • 1 pound peanuts
  • 1 pound almonds
  • 22 chocolate bars
  • 1 pound hummus mix
  • 1 pound tabouli mix

Dinner

  • 32 scoops rice
  • 18 scoops couscous
  • 27 scoops quinoa
  • 20 tortillas
  • 20 scoops lentils
  • 10 scoops dehydrated black beans
  • 10 scoops dehydrated mixed vegetables
  • 11 dried sauces of various types
  • 21 chocolate bars
  • 44 herbal tea packets
  • 21 packets EmergenC

Calculating Scoops Per Pound

To quantify how much of each staple we needed, we had to calculate how many scoops per pound for buying in bulk or large packages at Sam’s. Remember, each scoop equal 1/3 cup, as measured by our MSR Folding Spoon.

We bought an estimated amount to get started, then quantified, and went back to buy more. Hopefully this saves someone some of that time-consuming work. We probably spent about 15 hours each on this whole food project.

  • Thick-cut rolled oats: 10 scoops/lb.
  • Mixed, salted nuts: 27 scoops/3.5 lb. tin from Sam’s, or 7.7 scoops/lb.
  • Dried blueberries (14 oz. bag from Sam’s): 6 scoops, or 7 scoops/lb.
  • Dried mixed berries (13.5 oz. bag from Sam’s): 6 scoops, or 7 scoops/lb.
  • Multi-grain pancake mix, complete: 8 scoops/lb.
  • White jasmine rice: 6 scoops/lb.
  • Quinoa: 7 scoops/lb.
  • Red lentils: 6.4 scoops/lb.
  • Green lentils: 6.55 scoops/lb.
  • Dehydrated black beans: 9 scoops/lb.
  • Falafel mix: 7.3 scoops/lb.
  • Ground coffee: 1 scoop = 1 oz.
  • Couscous: 6.7 scoops/lb.
 

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