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wild camping/survivalist/backpacking etc

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dazzer1975

Well-Known Member
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101
Type of diabetes
Type 2
Treatment type
Diet only
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People mainly.
Anyone here into the above, or has a bug out bag ready to go when the chance or situation dictates?

Just wondering what kind of foods people use as most seems to be carb based, great for storage and weight such as noodles, couscous and rice, dried fruits etc etc.

So Basically looking for alternatives to that or ways others have tackled the problem.
 
I backpack but try to avoid wild camping (actually try to avoid camping, I use the French gites if possible. Nevertheless as we walk in the Pyrenees and Aubrac we have to be prepared for anything . We carry (and on some nights use) a very lightweight tent, basic cooking thing and emergency rations. Those I carry are carb based, I would be interested if you find some alternatives but remember you may be able to /need to eat more carbs when you've used up a lot of calories.

I'm T1 and I use insulin, I need considerably less insulin on these trips (sometimes less than 50% of my already quite small daily dose and that's with a good evening meal and the typical French carby breakfast.

The exercise makes people much more insulin sensitive and you can need huge amounts of calories when backpacking in hilly terrain. Some days I find it quite hard to keep my glucose levels up. The longer the trip the more carbs I eat and the less insulin I need to take.
 
Aahha reduced resistance to insulin via exercise, yes I am still learning and getting my head around this thing. I had never even considered that. I am a long way off wild camping myself, but am hoping to get into my walking over the coming weeks and months so have yet to actually test my needs and insulin sensitivity "in the field" (pun intended lol).

The only sort of thing I could think of was jerky but of course that would not sustain over a day or two or longer. Maybe dried mushrooms too but again, these are only really ancillary nibbles or components of a meal as opposed the main bulk.

If I do come across any ideas and suggestions i will put them in this thread.
 
lol nuts are nice especially covered in chocolate mmmm lol

packs of bacon would be ok but obviously only for a day or so I would imagine right at the start, ok for an overnighter or a weekend perhaps. Eggs would go along with this nicely, could de shell them and put them in a sealable bag, or maybe even buy a bottle of egg whites... I have used these previously for a tuna bake when weight lifting and they would do scramble eggs and omelettes fine on the camp stove.

bacon
eggs/egg whites
nuts
dried mushrooms
maybe the odd vac packed meals that are available if chose low carb variants... or low carb for these type of meals... not investigated the nutritional info on these yet

pasta and cous cous and noodles would be ideal but I suppose that depends on your own sensitivities and readings etc, could be an option though to at least supplement foods with these... would make things easier and simpler if so.

I am guessing kendal mint cake is out of the question lol

Have no idea if you can buy dehydrated veg... of any sort, but if so, that would be useful along with a bag or two of different spice/flavouring mixes, recreate your own kind of pot noodle lol

after a cursory googling this may prove to be a useful site for those interested with regards dehydrating your own foods/veg:

http://www.backpackingchef.com/dehydrat ... ables.html
 
I'm watching for more ideas as we do alot of camping.

Salami and other dried sausages travel well and don't need to be in the fridge, nor do the mattersons smoked sausages so we usually take some of them along. There are lots of recipes around for low carb cakes/muffins/breads, often using ground almonds, I bet some of those would be OK too.

Dried mushrooms are easy to find and add lots of flavour to noodles and things. I'm sure I've seen recomendations on here for low carb noodles.

One of the things I tend to find when camping, espeically backpacking type events is giving up on trying to make "meals" sometimes it's easier to think in terms of lots of snacks rather than trying to make meals of foods that go together.
 
those salamis and sausages are genius, i never thought of those and I am sure i have read the mattessons brands are 0 carb

Good tip on the snacking v making meals too... I am into camping gadgety things and cookware being one of them so I do tend to get carried away with my ideas lmao
 
During my recent adventure to Mt. Killimanjaro, I had a ready supply of Pork Scratchings, Nuts and Pepperami Sticks.

All hi-energy, lo-carb and relatively light weight (besides the nuts). All long shelf life, too - important for a grab bag.

If I was going to pack a bag, ready to go at the drop of a hat, I'd make sure I had the following food packed:

Pork Scratchings
Pepperami
Tinned Mackerel Fillets (in curry sauce/mustard sauce, etc..)
Beef Jerky (y'know - just in case I felt the urge to make my gums bleed for a while! :lol
Anything (bearing weight in mind) in a tin, or vacuum packed

Small, energy dense and light weight stuff.
 
Kilimanjaro, wowsers thats some pretty serious backpacking lol

pork scratchings, another good idea, i LOVE those, still having issues coming to terms with the fatty food thing so always over look these items.

I had considered tinned items but felt the weight would be too high, suppose its like most things really, finding the balance
 
Absolutely - for me, a tin of mackerel in sauce counts as a small meal. So I could justify the weight of that...

Now, a tin of Ham - different story. :wink:
 
lol true, I do really enjoy those small tins of mackerel...and pilchards etc, I suppose on the trail it would serve as a good meal, at home id have it with salad, but I dont plan on taking bagged salads with me lol
 
Hi not sure how wild you want to go. But if you are going into an area whree you need to take your own water then tinned food is a serious option as the tin will have the necessary water to cook your food. An essential i always carry is a strong curry powder, as this can make most things seem edible.
To get your calories try taking almond or coconut oils decanted into sealed plastic containers. As others have said, you should be ok with alot of stuff for a few days, If you are intending to be away from habitation for more than a week, you will need to train up to this level, and test your food intake works before you jump in with both feet and get into difficulty.
Don't forget the local flora and fauna. Rabbit is great on an open fire.
 
Hi Paraglider Pete,

the end goal is knoydart... and anywhere else for that matter, mainly Scotland I am thinking, perhaps the lakes, but yer, knoydart is the ultimate goal once I am ready for it. I will be looking at 7 days as a minimum and so will require a water filter...katadyn micro was going to be my choice with water tabs and boiling as back ups.

I can't stress enough i am a long way off from this yet, but camping and hiking and the great outdoors is one of my true loves in life, so I need to return to that as soon as is possible. Building up a gear list and expanding my knowledge of the likely diet requirements, especially since diagnosis will help me keep on track and keep the end goal in mind, not to mention provides a useful distraction from my current health worries.

I'm a bit schizophrenic with regards wild food, I don't think i could kill a living thing, yet the thought of wild rabbit cooked on a camp fire, well, utter bliss lol I suppose if I got hungry enough its rabbit beware lol
 
Hi Water steralised with such as acutabs tastes awful, I'd stick to boiling. Take a flask with you and fill the flask with boiling water in the morning. It will save you having to boil up again for a midday brew. But again it does add wgt.
If you are doing the scotish lochs. Take a small telescopic spinning rod and a couple of small spinners, only a few extra onces but great fun.
The places you've suggested. Have you thought about conoe camping. Not tried it but I'm sure it would be great fun and food / provisions less of a problem.
 
Good tip on the flask, I would have no issue carrying the extra weight as I am a big fan of flasks, never thought to use em in that way though, which is a great idea.

Fishing, again, another of my loves, my mate keeps wanting to get me out carping...next year I should be all set.

As for the canoe camping / fishing that sounds AWESOME, Ive never heard of it but I get the idea, i think, travel along the coast, stop off to camp, next day canoe on... I would be so up for that. I will do some searching not come across that before., many thanks for the suggestion.
 
hi Dazzer. I understand that you can do organised canoe expeditions into knoydart, which includes hill walking also. They provide the canoe and a guide etc. It's a long time since I've been that way, but I think there's a classic monroe up the loch, but can't remember the name.
I've also seen them canoe camping down the spey, but not sure if the do organised trips .
Hope this is of help. If I was fit enough I'd be begging to come with you. Used to take my paraglider to these locations and fly off the tops. Thats until my knees got too bad. Have to settle for an engine and cockpit to sit in these days
 
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