Canoeing or Kayaking Menu Plan for 10 days

A kayaking menu plan for a 10-day canoeing or sea kayaking trip must be light, compact and crush resistant. It should also be varied enough to fight off boredom and maintain nutrition. The following menu plan provides about 3500 calories a day, and it’s light, compact, crush resistant and varied. Except for the fresh lunch items, this can be sent through the mail for resupply stops on longer multi-staged trips. I used this menu plan on multiple sea kayaking and canoe camping trips in the past, including trips where I resupplied.

Hygiene & Misc

Hygiene in this kayaking menu plan is simple. Bring a small supply of Dr. Bronner, which works for everything. I’ve even brushed my teeth with it. Toothpaste tablets allow you to count out exactly how many you need. I carry them in a small hinged container.

• Toothpaste tablets
• Dr. Bronner – Castile Soap Peppermint repackaged to a 1 ounce container
• 10 One-a-Day vitamin pills
• 15 pack of Wilderness Wipes
• 1 gallon sized plastic bags

Fuel

With the right stove, you should be able to get 20 boils out of one container. I use MSR’s Rocket Rocket 2 Deluxe with a 750ml pot.

• 1 3.5 ounce Jetboil canister

Breakfast

The key with breakfast is to have something that is easy to make and fast. The Carnation Instant Breakfast can be added to the oatmeal or cereal or has separately. I premix everything into their own bags, but if you are concerned about waste, you could carry these as bulk items.

• 10 Carnation Instant Breakfast Essentials
• 3.5 cups of Instant Milk
• 10 Coffee packages (if you’re a coffee drinker)
• 4 Servings Oatmeal: 3/4 quick oats, 1/3 cup Nestle Nido, 1 TBSP brown sugar, 1/4 cup dried fruit
• 6 Servings Cereal: 1 cup Kashi Cereal, 1/3 cup Instant Milk, 1 TBSP brown sugar, 1/4 cup dried fruit

Lunch

Lunch is simple with limited choices but when combined it can provide a variety of flavors.

• 1 package Wasa Crackers o flat bread or pitas
• One or two red peppers
• 8 oz block of cheese (sharp cheddar)
• 9 oz Salami or Summer Sausage
• 1 package of Pepperoni
• 1 jar’s worth of Nutella or Peanut Butter
• 10 lunch sized packages of Corn Chips or a big bag. Corn nuts also have a nice crunch.

Dinner

Dinner is freeze dried meals and extra olive oil. Olive oil adds a lot of extra calories, but can be messy. It is available in individual packs from Garage Grown Gear.

• 10 Enertia Trail Food Dinners or other freeze dried meals
  • Korr/Lipton dinners could be substituted. Cooking takes much longer so plan for more fuel.
• 10 TBSP olive oil
• 5 packages of Instant pudding/cheesecake, etc…

Snacks

You can vary this based on your own tastes. I typically plan three bars a day. Then I want some additional snacks if I’m hungry, especially towards the end of the trip. This is what I usually bring, although I often substitute GORP for the Wheat Nuts.

• 20 Clif Bars, Power Bars or homemade (woohoo!) bars
• 16 ounce package of Fig Newtons or other sweet snacks
• 10 Gornola Bars (hard)
• 1 can Wheat Nuts (pure fat!)
• 1 can Repackaged (double bags w/scoop) Energy Drink (look for glucose polymers (maltodextrins))

Sometimes, I make GORP

Sometimes I’ll include GORP in my canoe and kayak menu plan. This is my recipe.

• One big bag of peanut M&Ms
• Can of mixed nuts with no peanuts
• 3/4 box of Goldfish crackers
• 2 to 3 cups of dried peas

Good Resources

Most of the camping cookbooks on the market present recipes and menu plans which just don’t work on a high millage long distance trip. There just isn’t enough time in the day to paddle 30 plus miles, set up camp, blog, take pictures, and prepare complicated meals. Here are a few books that are the best for this style of trip.

• The Appalachian Trail Food Planner: Recipes and Menus for a 2,000-Mile Hike
• Freezer Bag Cooking: Trail Food Made Simple