Food

From KayakWiki

Big subject.

It is important to properly estimate your calorie expenditure on a trip. Most self-propelled outdoor trips with a "duty day" of about 8 hours will require something like 3000 calories per day. For hiking, this can be done at just under 1.5 pounds per day per person. For kayaking, one need not stay within this limit... it is a little easier to carry more.

Here are some ideas of food for kayak trips of more than one day's length:

The first meal of the day can be of critical importance - caught by a sudden change of weather it may be impossible to land or stop for a considerable period and starting the day with an empty stomach can rapidly lead to hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar) exhaustion, exposure and even death. Sugary snacks can stave this off for a while, but there is no substitute for a belly load of complex carbohydrates.

Tastes vary, and not everyone will want to down three pints of coffee and then squeeze into a sea kayak cockpit for a few hours, for example. Cold food like cereals or bread(-substitutes) can get you away to a fast start - maybe vital if you need to be off at first light to catch the tide through a crucial passage. If I have more time, I prefer something hot - but it has to keep in a kayak hull for up to a few days. Eggs last pretty well, milk can come as dried, and the other ingredients for pancakes can be pre-measured and mixed. Whenever I make pancakes, the amount made with one egg seems to be just more than I can eat, and I become strangely popular with paddling friends. This must be some sort of recommendation - remember to take maple syrup, or lemon juice and sugar.

Breakfast menus