Water needs, food and energy, Naismith trail times, pack-weight comfort, altitude plans and honest safety-first guides — type your trip question and get a straight, careful answer in seconds. The full detailed report costs less than a cup of coffee: $2.95.
Multi-day food planning fails in two opposite ways: not enough calories and everyone runs hungry, or too much bulk and the group carries kilos of food they never eat. This calculator plans by the numbers. You enter the group size, the days out and a realistic per-person daily calorie target — 2,500-3,500 kcal for active trail days — and it returns the total calories, the food weight at the typical trail density of about 4 kcal per gram, and the honest per-person carry. The verdict scales the advice: short trips get a simple packing plan, long trips trigger the resupply conversation before the weight gets silly. Add an emergency day per person, pack each day separately, and test meals at home.
Plan food for a multi-day group trip — total calories, realistic food weight at trail densities, and the per-person carry — so nobody goes hungry and nobody overpacks.
A solid planning figure is 2,500-3,500 kcal per person per day for active trail days, with cold or high-effort days at the top of the range. Smaller or less active members sit at the lower end; big eaters and hard days sit higher.
Backpacking food averages roughly 4 kcal per gram once packaging is included, so 3,000 kcal a day weighs about 750 g per person. Dense foods like nuts, chocolate and dried meat pack more energy per gram than bulky items — weight adds up fast on long trips.
Plan one emergency day of extra food per person — about 750 g — for delays, wrong turns or weather. Set it aside and do not touch it; it weighs little and buys a genuine safety margin on any multi-day route.
Every tool answers instantly from our own knowledge and calculators — no AI wait, no account. Honest estimates built on widely used outdoor rules of thumb (Naismith, hydration and pack-weight guidance), always safety-first and educational — never a substitute for local knowledge, training or judgement. In an emergency while out, call 911 (US/Canada) or your local emergency number. Want the deeper, personalised version? Each has a $2.95 full report.