Alaska 2010 - What About Food?

Probably the most common question we get is, "What kind of food will you be bringing?". Food for a month is a perplexing question but a couple months of packing like a squirrel have just about brought me to conclusion.

The challenge is to pack lightweight, nutritious food that will be appealing even after two weeks of it. I estimate consuming 5-6,000 calories per day over the course of a month with total needs growing slowly as the trip progresses.
Calories are of course the body's source of energy, and fat packs the most calories per gram that provides a perfect "slow burn". Olive oil, cheese, sausage, almonds and other nuts/seeds will provide high-quality fats that also work to keep our body's flame stoked deep into the night.
Fat does not burn as efficiently as carbohydrates though, and so carbs will be our main "lunch-on-the-move" energy source in the form of energy bars and gels, bread/crackers, M&M's, dried fruits and so on with, much of breakfast and dinners involving pasta, rice and lentils.
Protein is critical for sustaining muscles day after day and so we'll get that from powdered eggs and oatmeal at breakfast and from the dehydrated meats and veggies in our dinner.
Click on these photos to see some of what I will be bringing. There's the drinks/condiments/etc. and then the food for munching on throughout the day (minus cheese & sausage):

Alaska 2010 - Home Away From Home

So what does it take to have a reasonably "comfortable" time on an exposed glacier mountain landscape near the Arctic Circle?
Shelter comes to mind first - we will be using a hoop style tent made by Exped, called the Andromeda II. The hooped design is great for high winds and creates more head space inside the tent. This tent features a large vestibule which will undoubtedly be very handy for cooking and storing gear.
Also by Exped are the Down Mats that everyone who owns one raves about. These will pad, and most importantly, insulate us from the snow we will be sleeping on the entire trip. Bringing a mattress repair kit is a matter of survival because if one gets a leak, many frigid nights will follow without it.
Then there is the big puffy sleeping bag. I am bringing a Marmot 0-degree bag despite the likely fact that many nights will be much colder. One can always sleep in his clothes and/or munch on some almonds in the night to reignite the internal flame.
Of course there is no bathroom in the tent. A lightweight cotton rag and some anti-bacterial face wipes will be the closest thing to a shower. You can just imagine how much I am looking forward to thawing frozen clean-wipes inside my sleeping bag before I can wipe my face!
While it won't be anything like hanging out back at our warm homes in Seattle, these things go a long way towards providing us with a launching pad from which to start each day with refreshed motivation!