Backcountry Nutrition: How to Fuel Your Body for Peak Performance in the Mountains

One of the most common questions in backcountry hunting is deceptively simple:

“What food do I bring?”

For many hunters—especially those new to multi-day backcountry hunts—the answer often falls on either extreme: too much food, too little food, or the wrong food entirely. And when nutrition fails deep in the mountains, the consequences are real: energy crashes, poor decision-making, stalled performance, and in extreme cases, true survival situations.

In this episode of the Live Wild Podcast with Remi Warren, Kyle of Valley to Peak Nutrition sits down with  and Dustin Diefenderfer of Mountain Tough Fitness Lab to break down exactly what your body needs in the backcountry—and how to plan your food using a practical, data-driven system: the Backcountry Nutrition Calculator.

This conversation bridges the gap between nutrition science, mountain fitness, and real-world hunting experience.

Why Backcountry Nutrition Matters More Than You Think

Many hunters like Remi Warren and Dustin spend months—or even years—training physically for a hunt. Strength, endurance, pack weight, and elevation all get attention. But nutrition often becomes an afterthought.

That’s a mistake.

Running out of fuel doesn’t just mean being hungry. It means your body begins breaking itself down. Energy disappears. Recovery slows. Judgment suffers. And once you fall behind nutritionally, you can’t “catch up” later in the day.

Backcountry hunting is not casual recreation—it is a multi-day endurance performance event.

Calories Per Ounce Isn’t Enough

Most hunters start planning food by focusing on:

• Calories

• Calories per ounce

• Pack weight

That’s a decent starting point—but it’s not sufficient or the final resting place.

You can carry plenty of calories and still perform poorly if those calories aren’t aligned with:

• Hunt intensity

• Daily workload

• Duration

• Your individual tolerance

A pack full of sugar won’t fuel long days of climbing. A pack full of fat won’t support sustained high-intensity pushes. And protein alone won’t keep you moving.

The major take-a-way is: fuel type matters as much as fuel quantity.

The Three Foundations of Backcountry Nutrition

1. Know the Intensity of Your Hunt

Your body uses fuel differently depending on effort level.

• Low intensity (glassing, short movements, low vertical): higher fat usage

• Moderate intensity: mixed fuel sources

• High intensity (steep climbs, heavy packs, sustained effort): primarily carbohydrates

Once intensity exceeds roughly 60% of your max effort, your body shifts heavily toward carbohydrates. If carbs aren’t replenished, performance drops fast. This is why a September elk hunt and a late-season glassing hunt should not be fueled the same way.

2. Match Calories to the Workload

Backcountry hunters routinely burn thousands of calories per day.

Eating 2,000–3,000 calories may feel “fine” on day one—but those deficits stack quickly. By days 4–7, many hunters experience:

• Severe fatigue

• Loss of strength

• Mental fog

• Loss of motivation

• Inability to continue hunting effectively

Fueling correctly is the difference between:

• “I have to sit this day out” and “Let’s push one more ridge"

3. Use the Right Macronutrients at the Right Time

Each macronutrient has a role:

• Carbohydrates: primary fuel for movement

• Protein: muscle repair and recovery

• Fat: long-term energy, hormone support, caloric density

Dosing each of this in their respective quantities based on your needs is the main difference between surviving and thriving on a hunt.

Nutrition Timing: Eat Early, Eat Often, Don’t Play Catch-Up

A common mistake is waiting until “lunch” or “camp” to eat. That strategy fails in the backcountry for a variety of reasons:

• Muscles burn through carb fuel in ~60 minutes

• If you don’t replace it, performance drops

• Once depleted, recovery can take hours—not minutes

Practice getting enough fuel (totals) with a good cadence (timing) to ensure you never bonk or hit a wall on the mountain.

A very basic rule to remember is to front-load fuel. Snack constantly. Don’t wait until you’re empty.

Pocket snacks, drink mixes, gels, gummies, and blocks are all tools—not indulgences when on the mountain.

The Backcountry Nutrition Calculator: A Practical Tool To Help

Kyle built the Backcountry Nutrition Calculator to simplify planning without overcomplicating nutrition.

What It Does:

• Uses body weight and hunt intensity

• Estimates daily calorie needs

• Breaks calories into carbs, protein, and fats

• Allows day-by-day intensity adjustments

• Builds a daily food plan

• Auto-generates a grocery list

These numbers are starting points—not rigid rules. Everyone has different tolerances, preferences, and digestion responses. The calculator gives structure while allowing flexibility. Don't be afraid to play with it!

Final Takeaway: Thrive, Don’t Just Survive

Backcountry hunting is not about seeing how little you can eat.

It’s about sustained performance, physical resilience, maximizing opportunity on once-in-a-lifetime tags, and enjoying every second of it with friends and family.

With the right nutrition plan, proper training, and intentional fueling, you don’t just endure the mountains—you thrive in them.