Camping Trip Food Calculator

How it is calculated

The tool first counts person-days: person_days = people × days. Everything else scales from that number. total_calories = person_days × calories, where calories means kcal per person per day. Food weight uses a fixed planning rule of 1 kg per 2,000 kcal: food_kg = total_calories ÷ 2000. Water is a flat 3.8 L (one US gallon) per person per day: water_L = person_days × 3.8. Cost is person_days × cost_per_day, with the daily cost per person in dollars. All four inputs are required. People and days must be whole numbers above zero (at most 10,000 people and 3,650 days), calories must be above zero and at most 20,000 per day, and a cost of zero is allowed; anything else shows no result. The 3.8 L and the 1 kg per 2,000 kcal do not change with heat, altitude or dehydrated food, so treat the output as a starting estimate.

Common mistakes

• Entering the whole group's calories instead of calories per person per day. Typing 10000 for four people overstates the food fourfold.
• Entering the cost for the entire trip in the cost field. It is multiplied by person-days, so it must be the daily cost for one person.
• Typing half days or part-time guests, such as 2.5 days or 3.5 people. The tool accepts whole numbers only and shows nothing for fractions; round up to the next whole day or person, or run two separate estimates.
• Counting travel days as full days. Arrival and departure days often use only one or two meals, so the trip length may be slightly overstated.
• Treating the water figure as a carry weight. 45.6 L is what the group drinks and cooks with over the trip, but you may resupply from a source and carry far less at a time.