Moosie,
Make sure you bring plenty of meals that do not require water/re-hydration. Our first trip had a pond for drinking water. It was hell on the filters, and tookd more than 1 hour of filtering each day. And some of the Ramen type meals have so much sodium in them, I kind of wonder whether they dehydrate you worse.
I wish we had more meals that did not require the stove or water to prepare. If you are packing 1/4s all day, there are times when you make a return, unload the meat, grab a power bar, and start hiking back to get the next load. With your dad, you might find yourself doing more than 50% of the packing, and it is amazing how many calories you burn, packing quarters. Think of it as Elk Hunting x 4 (assuming you buy 4 tags for you and Dad).
My experience was my belt needed new holes punched every day or so, you just couldn't eat enough to stay even.
I now take a jar of Peanut Butter, Jar of Honey, and some Pita Bread and some Tortillas. It is so nice to have a sandwich, without cooking.
YOu also need some meals for the days you can't get out of the tent, due to the 60mph wind, horizontal rain, and fast moving fog. You won't be able to light the stove, so hot meals are out, and you get tired of eating Power Bars all day long.
Buy some peaches in August, and dry them, vacuum seal them, and you will have a pretty good snack, with no weight. Also, the Deer/Elk jerkey is light, and is high protein.
Hope it helps.
(Elkgrinner)
