Food for Exposure Alaska Expeditions
It’s really important, and its the thing that will keep you going on a long day. We can’t cook around everyones needs and wants, but we can make small changes.
Food Supplies from Exposure Alaska
99.5% of our guests have 100% of their food needs met with what we provide and they are very satisfied. They’ve even asked for our cookbook! You are however welcome to supplement at your own expense under the guidelines below.
So have a look at the tabs and read through the information at the bottom to fully understand what it is we can and can’t do so that you can have a great trip.
Easy! Many of our meals are vegetarian or there are vegetarian options. We have had great success with guests who follow a strict Kosher diet just sticking to vegetarian when they travel.
Almost nothing on our group trip menus conforms to a vegan diet. The only workable solution we’ve come up with for folks with this diet preference who want to join our trips, is to provide you with one pot and a burner, and have you cater and cook all your own one-pot meals.
The meals on the kayaking and backpacking portion of the trip need to be low volume for weight and space constraints. We will require you to provide us with your meal plan in advance so we can be sure it is appropriate. We do not provide trip fee discounts for this self-catering option.
We’re sorry we can’t offer more for Vegan diets. We’ve tried making substitutions on our standard menu but it turns out to be very stressful for the guides and the meals we end up providing aren’t the quality we can feel proud of.
Almost all of the snacks that we provide contain nuts or are processed or packed in facilities that also process nuts. These may be safely avoided if you’re only mildly allergic although you may want to bring along some of your own snacks. The severely allergic should carefully assess the risk of being exposed to nut products in a remote environment far from medical care.
Cheese is a component of some of our meals, especially at lunch time. This is not too difficult to avoid but your sandwich might be a little lighter than the others or your pasta a little less flavorful.
This one is getting easier to manage but not all GF options that you may be used to are available in our rural part of Alaska. Since we’re not experts and can’t read every label, we may need your help and flexibility in managing.
We can work with you to cater to special diets on custom trips as long as the whole group agrees and is happy to eat the same diet and we know about it during the planning stages of the trip. Please expect an extra charge for a special diet planning option on custom trips.
Depending on your personal dietary preferences or restrictions, you may need to supplement with your own food that meets the following requirements:
- Purchased and packaged in advance
- Low bulk (limited fresh fruits, vegetables and breads)
- Preparation requiring only hot water and short cooking time
- Needs no refrigeration
- Provides enough calories for the activities (more calories than you would normally require)
Please note that food is fuel and and important part of your safety on the trip. If you are not getting the fuel you need to stay warm and keep up on the activities, your participation on the trip may be limited or cut short.
We believe that what you eat while traveling is a big part of the adventure. If you like to visit national or international restaurant chains while traveling, what’s the point?
You chose this trip because you want to challenge yourself. You understand that weather and tent camping may be uncomfortable at times. We ask you to extend this flexibility and sense of adventure to the food on your trip.
Don’t misunderstand, most people love the food that we serve and it gets overwhelmingly rave reviews. But it may not be what you’re used to back home. When’s the last time you had Reindeer Sausage for breakfast? Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon for lunch?
Here’s the thing…
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to accommodate all the various diets, allergies and preferences these days. Our groups are fairly small, but it’s getting to the point where almost everyone in a group has something that they don’t eat…pretty much eliminating all of our meal options!
“The food was delicious. I appreciated the little touches such as pine nuts on the pesto pasta, the salsa for our burritos, the amazing green curry we ate on a cold rainy night, and most of all the plentiful good coffee.”- Exposure Guest
Our Guides are outdoor professionals doing the best they can to keep you fed and fueled while in the backcountry. Our adventure trips have really long active days and your guide will be right there with you on all the activities…and then they have to stay up late to organize camp and cook dinner as well as wake up before you to make coffee and cook breakfast.
“I expected to be eating dehydrated food, but we were treated to some fine dining in the wilderness. I went into the trip thinking I would lose 5-10 pounds, but I’m pretty sure I put on weight. It was that good.”- Exposure Guest
We just can’t add to their day and ask them to cook multiple dishes per group. We also can’t change the menu for the whole group based on one person’s dietary restrictions as most people aren’t familiar or happy with that option and we honestly don’t have the time to read every label on the truck loads of food that we buy. $4000 worth of food at Costco is a daunting proposition!
Salad Preparation from Alpenglow Luxury Camping
Most of our guests are extremely happy with the food that we provide, and are often very pleasantly surprised at how well we eat in the Alaska backcountry. We don’t rely on special de-ydrated “camping” food or some of the old traditional favorites like cans of beans.
Pasta dishes with gourmet cheese, toasted pine nuts served with fresh basil and cherry tomatoes. Jambalya with Alaskan reindeer sausage. Thai curry. Smoked salmon. You get the idea.
We eat well but some items are always going to be in limited supply due to space and refrigeration restraints. Fresh fruit and vegetables are usually going to be very limited as well as fresh meats and other items needing strict refrigeration.
We can accommodate some dietary restrictions without too much trouble. Vegetarian is no problem. Kosher? Just eating vegetarian seems to work for most.
Other food constraints are more difficult, and we’ll help you to take responsibility managing your dietary needs or to decide if our trips are just not right for you. If you have a serious allergic reaction to foods such as peanuts or shrimp we’ll try to pay attention to that. But if you have a lot of preferences, or are just very particular, it’s going to be your issue to deal with.
“I was impressed with the variety and elaborate-ness of the meals, especially while “primitive” camping. And I was never short on snacks–a major plus.”- Exposure Guest
We don’t do “Low carb” or any other diets of the year. Carbs are the fuel of the backcountry so you can expect a few pasta and rice based dishes.
