What kind of provisions did Bidwell pack for his expedition?

It was understood that every one should have not less than a barrel of flour with sugar and so forth to suit. I laid in one hundred pounds of flour more than the usual quantity, besides other things.

An extra barrel of flour. That’s the kind of practical, foresightful man Bidwell was.

“Other things” would be foodstuffs like cornmeal, salt, coffee, a slab of bacon, and dry beans. Maybe, if he could afford them, a few specialty items like cider vinegar, dried apples, dried ginger, cinnamon, or cayenne pepper. As for the extra flour:

This I did because we were told that when we got into the mountains we probably would get out of bread and have to live on meat alone, which I thought would kill me even if it did not others.

Ben and Nancy Kelsey load their wagon