Hunger Logic – If I stare into my food bag long enough, something tasty has to appear right??
Answer: Nope. You packed what you packed. Don’t be such an idiot next time.
During my recent shakedown hike on the Lone Star Hiking Trail (or LSHT), I discovered some important lessons about backpacking.
Some of those lessons revolved about my hiking style and my gear. But the most important thing I learned was so major do’s and don’ts with food.
It turns out I made a lot of dumb mistakes. And I probably could have avoided some of these headaches if I’d put 50% as much thought into my food choices as I did into other my other backpacking gear.
So here’s what I took away from that blunder…
Food Lesson #1 – Food (and water) is heavy
While out shopping for the LSHT, I didn’t do a very good job estimating how much I’d need to pack. I’ve never had to carry more than about two days of food on prior hikes. So, I completely overpacked for my five-day trip.
I also didn’t really put too much thought into how much some of my food choices would weigh. Don’t get me wrong, fig newtons are really tasty. But they are also insanely HEAVY! Especially when you brought enough for an entire Boy Scout troop to devour.
All told, I probably ended up packing 15+ pounds of food in my bag for my trip. And that was before I added in my 2 liters of water – which was another 4.5 pounds.
Let me tell you, nobody wants to carry 20 extra pounds of food and water on a five day hike!
So, in the future, I will be paying much closer attention to what foods I pack, and whether those items have enough calories to be worth their weight on the trail.
Food Lesson #2 – Eating is a chore
Going into this hike, I knew I’d need to consume around at least 3,000 calories each day if I wanted to have the energy to hike big miles.
However, once I got out on the trail, I discovered didn’t really want to eat. Stopping to fix lunch has never been my thing. I normally prefer to eat and walk during the day. But, my appetite just wasn’t there.
I figured I’d definitely make up for it when I stopped to make camp each night. But, that didn’t work out so well either. I was just too mentally and physically beat from a long day of hiking. Expending the effort to cook something (when I was tired) and choking it down (when I wasn’t hungry) seemed like way too much effort. So, I just didn’t bother.
This was a major mistake, and I didn’t eat nearly enough to sustain myself during my trip. This omission also meant I had to carry my insanely heavy food bag forward to another day on the trail, and make myself even more fatigued.
So what can I do next time to avoid this dilemma?
First, I need to remind myself that food on trail isn’t always going to be about enjoyment. It’s not like sitting down at a fancy restaurant. Eating on trail is about refueling my body for the next mile, the next section, or the next day.
Second, if I know eating a full meal is a struggle, then I need to snack more during the day. I already try to drink water every hour to stay hydrated. So I need to make that same effort to regularly consume some calories too.
After all, eating is not an optional exercise if you want to have the energy to hike big miles day after day. You have to fuel the engine.
Food Lesson #3 – Don’t follow the herd
I follow a mostly vegetarian diet. Most of the foods I consume in my day-to-day life tend to be fresh fruits, vegetables, beans, whole grains, and dairy.
But, let’s be honest, perishable foods like these just aren’t a good fit trail life. Consequently, when I went shopping for this backpacking trip, I didn’t really know what to buy.
In a bit of a panic, I looked for inspiration from my fellow hikers. What foods were they packing on longer trips? Armed with this knowledge, I ended up buying a ton of crappy food I’d normally never eat…simply because they were solutions others endorsed.
This was another major mistake. When your appetite is already waning, it isn’t very inspiring to open your food bag to find a bunch of food items you don’t crave or even like much. Peanut butter tasted awful when I was hiking. Sugary foods were equally unappealing. And the idea of eating instant mashed potatoes at the end of the day was simply more than I could bear.
And so, after my trip was over I had to figure out what the heck I’m going to eat if I didn’t want to subsist on the standard “hiker diet” of Pop Tarts, tuna, and high calorie instant foods.
How was I going to hike 2,200 miles on the Appalachian Trail on food that actually appealed to my palate?
This is when I realized I needed to ignore what others were doing. I’m not a 20-something hiker who has to subsist on junk food. As a middle-aged woman, I have the financial means for be a little more creative.
Dehydrated refried beans might be harder to find, but I already know I like eating them. Dried fruit in some oatmeal will appease my palate and fuel my body in the morning. Snacking on nuts or banana chips is completely doable. It’s really about finding foods that work for me.
Final Thoughts
Heading out on my shakedown trip was an invaluable lesson on what food to pack and what to avoid.
Understanding that I tend to crave salty foods instead of sugar can help me pack foods that fill this deficit. Knowing that I may not want to cook every night can help me buy foods that are still tasty when cold-soaked or straight out of the package.
I may not have it all figured out yet, but it’s part of the process. And there’s plenty of resources out there to discover food I might actually enjoy.
Here’s a few items that I think have promise:
- Harmony House Foods (dehydrated veggies to add to meals)
- Santa Fe Refried Beans (dehydrated bean flakes)
- Dehydrated and freeze dried fruit
- Granola bars, Lara Bars, and Luna Bars
- Tortillas
- String cheese and other hard cheeses (when the temps are cooler)
- Bagels and cream cheese
- Junk food I actually like (Peanut M&Ms, Fritos, etc)
