I've given this topic a lot of thought. Eating is kind of mandatory. Plus, as anyone who has seen me over the past few years can attest, I like to eat.
The problem, of course, is that I'll be in the middle of the woods. So I've had to figure out some stuff. Many questions had to be answered...
- What kind of foods make sense when I'll be walking most of the day? - Which ones are easy to eat or cook? - Do I want to cook? Do I want to cold soak my food? Or do I just bring food that doesn't need any prep? - What will my calorie needs be? - Which foods pack the most the calories per ounce and don't take up a ton of space in my pack? - What kind of food do I actually like/want to eat? - Should I mail myself resupply boxes in different towns along the way? Or should I just buy from local stores while in town?
I did my research, watched YouTube videos by thru-hikers, read posts on Reddit and other sites, listened to podcasts, scoured blogs and articles on websites like thetrek.co, sectionhiker.com, adventurealan.com, and andrewskurka.com. They all provided great info and tips but I fear that what works for me will be something I won't know until I actually get out there. So it's a guessing game, albeit a slightly educated one. It's part and parcel of the challenge I'm undertaking.
Here's what I've decided to do. I think I want to cook, so I'm bringing a lightweight, alcohol stove. I found a couple of recipes that I'm going to try (I'll post those separately) and will give them a go. The rest of the diet will be typical hiker-trash, processed foods.
Cold soaking isn't something that holds much allure for me so I decided against going that route (cold, mushy ramen? yummy - not!). Having a cooked meal in camp is something I think I'll look forward to each day. It'll be a chore occasionally when I'm dead tired but it's a gamble I'm willing to take.
As a regular coffee drinker in the morning, I'm guessing I'm going to want some to start the day, so I'll be bringing some java.
I found some high-caloric meal bars that will serve as breakfast and will rely on the hiker's staple of tortillas and peanut butter for lunch. I may get sick of both but I think I can tough it out for three weeks. Plus I'll be stopping in four towns along the way, one every five days or so, where I can eat some real food, do some laundry, and find a hostel or cheap motel to shower and sleep in a real bed for a night.
Speaking of towns, I decided to send myself resupply boxes so I won't need to do much resupply at stores. There are different philosophies on this in the hiker community. I know a lot of AT hikers recommend just resupplying in stores along the way. That makes sense to me given you're out there for 4-6 months but I'll only be on the trail for three weeks or so - and I'm a pretty picky eater. So I'm going to roll the dice and get my food ahead of time. I think it'll be okay but we'll see.
In addition to the meals mentioned above, I'll be supplementing them with snack bars and candy - all the good stuff that are the staples of a hiker's diet.
Here's what it looks like all laid out. This is about 4-5 days worth. Each of my four resupply boxes will have enough for 4-5 days also. I'll stick a few non-food items in there too, like a fresh roll of TP, a small container of hand sanitizer, and some Advil. The plan is to get into town every fifth day so I'll eat on the local economy on those days.
Breakfast - Coffee - Alpine Start x5 - Greenbelly's Meals-to-Go Cranberry Almond Meal Bar x4
Lunch
- Mission Soft Taco Tortillas, one 10 ct package (two/lunch)
- peanut butter, one 16 oz jar (about 13 servings per the label so we'll see how much I eat)
Dinner
- Andrew Skurka's recipe - bean and rice and fritos x2
https://andrewskurka.com/backpacking-dinner-recipe-beans-r…/
- Andrew Skurka's recipe - tomato polenta (sans the peppers) x2
https://andrewskurka.com/dinner-recipe-polenta-peppers/
Snacks
- Snakwell Cookie Pkt x4 (for dessert)
- Peanut M&M's x4 (3 oz/ea. snack bag)
- Luna lemon bar x3
- Luna blueberry bar x3
- Honey sesame sticks x3 (2 oz/ea. snack bag)
- Quaker chewy raisin bars x4 (my fave so I had bring some)
- Also, some electrolyte tabs.
My food weight is at about 1.7 lbs/day (or around 7.5 lbs. for each resupply. It's a balance between having enough to eat and carrying as light a load as possible. If it's not enough, I'll be in town before I starve to death and will just add to my resupply box at a local store.
Buon appetito!