Usually, when we resupply in town, Daniel and I focus on the savings. Buying enough food to feed the two of us for a couple of days on trail can be both expensive and heavy. We all know that freeze-dried meals are the way to go if you got the cash for it. For the rest of us, we have to get creative.
What to consider: weight, calories, compactabilty
An average hiking day in the summer requires around
- 1,800-2,300 calories
A strenuous hiking day or winter hiking requires around
- 2,500-3,200 calories
A very strenuous hiking day or harsh winter weather requires around
- 3,700-6,000 calories
For breakfast: I would suggest some variations of oatmeal and granola. You can use dehydrated milk or protein powder or my favorite “breakfast essential” You can eat this both hot and cold.
Bonus: You can put boiling water into the oatmeal packaging itself or freezer ziplock bags for easier clean-up.
If you are looking for a quick breakfast or struggle to eat in the morning. You can mix an essential breakfast with instant coffee in a water bottle and then have your pockets lined with granola bars for quick access while your hiking. Our buddy Longterm does this all the time.
For Lunch: Remember there are no rules you can eat whatever you want. That’s the fun part about being an adult and playing outside. You might be surprised by the things you can successfully bring out into the backcountry.
With that being said, if you are looking for a classic 20 min sit-down lunch think vehicle, rider, snack.
Vehicle: Tortilla, bagel, pita, crackers, english muffin, etc
Rider: beef stick, jerky, pepperoni, hard cheeses, cream cheese, hummus, etc.
Snacks: trail mix, dried or fresh fruit, gummy snacks, nuts, chips (yes I’ve carried a whole bag of chips just strap it to the outside of your pack and your good to go) our friend edge taught us this trick.
If it was cold and we had the fuel for it. I loved a hot lunch. We made anything from tacos, (ben’s instant rice packet, cheese, sauteed beef stick and a toasted tortilla) to roman noodles.
If we were looking for a quicker get back to hiking vibe. My favorite was pepperoni, string cheese, and chick fila sauce on either a Tortilla or english muffin whichever we brought out with us that week.
For dinner: Depending on what kind of backpacking your doing will depend on the types of dinners you make. If you can planning on doing high miles you want light weight and easy.
But if you are just hanging out enjoying the woods you can bring whatever you want! The possibilities are endless.
I’ve lugged out whole ears of corn into the backcountry. *you can just throw the whole thing onto the coals of the fire and it will cook, the husks will protect it.
When thinking about your backcountry dinner you want a meal that incorporates carbohydrates, fats, proteins.
Carbohydrates: Provides short-term energy; Should generally make up 60% of your diet
Found in starches and sugars such as:
- pastas (spaghetti, macaroni, noodles
- Rice
- Potatoes
- Quinoa (you can put any sort of packet seasoning of it to change it) we have even done taco seasoning
- Candy
- Fruit
Fats: Provides long term energy; Should generally make up 20 to 25% of your diet
Are found in:
- Cheese
- Nuts
- Vegetable oil
- Meats
- Margarine
Proteins: Provides for the building of cells and tissues and keeps the immune system running properly
Are found in:
- Meats
- Beans
- Peanuts
- Lentils
- Soy products
Backcountry Meal Examples: My personal favorite is a cheap fajita meal. It needs one Packet of Knorr Sides’ Spanish rice, one hot buffalo flavored Starkist tuna packet, two small flour tortillas (substitute corn for those who are gluten free) and one cheese stick. I prefer pepper jack but that’s because I like spice.
Bonus: If you don’t wanna clean your cooking dish you can pour boiling water directly into the knorr sides packaging as well. We ate a lot of Knorr sides with some sort of packaged meat in them. (usually tuna or chicken) for dinner. They are way cheaper than a freeze dried meal like “mountain house” brand.
My favorite is instant mashed potatoes and stuffing topped with a chicken packet and a gravy packet. This meal is optimal for cold nights when you need a lot of calories. If you can pack out butter, now is the time to use it. It was cold enough when we first started our thru hike that we used to do this often.
Then there is the legendary Ramanbomb. We had begun hearing rumors of this thru hiker specialty since early on into our thru hike. It is instant mashed potatoes and raman. At first, we resisted, and then about two thousand miles into the journey we were so sick of everything else we finally tried it and it was pretty good honestly. We ended up eating it quite often. (hey, don’t knock it til you try it)
Desert: You can do anything from “Little Debbies” snack cakes, to adding water to a cookie dough packet
Bonus: You can scramble brownie or cookie mix on a pan and it is pretty stinkin’ good.
Fun Fact: All of this can be found at Dollar General. Which can be found all along the AT and we found it to be the cheapest resupply option.
Every once and a while, Daniel’s mom sent us a food box with homemade freeze dried meals. We think that they taste better than the freeze dried meals you see at an outfitters store. All you need is a dehydrator and some recipes. There is a lot of good ones on Pinterest. Search freezer bag recipes or check out our personal pinned ones to see ones that we have tried and loved.
From the other side,
Lizzy and Daniel
from the other side 