THE MENU

Hikers can get quite creative in putting good, simple, and quick meals together. We’ve listed below some of the foods we have enjoyed during our years of backpacking. With a few exceptions, most of them keep indefinitely. Add fresh vegetables or meat to the mix if the circumstances allow.

BREAKFAST

Breakfasts are easier to choose than lunches since there are so many breakfast products on the market. Most are vitamin-fortified, a gimmick to make mothers feel that they are providing a healthy breakfast for their child even when the product is stuffed-full of sugar. However, the extra carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals are an added boon for hikers!

Cold cereal with powdered milk

Oatmeal (there are dozens of quick oatmeals now on the market)

Toaster pastries (such as Pop Tarts)

Eggs (will keep for several days)

Canned bacon

Bread with peanut butter

Bagels with cream cheese (cheese also keeps for several days)

Snickers or other candy bars

Granola bars

Gorp in powdered milk

Pancakes (bring the dry mix, add powdered milk and water)

Granola in powdered milk

Instant hash browns

Instant grits

Cream of Wheat

Bacon bars

English muffins

Breakfast bars (such as Nutrigrain Breakfast Bars)

Raisin bread

LUNCH

Lunches are always a problem for us, both at home and on the trail. Unless it is really cold, we never feel like taking the time to cook a lunch; but on the trail, there are only so many things you can do to improvise a cold lunch. We recommend that you do what suits you best. Some people hike better after a big, hot meal, but most do fine with a simple repast. How hot or cold it is may also determine your midday meal. When it is cold, we often choose to keep moving, eating snack foods while we hike, rather than stopping to prepare a meal.

Cheese

Nuts

Complex-protein bars

Cookies

Crackers (a number of varieties can be purchased spread with cheese or peanut butter)

Beef jerky

Peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches

Dried soups

Candy bars

Pepperoni

Graham or other type cracker and peanut butter

Sausage (hard types like salami, summer sausage, etc.)

Apples, oranges, and other fresh fruit

Lipton noodles and sauce

English muffins

Bagels

Crackers

Peanut butter

Foil-pouched meats, such as tuna

Corned beef or spam

Hard-boiled eggs

Dried fruit (including rolls, bars, etc.—raisins are a good choice)

Cheese sandwiches (pita and tortilla wraps are great hiking breads—stuff them with salami and cheese for a calorie-packed sandwich)

Granola bars

Snack foods (Little Debbie, Hostess, etc.)

Gorp (a mixture of dried fruit, nuts, M&Ms, sunflower seeds, etc.)

Vienna sausages

Fruit cake

SUPPER

Supper will probably be your most time-consuming meal of the day. It is time to relax, settle down for the night, and enjoy the great outdoors. You no longer have to worry about whether or not you’ll reach your goal for the day. Your camp is set. Dinner is your only concern. Despite the fact that many backpackers eat macaroni and cheese night after night, there are many alternatives when choosing dinner on the trail.

Lentils

Instant rice dishes (instant gravies and cheese sauces can be added)

Macaroni and cheese (add canned or dry meat or dried soup)

Lipton noodle dinners

Instant mashed potatoes

Stove Top or other stuffings

Chef Boyardee spaghetti

Instant soup

Ramen noodles

Pasta salads

Couscous

SUPPER ALTERNATIVES

Pilafs (such as lentil, wheat, and rice)

Instant potato dinners (au gratin, etc.)

Tuna and other foil-pouched meats

Pepperoni, dried beef, sausages

Specialty dehydrated meals

SPICES AND CONDIMENTS

Not everyone uses spices, and no one carries all of those indicated below; but those who bring spices tend to use a variety. For their weight, spices and condiments can add a lot to a meal. Single serving packs are available in stores and in even more variety when you shop online.

Special containers to carry spices can be purchased through outdoor retailers and even at discount stores such as Wal-Mart. Don’t use film containers, which contain harmful chemicals that might leach into your spices.

Garlic (dried or powdered)

Salt

Pepper

Italian seasoning

Seasoned butter

Tabasco

Red pepper

Curry powder

Chili powder

Oregano

Basil

Cumin

Onion powder

Squeeze margarine (lasts approximately one week in hot weather and almost indefinitely in cold weather)

BEVERAGES

Keeping hydrated is a very important part of hiking. Becoming dehydrated will seriously impair your body’s ability to perform normal functions. The best thing to drink is water, but powdered drink mixes are a good way to add variety. The next-best thing to water is an electrolyte solution such as Gatorade or Gookinaid ERG. These help replace the electrolytes as well as the water that you lose while hiking. Some physiologists debate this claim and believe that electrolyte solutions do more harm than good. Other powder drinks, like Kool-Aid or Lipton Iced Tea mix, simply add variety.

There are very few of us willing to give up our morning cup of coffee when we hit the trail. If you do drink coffee or cocoa (unless decaffeinated), keep in mind that they are diuretics and you will need to drink more water to compensate.

Water

Powdered fruit drinks

Powdered iced tea

Powdered fruit teas

Jell-O mix (used as a tasty, hot drink that also supplies extra calories)

Instant coffee

Non-dairy creamer (for tea or coffee)

Powdered spiced cider

Powdered eggnog

Gatorade (powdered)

Gookinaid E.R.G.

Spiced cider

Hot tea

Cocoa/hot chocolate

ALCOHOL

There is something that is missing from the food list, and it’s the one thing on which hikers tend to spend a lot of money—alcohol. We don’t intend to preach––personally, there is nothing better to us than an ice-cold beer on a hot summer’s day. Unfortunately, during the past decade or so hikers drinking alcoholic beverages have gotten out of hand a number of times. The result is that hikers are no longer allowed in certain places. Fortunately, most thru-hikers are very well thought of; but it is always the few who ruin things for all.

DESSERTS

Desserts are a nice way to finish your evening meal. They supply you with a few extra calories and help fill that last empty spot in your belly. They also make dinner special. Although pudding is a favorite, there are a number of easy-to-make desserts on the market.

Instant puddings

Instant cheesecakes

Cookies

Instant mousse

Jell-O or other flavored gelatins

Powdered milk (mostly used to add to other foods)

Snack cakes

Easy-bake cakes

Specialty dehydrated desserts

TRAIL SNACKS

We’re not snackers at home, but we find snacking important when hiking. Because you don’t want to stuff yourself at meals—for comfort’s sake as well as due to the fact that a too-full stomach can make you drowsy—it is a good idea to snack on high-energy food during breaks and while hiking. One of the most popular trail snacks is gorp, a mixture of nuts, dried fruit, and M&Ms. Actually, gorp can consist of anything you like, but the following is a list of some popular ingredients. Mix and match your favorites: peanuts, almonds, pecans, walnuts, filberts, cashews, M&Ms, Reese’s pieces, shredded coconut, chopped dates, raisins, banana chips, dried pineapple, figs, prunes, sunflower seeds, and cereals like Cheerios.

Other trail snacks include: hard candy, Skittles, semisweet chocolate, mixed nuts, fruit bars and rolls. There are many packaged snack bars on the market these days. Use your imagination. As long as it is within easy reach and will keep in the outdoors for more than a day, it will make a good snack. Remember too that “snacks” can round out dinners and often make up your entire lunch.

FOOD FOR EXTENDED HIKES

If you are hiking for more than a week, it’s doubtful that you will be able to or want to carry enough food to last you. You will need to find another way to supply your nutritional needs. There are two basic solutions: buy your food along the way or send provisions ahead. Much of this depends on where you are hiking along the Trail. These days hikers tend to purchase their food as they hike. The number of stores and hostels carrying food has increased in recent years, and food is particularly available during the months when northbounders (those hiking from Georgia to Maine) are on the Trail—usually spring through summer.

Check the A.T. Companion, a guide published annually by the Appalachian Long-Distance Hikers Association and the ATC, for updates on resupply options. Since 2000, a handful of supermarkets with wide selections have sprung up close to the A.T. On the other hand, smaller stores sometimes have high turnover and may go out of business. In general, resupply points are more frequent in the mid-Atlantic, less frequent in the far-northern and far-southern states. On average, hikers resupply every three to seven days.

The option to purchase food along the way eliminates the need to time your arrival in town to coincide with the hours of a post office. (It’s nice not to have to depend on the U.S. Postal Service for food.) It also allows you to satisfy any sudden food cravings you may have! But for those who wish to send food ahead, a number of hostels and businesses in addition to post offices accept mail drops for hikers. A hiker can retrieve a package any day of the week and the establishment is usually open longer than the post office. Businesses, as opposed to the Postal Service, can accept packages shipped via UPS or other commercial carrier.

One more option involves shipping food ahead to yourself on the Trail. When you find yourself in a grocery store with a great selection and you know that paltrier choices lay ahead, you can buy some extra food to ship a bit farther up the Trail. Shipping costs are lower for the short Parcel Post trip, and the food should be waiting on you within three days. This offers a way to get around the problem of planning well in advance without having to depend on using only what is available trailside at the time you need it.

Burying caches of food is not an acceptable way to resupply yourself with food, as it is ecologically unsound.

COOKING HYGIENE

Most gastrointestinal ailments do not come from waterborne problems. The more prevalent cause of sickness stems from not washing hands after going to the rest room and then handling food. An alcohol hand gel, such as Purel, used after going to the bathroom will eliminate this problem.