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  1. #1
    Registered User Eywa Dude's Avatar
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    Default What do you suggest for meals to start the trail?

    I am leaving Springer Mtn. for my thru-hike on March 25, and I was wondering what to pack for food to start out? What would you pack? I'll be carrying an alcohol stove to start off. I am clueless as to meal planning, so I am all ears (or eyes in this case), and any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

  2. #2
    Registered User Edwardo Rodriguez's Avatar
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    Default

    Dinner
    Slip Pea Soup instant w/ Instant Potatoes
    *Chili Mac
    Fettuccini Alfredo w tuna
    *Lasagna
    Cheddar Broccoli w chicken
    Spaghetti
    Olive Oil & Italian Herbs w chicken
    *Beef Stroganoff
    *Beef Stew
    Lunch
    Cliff Bars
    Tuna w /mayonnaise packet
    Nobbles in a bowl
    Breakfast
    Oak Meal
    Trail Mix Bar
    Nature Valley
    *mountain house dinners
    This is what am taken on the John Muir Trail this year if it work out for me this is what am taken on the AT next year the other stuff I can get at my local store

  3. #3
    Registered User swjohnsey's Avatar
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    Default

    Breakfast: 1/2 cup quick cooking oats, 1/4 c raisins, 1/4 c sugar, cinnamon in zip lock bag. Coffee with 1/4 cup sugar.

    Lunchs: Peanut butter on flour tortillas, 18 ounce jar will last 4 -6 days, tortillas 2 -3 day.

    Dinners: Instant mashed potatoes, Mac & Cheese, Spam Singles, Knorr sides (Red Beans and Rice) Ramen, chicken in pouch.

    Snack: Snickers, peanuts

    Also on my shopping list: Poptarts, Instant oatmeal, hard cheese, salami, summer sausage, canned chicken, squeeze margarine.

    When cooking with the alcohol put all the stuff in the pot first and let it soak then heat it up and let it set a while, maybe in a cozy.

  4. #4
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    Default

    Knorr Pasta or Rice sides
    Stuffing mix
    Instant potatoes
    Foil pack tuna
    Foil pack salmon
    Jars and jars and jars of peanut butter
    etc...

    Have no fear, food will be a consistent topic. Observer what your fellow thru hikers are doing for meals and you'll end up with countless ideas on what to pack by your next grocery store visit.

  5. #5
    Working on Forestry Grad schol
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    I'm in the health-nut wing for food on hikes. Taking care of your body makes hiking a lot easier. I use mostly maildrops so maybe this info won't be helpful to you.

    Dinner: quinoa, dehydrated beans, dehydrated veggies, olive oil, grocery store flavoring (pad thai, duck sauce, ect.)
    Breakfast: hike for an hour, eat leftovers from dinner
    snack foods throughout the day: yam-jerky, dried fruit, home made energy bars (12-grain based), 1 snickers bar

  6. #6
    GA-ME 2011
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    All good suggestions but I'd add:
    M&M peanuts (they hold up better than Snickers in the heat)
    flat bread

    For me breakfast was typically Poptarts. Fast and easy, eat 'em while I hike.
    Lunch and snacks during the day were cheese or peanut butter crackers, granola bars, tuna or peanut butter and Craisins on flat bread.
    Dinner was usually a Knorrs rice or pasta, instant mashed potatoes, or Stove Top stuffing along with chicken, tuna or Spam.

    Most items cooked were done by the "Freezer Bag" method. Never washed a dish in 5 months.
    "Chainsaw" GA-ME 2011

  7. #7
    Registered User BigHodag's Avatar
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    swjohnsey's menu above is closest to my own. I do hard salami on tortillas for lunch versus PB.

    Unlike swjohnsey, I too am a freezer bag cooking (FBC) man like Don H. Being ex-military and having watched hundreds of mess kits being washed, most properly, but many improperly. I prefer the food safety aspect of the FBC method. Ziplock bags are inexpensive and fairly light.
    Appalachian Trail Online Course
    http://at-trail.blogspot.com
    Information and resources for the A.T. hiker

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  8. #8
    Registered User swjohnsey's Avatar
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    Having a single pot you use to cook/eat goes a long way to avoiding sickness caused by improper cleaning of eating utensils.

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