View Full Version : Daily Trail Diet
IronGutsTommy
08-25-2010, 07:11
Have heard alot that most hikers new to thru and long term section hiking tend to pack to much food. I was curious about the average eating habits for a day on the trail, as in quantity of food eaten for breakfast, snacks, dinner, etc. so i can learn to pack better and trim excess weight off my pack. Any tips, links, etc. would be appreciated.
daddytwosticks
08-25-2010, 07:22
As a section hiker, the crazy appetite never really kicks in. Also the sudden, hard excertion of hiking tends to dull my appetite. Several small meals/snacks throughout the day (of the normal hiker fare) tends to keep me satisfied and my energy up. And yes, I still tend to bring too much food. :)
kayak karl
08-25-2010, 08:05
As a section hiker, the crazy appetite never really kicks in. Also the sudden, hard excertion of hiking tends to dull my appetite. Several small meals/snacks throughout the day (of the normal hiker fare) tends to keep me satisfied and my energy up. And yes, I still tend to bring too much food. :)
i agree with you my appetite doesn't kick in till 10 days out.
but Tommy i think you will be hiking in the winter and after the first 10 days you should be looking at carrying 5000 calories a day. this won't be enough when the snow and sub freezing temps hit as you will be burning 6000+. keep up your proteins. other know the % better then me.
Have fun
KK
Very easy to get stuck out there for a day or two more than planned due to unexpected trail and weather conditions. Also have to give concideration to injury or even getting lost. Cold without fuel is bad. Really bad.
Any tips, links, etc. would be appreciated.
The rule of thumb I've always heard is to figure 2 lbs of food per day.
garlic08
08-25-2010, 10:17
Good question and observation. I love running into section hikers at meal times--they're always giving away food by day three.
I carry just under two pounds per day on a three-season thru hike (less when there are section hikers around!). An average day for me is just over 20 miles of hiking. A 100-mile load is about 8 pounds. That works out just right for me. I usually end a section with no food in the pack, having eaten about 3500 calories per day. I have problems eating much more than that on the trail. Over the long term, I will loose some weight (I start out slender and I can't afford that) with that diet, so I need to supplement heavily with town food.
I don't plan meals specifically. I begin eating when I wake up and stop eating when I go to bed. I stop every couple of hours or when a good spot shows up and eat as much as I want. It works out well for me.
Many hikers carry a pretty poor selection of processed junk food. Try to carry as much healthy fat sources as you can--nuts, cheese, other natural oils. Carbos should come from as much whole grain as possible, including oats, rice, and corn (instant grits). Instant potatoes are good, too, I think. Simple processed sugars should be avoided, but that's very tough to do.
I aim for macronutrient quantities well before looking at weight. I do look at volumetric/macronutrient density. The weight ends up being whatever it is, but if I don't like it, I look for foods with higher density.
I've attached a document with several foods. I've included their macronutrients, volume, weight and even cost for a few of them.
Good question and observation. I love running into section hikers at meal times--they're always giving away food by day three.
I've only given away food once. That was when I packed my Ursack completely full without thinking. 20 miles out from that resupply point I looked into my pack to see why it was so heavy. My food was to blame. I had inadvertently packed 11 days of food at 4500 calories a day when I only needed 5 days of food.
i agree with you my appetite doesn't kick in till 10 days out. ...
Wow, you're doing good. On last years thru my "hiker hunger" didn't really kick in until Damascus!
I ate all the normal stuff for breakfast and dinner but tended to snack at lunch.
By the end of the hike I was going through 2 jars of Jif Peanut Butter with Honey a week- Yum! I got addicted to those little beef stick and cheese snacks too.
IronGutsTommy
08-25-2010, 18:26
Thanks guys. I may still overpack at the beginning until i learn my own hunger habits and needs, but the info will definitely have me packing smarter, more nutrient rich items thanks to your assistance. I definitely be out there through the winter, so Ill make sure to adjust my gear accordingly. Thanks again.
ChinMusic
08-25-2010, 18:42
Thanks guys. I may still overpack at the beginning until i learn my own hunger habits.....
As a section hiker my appetite is pathetic on the trail. I have to FORCE myself to eat and the thought of a hot meal almost makes me sick at times.
I have adjusted to just eating a lot of GORP, bars, tortillas, cheese, jerky, junk, etc for my evening meal. I'm to the point now of not even carrying hot meals anymore.
I'm sure that would change on a thru.
Bags4266
08-25-2010, 18:58
Not sure how I could possibly eat 2lbs of food a day, unless what I am bringing isn't dehydrated. I usually run on 1 ln to 1.25 lb of food a day.
Heaviest food for my day is:
Break: 2 paks oatmeal w/ dehydrated fruit and powdered milk 5 oz
Lunch: Cliff Bar, Gorp, and gummie bears or lifesavers 10oz
Dinner: Dehydrated something never over 5oz
Coffee sticks, propel sticks .5 oz
Daily total: 20.5 oz or 1.25 lbs
bigcranky
08-25-2010, 20:24
That's interesting, I'm a section hiker and from the minute I start up the trail with a pack I am HUNGRY. All the time hungry. Once I get off the trail, I'm back to normal in a day or two. Like Garlic, I pack a little less than 2 pounds of food per day, much of it non-cook (granola, fruit, nuts, energy bars, gorp, etc.)
Pedaling Fool
08-25-2010, 20:29
I'm also hungry when first starting a hike, but the amount I can eat is much less than I feel I can and I think it's less than what I can normally eat at home. However, after about the 3rd week the appetite takes off and only gets crazier as time goes on. Bottom line, I don't pack too much food when first starting a hike, but as time goes on I carry a little more...but never enough...
BigHodag
08-25-2010, 21:25
For my recent section hike i ate a hot breakfastm a cold lunch, and a hot supper.
Breakdast was usually two large fig newtons, oatmeal with dehydrated apples, and hot chocolate.
Lunch was usually tuna salad (tuna pouch, mayo, salt, pepper) and lemonade. Sometimes I made salami wraps with tortillas. I snacked on trail mix/GORP and cheese & beef sticks between meals. Tried to eat a little something once each hour to help with hydration.
Dinner always included Ramen soup and hot tea to get some extra liquids down before bed time. I usualy had a hot entree like vegetarian chili, tacos, chipotle burritos after soup.
Like many section hikers, I didn't have much appetite until day four, so my initial 5-day supply of food lasted seven. I did pass along some candy bars to a thru when repacking after my resupply and I dropped almost everything left in a hiker box near the end of my section.
At my mid-section resupply I picked up some oranges and bananas and carried them inside my foam pad. Plugged the ends with a pack cover and a large trash bag.
Anumber1
08-25-2010, 21:33
Towards the end of my hike I was eating 4-5 packets of oatmeal in the morning, half a box of little debbies throughout the day, cheese and crackers or tuna for lunch and knorr sides or whatever for dinner with stuff added to it.
I'm the first to admit I carried so much food I had to eat more food to compensate for the calories burned due to carrying excess weight. Viscious cycle.
Jonnycat
08-30-2010, 23:08
Not sure how I could possibly eat 2lbs of food a day, unless what I am bringing isn't dehydrated. I usually run on 1 ln to 1.25 lb of food a day.
My food weight is 2.5 pounds per day, all of it dehydrated (except for the one clif bar I eat per day). This is for section hiking, and does me fine for a couple of weeks (my body weighs the same when I get home as when I left). I am 6', 185#, and any less food leaves me hungry and feeling puny.
Bags4266
08-30-2010, 23:44
Jcat, how do you eat all that? my evening meal is 5.5oz and thats alot of food. Breakfeast, oat meal 2 paks plus dehyrated fruit 4 oz . I don't stop and make lunch I eat as I go but between gorp jerky cliff bar and or gummie bears my lunch is at most 9 oz. How and what are you eating that more than doubles that?
Jonnycat
08-31-2010, 00:30
Jcat, how do you eat all that? my evening meal is 5.5oz and thats alot of food. Breakfeast, oat meal 2 paks plus dehyrated fruit 4 oz . I don't stop and make lunch I eat as I go but between gorp jerky cliff bar and or gummie bears my lunch is at most 9 oz. How and what are you eating that more than doubles that?
Breakfast: (2/3c dry oatmeal, raisins, dehydro apples, cinnamon, two eggs (egg powder)), + shake (1 CIB, 1 scoop whey powder, 1/2qt nonfat dry milk powder).
Lunch: 1c granola, 1/4c nuts (pecans, almonds, cashews), 3 dried apricots, 1 clif bar, 1 mini milky way.
Pre-dinner: another shake
Dinner: ~8oz dried (pasta, dehydro meat, other things) + 1.5oz olive oil, one pepperidge farm cookie for dessert. I also bring along a few keebler "chedder cheese and club" crackers to add to my main dinner if I am particularly hungry.
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I would love to take less (the weight really adds up), but this is the minimum for me to maintain my metabolism and protein needs to stay healthy when I'm on the trail.
Jonnycat
08-31-2010, 00:45
Correction: the dinner entry should read one ounce of olive oil (I add it to the bag just before I eat).
Also: Breakfast (oatmeal) and Dinner are both FBC meals.
firemountain
08-31-2010, 07:17
Towards the end of my winter thru I was carrying over 6000 calories per day and still losing weight. I was averaging 25 miles per day during the last month (Feb). The cold made eating significantly harder. My teeth could not get into frozen energy bars. I would stuff them down my shirt to rest next to my skin above my hip belt. Dinner would be cold by the time it was ready to be eaten. I would boil my water in the morning to carry on the trail and it would be a thick slush before I finished drinking it all. You need to take into account your bodyfat, expected miles per day, predicted temperatures and how they relate to the amount of insulation you are carrying. If you are running a calorie deficit everyday it will be much harder to stay warm at night even if your sleep system is solid. Look at foods that are higher in fat, like peanut butter and homemade gorp.
I am leaving to hike NH and VT in less than three weeks. I will be carrying 4000 calories per day which will weigh almost exactly 2lbs. This is an average caloric density of 128 per ounce. The percentage breakdown is 37/49/14 Fat/Carbs/Protein. What this shows is that in order to have lightweight high calorie food loads you must use a lot of fat.
Danielsen
08-31-2010, 10:56
I'd say cut the carbs even further and make it mostly fat. In the end your metabolism (and your arteries, believe it or not) will thank you. Not to mention you can carry more calories per pound that way.