Food for first week???

[Renaissance]

My gear is ready to go, just trying to figure out what I'll be bringing to eat for the first week. Anybody mind sharing their meal plan for the first week?

[Rick500]

I like the following stuff...your results (and quantities) will vary:

Pop Tarts
Peanut butter granola bars
GORP (I'm putting M&Ms or Reese's Pieces or chocolate chips in there next time.)
Bagel flats (these are essentially sliced bagels but they're only about 1/2" tall)
Tuna in oil, in foil pouches (get the kind packed in oil...need the fat.)
Salmon filet in foil pouch
Chunk chicken in foil pouch
Peanut butter in foil pouches
Loaded instant mashed potatoes (my favorite of all this stuff...)
Lipton (Knorr) pasta and/or rice sides (I didn't care for the tomatoey ones, but liked the rest)
Ramen noodles
Kraft EZ Max (kind of bulky though; only carried one)
jerky
instant coffee packets
sugar
Nido (dehydrated whole milk...not all that great in coffee IMO, but it'll do)
creamer (because like I said, I don't like Nido in coffee)
instant oatmeal packets (an assortment)

About two pounds a day in food weight (of the types of food above) is one rule of thumb.

[Rick500]

*make that EZ Mac, not Max.

Also, soft flour tortillas hold up pretty well.

[hobbs]

jerky
Peanut butter in foil( walmart has it)
Instant pots(Idaho brand walmart$1-00 on sale)
Torts
Granola
cheesy spread(Us MRE)
Crackers
Roman
Knor pasta and sause
Protein Shack mix(Mre MIL)
2 Packit Gourmet entree's Variety is the spice of life....
coffee
Nado instant milk
Tabasco packits(Chicken place free)
sugar( Fastfood place free)
minute rice
gravy mix
Tuna foil
Chicken Foil
Hot cocoa
grop-
Dried fruit mix(Walmart)
Cheese

[Spokes]

The choices are endless and you'll get real creative after watching what others are eating. First day after a town visit is fun since you'll most likely carry out a deli sandwich or cold pizza- YUM!
My typical meal plan was this:

Breakfast:
tea or hot chocolate
instant oatmeal, cream of wheat, poptarts, snack cakes, or energy bars

Lunch:
I tend to snack all day long.

Nuts, peanut butter (by the spoon), snicker bar, energy bars, fruit roll-ups, dark chocolate, beef stick & cheese (addicted to the damn stuff!), individually wrapped prunes, etc...

Dinner Choices:
Mountain House meals if I'm lazy
Mac N' Cheese
Knorr Sides- prefer the Asian or veggie ones
Instant potatoes or Stovetop stuffing mixed in
Foil pack tuna
Foil pack chicken when I want to mix it up. Gets eaten first since it's so heavy!
Candy bar, snack cake, or fruit pie for dessert

If your going NOBO pack meals for 3 days and send your first maildrop to Neels Gap or just do a small buy there. Resist the urge to over pack food!

Cheers!

[grayfox]

Just guessing that you are starting in GA.

My thinking is to try to start with only a small amout of food. You will be eating 'out' during your drive to the trailhead I would think. Try to schedule a mail drop or a food cache within the first week, even if you do not plan to use them otherwise. And there will be places to resupply very soon when you start in the south-not so in the north.

If you can keep your initial food bag light, your start will be easier and less of a shock to your system. Take food that you can just snack on, and take lots of breaks to breath and calm down--you will be so excited you may forget to eat and plan extra time for meal prep as you get used to doing things at the trail's pace.

The hiker boxes are likely to be full of food left by those who did not follow this plan.

[Miner]

Many people experience a reduced appetite the first few days out. Make sure whatever you bring, its something you like enough that you can force down even if you aren't hungry. For the first day on the trail (and after each town stop), I like bringing some REAL food with me like leftover pizza, a burrito(hold any sour cream), sandwich or a burger (tastes good even cold compared to normal hiker food).

[Turtle Feet]

This is a copy of my first 4 day mail drop (Neels). My first 3 days will look very similar:

Breakfast: (4) Scottish Oats w/ choco chips
Snack: Trail mix
Lunch: (2) Pecan Chicken Noodle Soup
Lunch: (2) Pea Soup
+ (1) 8oz cheese block for 4 days
Snack: (4) P90X Bar
Dinner: (1) Beef Stew
Dinner: (3) Idahoan Potatoes
Drinks: (5) Recovery Formula
(8) Hot Tea
(2) Crystal Light packets

[FritztheCat]

I'm thinking oatmeal and/or poptarts for breakfast; snack pretty much all day on nuts, dried fruit, etc., so I don't do a real lunch; and then a Mountain House meal for dinner.

I like other dinners but I figure I'll get tired of the Mountain House meals before too long so I want to use the ones I've already got.

[Del Q]

Have You Considered a No Cook Option: Many of the thru hikers I ran into last year are not cooking on the trail, I am much happier with this lighter and simpler approach, eat the good stuff in town!

There are a ton of no cook options = no stove, no fuel, simpler, more time to hike, no cleanup, less BS, do not need to camp near water all of the time, etc

For now I am in no cook mode............and happier for it.

PS Bagels, cheese, sauasge, spam singles, peanut butter, etc, etc can go a long, long way!

[TheChop]

Ten pounds of jelly beans.

[mweinstone]

no one eats the first days out. your too busy destressing from the weight of the world haveing been lifted from your shoulers. the number one least eaten food group the first days out is sweets and snacks. its a very spiritual exsperience and disorienting for some. eating aint important at first.its a purification time.

[10-K]

As long as you have food to eat there's not a right or wrong way but if I were hiking this section again here's what I would do for the first 200ish miles..

1. Carry enough to get to Neel's Gap and resupply with enough to get to...

2. Hiawassee, where I would resupply with enough to get to....

3. Franklin, where I would resupply with enough to get to the mail drop I sent to...

4. NOC, where I would resupply with enough to get to

5. The Hike Inn at Fontana Dam where I would stay and resupply with enough to get to Standing Bear Farm where I sent a mail drop with enough to get to Hot Springs...

Hitching into Hiawassee and Franklin has to be about the easiest hitch in the world .....

[garlic08]

I started my hike with enough food for four days, with the intent of possibly stopping at Hiawassee. I never needed to go there. There were enough goodies at Neels Gap to get me to Franklin instead. It was really nice to stay on trail for the first 100+ miles.

As 10-K shows, there are enough options for just about any plan--start out with 30 miles worth, 70 miles worth, or 100 miles worth. If you don't know how fast you're going to hike, it doesn't matter all that much.

[Johnny Thunder]

i'm with matty... i thought i underpacked and even then it was too much food the first week. you need 3 or 4 days worth to get to neels and even that's probably too much if you're walking a normal pace to start. like 8 mile days or something. i forget.

if you eat oatmeal then bring 2 pouches of instant per breakfast. an energy bar otherwise. one bagel and cheese or peanut butter for each lunch. a salty snack ( i like goldfish or those flavored snyders pretzels) a half-pound of nuts. half-pound of chocolate. quarter pound of dry fruit. one energy bar per day for snacking. a lipton side for each dinner (full box of mac and cheese would be too much).

that's probably a good standard to start. if you've hiked before your appetite will kick in quick...but if this is your first hike then you shouldn't bring too much. 2 pounds per day is more than you'll eat. you might need it but you won't eat it.