A question for those of you that prefer to not do food drops for the AT.......

[Different Socks]

Since the subject of zero food drops has come up recently, and I am a believer in doing food drops then supplementing it at the local store, I would like to ask this sincere question:

What is it that each of you are able to buy at any store(gas station, $ store, Wally World, other grocery stores, etc), that you are able to whet your appetite, make it pleasing to eat and look at, smells good, etc, plus gives you enough to eat and snack on?

Do any of you actually carry fresh veggies in your pack and what kind?

Do you carry meats other than salami or jerky? If it is chicken, turkey, salmon, pollack, tuna, ham, spam, or clams--doesn't that mean you would have to carry all those packages and cans?

I am aware of noodle and rice dinners, or mac and cheese, soups, chili and many other things. Yet, I am asking this question because, if you buy all these types of things as you hike down/up the trail, wouldn't you have to repackage most of it to reduce bulk, size and weight?

It doesn't matter if you answer this OP with some basic things on your menu, I would just like to know what it is you pick up at the stores along the trail. Tell me the most mundane items and even the most usual. What's your favorite meal to get at the store? Fave snack? Dessert? Sweets?

Again, this is a sincere question for all of you out there. I am not trolling, nor am I interested in an argument about food drops vs buying as you go.
In order for a person to make a transition from the old methods to the new and/or better way of doing something, I would like to know what and how others do it.

Once again the question is this: What do you actually pick up at all the stores along the AT that supplies you with enough satisfying meals/snacks to get you to the next town stop?

Thank you!

[garlic08]

I hike without a stove. And I'm vegetarian. My normal resupply starts with rolled oats (quick or old fashioned), to which I add walnuts and raisins to make a muesli cereal. I usually just add water, but will buy powdered milk when I can find it. Then I buy tortillas and cheese or peanut butter. On the rare occasion I can't find tortillas, I'll buy bagels or some other kind of bread. I fill out the food bag with favorite snacks like salted cashews, Wheat Thins, Fig Newtons. I always try to carry one fresh item for each day--a piece of fruit, a carrot, some celery, a pepper. I often carry leftovers of deli sandwiches or pizza for the first day. Sometimes I buy ramen and eat them uncooked. Instant mashed potatoes work well in cold water, too.

In some cases when I need to supply out of a small C-store, I end up with something like hot dog buns and peanut butter and some cookies or donuts for a day or two.

I supplement my trail diet heavily with town food. I always crave salads and hot greasy stuff like veggie pizza and fries, and ice cream of course.

My AT hike in '08 cost me about $750 for trail food and about the same for town food.

[Wolf - 23000]

Most stores on or near the AT are very accustom to thru-hikers and their wants and needs. It can even be safe to say that many mom and pop shops relies heavy on thru-hikers for a source of their income. During my thru-hikes, normal I was able to find the standard hiking food for about the same price as hikers who use mail drops.

Normal once a week, I carried out some non-hiker food such as bacon and eggs, stew, hot dogs. What ever I was in the mood for.
The results, I carry a very lightweight backpack and lost almost no weight 2 – 6 pounds per thru-hike.

Hopefully this answer your questions.

Wolf

[Red Hat]

Liptons (Knorrs) with tuna, salmon, or chicken. Mashed potatoes, Mountain House when I can find a Walmart that has them. Tortillas with peanut butter or cheese. Salami or beef sticks. Trail Mix, bars, cookies. I do freezer bag cooking so I do repackage when I resupply. I also now count the meals to my next town, so I carry a lot less than I used to. First day out of town I carry a big sub for lunch, with veggies on the side.

[brian039]

Well the grocery store resupply is pretty easy, there are too many options there to name. I guess just whatever I felt like eating at the time. In the rare occasion that you have to resupply at a convenience store, I bought candy, chips, ramen, beef sticks, tuna pouches, etc. It seemed like when I did have to use the c-store as a resupply, it was just for a couple of days so the lack of variety wasn't a big deal. I carried hot dogs and buns along with snacks through the Shennies, sometimes you have to get creative. As for repackaging, I never bothered with it. It would have saved me a little bit of space in my pack but it wasn't like I was ever busting at the seams.

[garlic08]

I just noticed the repackaging part of your question. Repackaging is an integral part of every resupply for me. I mix oats, nuts, and raisins in a gallon ziplock to make muesli. Everything that's not in a resealable package goes into a ziplock. I reuse the ziplocks for months. I get rid of all paper and cardboard packaging because I do not try to keep my food bag dry. And I don't like to carry the garbage. Once I fit all the garbage from a 160-mile resupply into the empty peanut butter jar.

Most stores have a bench to sit on and a garbage can nearby which makes this easy. And I often down a pint of Ben & Jerry's while I'm doing the repackaging.

[Papa D]

I hike without a stove. And I'm vegetarian. My normal resupply starts with rolled oats (quick or old fashioned), to which I add walnuts and raisins to make a muesli cereal. I usually just add water, but will buy powdered milk when I can find it. Then I buy tortillas and cheese or peanut butter. On the rare occasion I can't find tortillas, I'll buy bagels or some other kind of bread. I fill out the food bag with favorite snacks like salted cashews, Wheat Thins, Fig Newtons. I always try to carry one fresh item for each day--a piece of fruit, a carrot, some celery, a pepper. I often carry leftovers of deli sandwiches or pizza for the first day. Sometimes I buy ramen and eat them uncooked. Instant mashed potatoes work well in cold water, too.

In some cases when I need to supply out of a small C-store, I end up with something like hot dog buns and peanut butter and some cookies or donuts for a day or two.

I supplement my trail diet heavily with town food. I always crave salads and hot greasy stuff like veggie pizza and fries, and ice cream of course.

My AT hike in '08 cost me about $750 for trail food and about the same for town food.

I'm a vegetarian too but I wasn't when I thru-hiked (completely off my radar then). This is almost exactly what I do on long hikes when I stop in to re-supply. The rolled oats thing is a great idea that I've never done, though I obviously do instant oatmeal (just pour water in the bag) - I'll add the following:

1) Most convenience stores sell protein type bars now - Cliff Bars, Power Bars, etc. - - I grab a handful
2) Snickers - - snickers bars move you up mountains - - I stay away from processed sugar at home, on the trail, it's fair game - I'll eat a Payday Bar too.
3) Block Cheese - cheese lasts for a long time without refrigeration (especially if it's not 90 deg, outside) - my guess is that Garlic gets block cheese and just forgot this one.
4) Any fresh fruit / vegetable that I can get my hands on - banana, ear of corn, tomato, etc. - - sometimes (if you are lucky) convenience stores have little farmer's market areas
4) I cook (or at least boil water) so I add instant coffee (duh), pasta sides, potatoes, cous-cous if I can find it, mac and cheese, etc.

Also, sometimes when I'm in a town, the next shelter or campsite might just be a few miles away - in cases like these, a can of soup or beans isn't a big weight deal to add on for a mile or so.

All this said, it's still nice to get some seitan, dehydrated tofu, powdered eggs, etc. in a mail drop

[Papa D]

I just noticed the repackaging part of your question. Repackaging is an integral part of every resupply for me. I mix oats, nuts, and raisins in a gallon ziplock to make muesli. Everything that's not in a resealable package goes into a ziplock. I reuse the ziplocks for months. I get rid of all paper and cardboard packaging because I do not try to keep my food bag dry. And I don't like to carry the garbage. Once I fit all the garbage from a 160-mile resupply into the empty peanut butter jar.

Most stores have a bench to sit on and a garbage can nearby which makes this easy. And I often down a pint of Ben & Jerry's while I'm doing the repackaging.


Yep - I re-use my zip-locks (except the real nasty ones). If you do happen to buy a box of zip-locks in a store, there are always about 75% of them left over. On more than one occasion, I have offered the balance of the box to (usually) an older shopper (I'm still a kid, you see). This helps strike up a little conversation and before long, I'm in their car with a ride back up the mountain to the trail. ;)