View Full Version : Food and Fruit
Hi folks have any of you ever took stuff like grapes apples oranges and bananas on your thur hike
Thank
I always leave town with a couple of oranges and the least ripe advocado I can find. I'm not really the healthiest of trail eaters, but there is nothing better than a delicious orange when taking a break.
BirdBrain
02-12-2013, 14:17
Hi folks have any of you ever took stuff like grapes apples oranges and bananas on your thur hike
Thank
I suspect more qualified hikers will give better answers, but... For me it is about caloric density. Weight is a huge issue for food. You are better served with dry foods like nuts and meals/drinks that need water added to them. There is too much water in fruit. Now I wait to learn again from others.
I should add that I keep the fresh food stored in my pot.
yes i have packed Apples, Banana's, grapes, oranges.
Yeah fruit is like 90% water, but durable, and worth carrying for half a day or two out of town. After that your food needs to be dry. Dried herbs like Parsley and Paprika are good sources of Calcium on Iron and Vitamins A, and C, but who wants to stop and eat parsley on a sunny day.
FarmerChef
02-12-2013, 15:03
Totally but not for the nutritional value since I can fit more in dried fruit as others have posted. I take it for the sheer pleasure of eating something fresh, not dried, on the trail. The downside, is that you need to pack out your peels if it's an orange, banana, etc. That's why I usually bring apples when I do and eat the entire thing, seeds and all. Pears too.
evyck da fleet
02-12-2013, 15:15
Yep, bananas or carrots. Ate them the day out of town or the following one because of the lack of calories per weight compared to everything else I bought.
Pedaling Fool
02-12-2013, 15:26
I'm not much of a fruit eater, but I have taken some on the trail, but only in the dehydrated form; it's just as healthy, maybe not as enjoyable, but if it was then that wouldn't be hiking. I also dehydrate tons of veggies and various meats and take on my hikes.
I almost never take fruit on the trail unless you count dehydrated fruits - I mix those in my granola!
MuddyWaters
02-12-2013, 16:02
Dried fruit is as high in calories as most trail foods, about 100-150 cal/oz.
Cant go wrong with banana chips and raisins.
I take some fresh food like carrots, oranges and apples. The oranges go first, then the apples and the carrots
HikerMom58
02-12-2013, 18:39
I take baby carrots on the trail with me. Some of my most fav. things to offer hikers for trail magic are bananas, apples, grapes and oranges.
Double Wide
02-12-2013, 18:50
Ok, so we can **** in the woods, but we have to pack out orange peels? Something completely biodegradable, last time I checked...
Sarcasm the elf
02-12-2013, 19:55
Ok, so we can **** in the woods, but we have to pack out orange peels? .. Correct, you need to process the fruits and vegetables before leaving them in the woods ;-)
Blue Mountain Edward
02-12-2013, 20:09
Bananas, oranges and grapes make great trail snacks. Bought a pile of dehydrated fruit at the nut shop in Port Clinton last year, discount rack dollar a bag.
I heard of tickets being written for leaving orange peels in the woods; the officer simply said "do you see any orange trees growing around here?" end of argument. Pack it in, pack it out.
Ok, so we can **** in the woods, but we have to pack out orange peels? Something completely biodegradable, last time I checked...
HikerMom58
02-12-2013, 20:21
I heard of tickets being written for leaving orange peels in the woods; the officer simply said "do you see any orange trees growing around here?" end of argument. Pack it in, pack it out.
Boo dat! I think it's fine to throw out fruit peeling.. I wouldn't leave mine in plain sight around a shelter or throw them in the fire pit 2 rot. I'd put LNT into action.... dare you to find them ever again. ;)
Hikes in Rain
02-12-2013, 20:22
Ok, so we can **** in the woods, but we have to pack out orange peels? Something completely biodegradable, last time I checked...
Less so than you might think. They seem to dry out into some sort of plastic that never seems to degrade.
Another Kevin
02-12-2013, 20:23
I do indeed occasionally bring fresh fruit for eating on the trail. A nice orange is just as thirst-quenching as the same weight of water, so I simply tote that much less water until I've eaten the fruit.
In season, I've also been known to raid blueberry or blackberry patches. This works best on trails that aren't as busy as the AT, since a lot of hikers like berries, even like them well enough to make a mile or two less by taking the time to pick them.
Northern Lights
02-12-2013, 20:34
There was a thru hiker this year, that arrived at the shelter with a bag of veggies. I think that night he had broccoli and baby carrots. Apparently he had been eatng fruit and veg since he left Springer. We were all envious as he sat and ate his fresh veggies.
I've taken an apple or two. This year every town stop I'm going to throw some veggies and fruit in my bag. Even if it lasts only a day or two. Fruit and veggies are the two things I crave the most when hiking.
Typingsux
02-12-2013, 20:35
Eating the fruit whole helps with your hydration. You should require that much less water while eating the whole fruit
Odd Man Out
02-12-2013, 22:56
I heard of tickets being written for leaving orange peels in the woods; the officer simply said "do you see any orange trees growing around here?" end of argument. Pack it in, pack it out.
You could claim they are tropical fruits carried in by African Swallows.
HikerMom58
02-12-2013, 23:06
You could claim they are tropical fruits carried in by African Swallows.
Good one.. :)
BirdBrain
02-13-2013, 01:08
I take baby carrots on the trail with me. Some of my most fav. things to offer hikers for trail magic are bananas, apples, grapes and oranges.
Or pie... don't forget pie HM.
Pedaling Fool
02-13-2013, 10:25
Less so than you might think. They seem to dry out into some sort of plastic that never seems to degrade.Not true. Decomposition stops for everything that has no moisture. Look at all the leaves on the ground, very top level, they look as though they will never decompose, but if you look under the top level of leaves you see they breakdown just fine. Same with everything else. Put them peels under the leaf litter and they decompose nicely, thanks to the moisture and microbes. Even heartwood decomposes in the presence of moisture and of course fungi.
garlic08
02-13-2013, 13:20
I try to carry one fresh thing to eat every day, even if it's a stalk of celery or a carrot. I try to delude myself into thinking that's making my horrible trail diet a little better. It was fun on the AT to catch the envious glances at lunch time.
Hikes in Rain
02-13-2013, 13:28
That's true. However, I've found orange peels in my compost pile after a year, when everything else had decomposed. (I didn't leave them in longer to see what would happen, though.)
From this site: http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/06/06/how-long-does-it-take-a-plastic-bag-or-a-glass-bottle-to-decompose/
Several sources say six months. Apparently I should have ground them up for my compost pile.
This source says 4 to 24 months, also noting their high visibility: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_003216.pdf
so yeah, not "never degrade" (and I did qualify it with "seems to"), but quite a while, especially since they're really noticeable.
Pedaling Fool
02-13-2013, 14:09
It was fun on the AT to catch the envious glances at lunch time.I get those looks all the time when I make my stew at night, comprised of rice, jerky and a multitude of dehdrated veggies. Much better than that mountain house crap :D
That's true. However, I've found orange peels in my compost pile after a year, when everything else had decomposed. (I didn't leave them in longer to see what would happen, though.)
From this site: http://www.thatdanny.com/2008/06/06/how-long-does-it-take-a-plastic-bag-or-a-glass-bottle-to-decompose/
Several sources say six months. Apparently I should have ground them up for my compost pile.
This source says 4 to 24 months, also noting their high visibility: http://www.fs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_DOCUMENTS/fsm9_003216.pdf
so yeah, not "never degrade" (and I did qualify it with "seems to"), but quite a while, especially since they're really noticeable.Thanks for the links, good timing since I was sitting around waiting for a cloud to passover so I can go run.
I'm alway curious how they come up with those numbers, because it's so dependant on so many factors and most people who think they water their compost pile adequately don't realize that much of their pile remains dry when they add water, a good way to see how this happens is to just add water to the top level of a leaf mulch and it's surprising how dry just under the top level remains with a good quantity of water. Also heat varies greatly in a pile, just sticking a thermometer in it can be very misleading.
I like one of the links in your "thatdanny" link http://oncampus.osu.edu/v30n12/research.html and it is true that landfill design and construction is changing for the better and probably makes home-composting less of a way to help in that respect, but I'll continue to compost.
Anyone who is concerned about carrying less trash, you can still take fresh fruit on the trail. I personally just bury it under the leaf litter and away from the shelters, no need to carry it, no problems.
I always take fresh fruit and veggies. I consider them as 'water weight' and tend toward things that are entirely edible like grapes, baby carrots, trimmed veggies. I like bananas but have yet to find a good way to deal with the peels if I can't let them dry out. I usually let my garbage bag sit open to dehydrate the contents while I am cookong or resting at lunchtime. If you like oranges--take a thin layer of peel off befor you eat them and let it dry out in the sun. It can then be cut finely and added to freeze dried fare. The white part is bitter but the outer layer has arromatic oils that are nice to munch on in trail mix.
88BlueGT
02-14-2013, 12:16
I definitely don't see anything wrong with leaving orange peels. HOWEVER, I wouldn't want to see them in the middle of the trail but if you tossed them into the woods... no harm, no foul.
Also, I love to bring fruit when I can. It's ALWAYS the best treat!