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  1. #1
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    Post The Mc Donald Cheeseburger Diet

    My first thru-hike in 2018 always brings to mind that first night on Springer Mountain. We all gathered around the hiker TV and talked about food and calories. It was very cold. The kind of cold that makes a hiker dread taking his gloves off to light his stove. This is kind of like a tribute but I am not a good writer of stories. We all were talking about the calories we needed daily and the calorie content of the mountain house freeze dried meals. I will never forget the one hiker that claimed he had it all figured out. He proudly boasted that he was going to hike the entire trail by eating Mc Donald's cheeseburgers every day. He pulled out a soggy McDonald's cheeseburger that he had carried all the way up the approach trail. Everyone laughed at him and tried to kindly express concerns for his choices. This hiker's solution to cooking was no cooking at all. I would love to meet this hiker again just to ask him if he ever completed the entire trail on the McDonald's Cheeseburger Diet. Is it possible that any hiker could accomplish such a goal?

  2. #2
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    I doubt that any thru-hiker ever completed the trail by eating just one type meal.

  3. #3
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    I’ve been known to carry up to 6 McDoubles at one time, they’re so processed they can last longer than that. I have a friend that’s carried 10+ at once. Don’t try that with a real hamburger.

  4. #4
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    Now that I think about it it, my friend may be who you’re talking about.

    That friend also just happened to start an attempted AT thru hike in 2018, his trail name is Trashalope. He didn’t finish that year but he has since gone on to thru hike 9000+ miles and is currently on the CDT. You could easily find him on Instagram. He continues to enjoy McDoubles on trail.

  5. #5

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    Reminds me of the couple times I went to Tomato Head restaurant in Maryville and got a burrito go order and took it out on a backpacking trip.

    https://thetomatohead.com/


    I posted this pic on a 2010 trip in my journal and they reposted it on their blog---

    https://thetomatohead.com/calling-all-hikers/


    The other time I took out one of their Jose Burritos.

    And there's a bakery in Tellico Plains called Tellico Grains which supplied me with sandwiches on the first couple days of a trip---this one a shiitake mushroom thing---


  6. #6

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    Many years ago a friend met a thruhiker who bought cases of mountain house dehydrated beef stew. The hiker was on a tight budget and did not have a choice but to eat it for all his meals.

  7. #7
    Registered User Slugg's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Slugg View Post
    Now that I think about it it, my friend may be who you’re talking about.

    That friend also just happened to start an attempted AT thru hike in 2018, his trail name is Trashalope. He didn’t finish that year but he has since gone on to thru hike 9000+ miles and is currently on the CDT. You could easily find him on Instagram. He continues to enjoy McDoubles on trail.
    Update: My buddy reports he did not hike the approach trail in ‘18 so sounds like it wasn’t him.

  8. #8
    Registered User Tim Rich's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by peakbagger View Post
    Many years ago a friend met a thruhiker who bought cases of mountain house dehydrated beef stew. The hiker was on a tight budget and did not have a choice but to eat it for all his meals.
    Seems like there's been more than a couple who only ate pop tarts.

  9. #9

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    I met a thru hiker in VA one year that claimed to be just living on whatever she found in hiker boxes.

  10. #10
    Registered User JNI64's Avatar
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    You can put one of them McDonald's cheeseburgers on a shelf and come back a year later and it won't change whatsoever. Just a little stiff.

  11. #11

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    Eating nothing but cheese burgers on a thru sounds like a good way to get scurvy.

  12. #12
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    Yes this is possible but it is not very enjoyable. Also would make your hike have a lot of miserable days of hunger. I came across a hiker like this and I bought her a large pizza. She ate the entire pizza by herself. I felt very sorry for her. She hiked the trail with no money. I have met a lot more displaced women in this position due to the lack of opportunity. It is heart breaking when you hear the stories they tell about how they came to know this kind of poverty. It is terrible that many women find themselves in this position.

  13. #13
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    Quote Originally Posted by Birthright View Post
    Yes this is possible but it is not very enjoyable. Also would make your hike have a lot of miserable days of hunger. I came across a hiker like this and I bought her a large pizza. She ate the entire pizza by herself. I felt very sorry for her. She hiked the trail with no money. I have met a lot more displaced women in this position due to the lack of opportunity. It is heart breaking when you hear the stories they tell about how they came to know this kind of poverty. It is terrible that many women find themselves in this position.
    And their "cure" is to go for a hike? If I did that, I'd find myself in a bad position, too.

  14. #14
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    ""You can put one of them McDonald's cheeseburgers on a shelf and come back a year later and it won't change whatsoever. Just a little stiff.""

    Those are the kind that are sold in Hawaii, made with Spam
    Last edited by zelph; 07-27-2022 at 12:41.

  15. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Birthright View Post
    Yes this is possible but it is not very enjoyable. Also would make your hike have a lot of miserable days of hunger.
    Quote Originally Posted by Birthright View Post
    I find the best stove is my credit card. For most of the AT; if you can hike 30 miles a day then you can just swipe your card and eat as you go without carrying anything. The AT has resupplies every where. If you can even hike 15 miles a day then your chances of coming across a food supply are pretty good.

    If you hiked 30 miles and stopped in town that had a McDonalds, used your credit card, you could have a nice juicy Big Mack and other goodies. You could do that every day

  16. #16
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    the original Hamburger hiker

    https://youtu.be/yE5PGe6B95o

  17. #17
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    the original Hamburger hiker

    https://youtu.be/yE5PGe6B95o

  18. #18
    Some days, it's not worth chewing through the restraints.
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    Quote Originally Posted by D2maine View Post
    the original Hamburger hiker
    https://youtu.be/yE5PGe6B95o
    Watch "supersize me" for the flip side. I suppose there are some that could hike 30 miles per day, day upon day, eating this crap, but I can't imagine it's good for you.

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by zelph View Post
    If you hiked 30 miles and stopped in town that had a McDonalds, used your credit card, you could have a nice juicy Big Mack and other goodies. You could do that every day
    The question would be, is that possible? Seems there might be some areas that would be difficult with smaller towns and such.

  20. #20
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    Quote Originally Posted by BillyGr View Post
    The question would be, is that possible? Seems there might be some areas that would be difficult with smaller towns and such.
    Well Birthright said:

    Quote Originally Posted by Birthright View Post
    I find the best stove is my credit card. For most of the AT; if you can hike 30 miles a day then you can just swipe your card and eat as you go without carrying anything. The AT has resupplies every where. If you can even hike 15 miles a day then your chances of coming across a food supply are pretty good.

    I suspect a burger of some kind would be available in the smaller towns. The almighty credit card

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