most common breakfast food on trail

[neo]

mine is my own version of oatmeal,i hate instant oatmeal
rolled oats
flax seed
raisons
chopped dates
chopped walnuts
craisins(dried cherry flavored cranberries)
crushed bran flakes
brown sugar
cinnamon
powdered nido whole milk
i love this stuff,i eat it all the time neo

[SGT Rock]

Grits and coffee.

[TDale]

Either oatmeal with dried fruit, or grits with something meaty. Glass o' gatorade, coffee. Sometimes trail mix bars.

Rock, have you seen the Stadler's Country Ham Bits in a jar? Like bacon bits, but real, good ham. Great in grits.

[Kerosene]

When cooking: instant oatmeal with raisins with hot chocolate or Tang.

Grab-n-Go: Cracklin' Oat Bran with dried apricots and water.

[Spirit Walker]

That sounds like a good oatmeal, if you are out for a short time. If you are buying as you go while on a thruhike, you are restricted to what you can find in the small shops along the way. Usually Nido and craisins aren't available.

I agree, instant oatmeal gets old, and after a while doesn't really fill you up all that much. We usually just eat cold cereal - a dense one like granola or raisin bran - with milk. Then about two hours later we'll eat either a granola bar or poptart. On short trips, or the first week of a long trip, we'll have logan bread for breakfast - very dense and rich.

[rocket04]

Peaches and cream oatmeal was a personal favorite. Pop-tarts favored when I wanted an early start.

[neo]

i premix and mail dropp this stuff along with other supplies,buy in bulk and mix at home neo

[HikeLite]

I eat dry granola cereal for breakfast.

[SGT Rock]

Rock, have you seen the Stadler's Country Ham Bits in a jar? Like bacon bits, but real, good ham. Great in grits.

I haven't seen that. So far I really like some butter buds and a little bit of Alabama Wildfire habanero hot sauce. Wakes you up like nobody's business!

[TakeABreak]

The first couple of weeks it was two packets of instant oatmeal, there after if was 3 packs of instant oatmeal. And Usually, one hour after breakfast it was a couple of breakfask bars as a booster.

[grrickar]

Granola with dried fruit and powdered milk in a ziploc bag. I pour in cold water, zip the bag, shake, then unzip and eat. Works great, tastes good and no messy cleanup or need to use your stove. I do like a warm breakfast in colder temps, so my vote would be grits or oatmeal.

[wacocelt]

3 packs of Fruits and Creme oatmeal
1 pouch French Vanilla Carnation Instant Breakfast
3-4 oz Granola Cereal with Almond and coconut flakes
1 oz (approximately) squeeze butter and olive oil

Takes awhile to choke it all down, but about 30-45 minutes after eating all of that you WILL have a good start to your day.

[Peaks]

Is there a thru hiker among the previous posters? While their ideas are all good, most thru-hikers don't seem to put much effort into cooking anything, especially in the morning. From what I saw, most just eat a breakfast bar of some sort and head out. Very few even heat water. And powdered milk is deadful when first mixed.

[grrickar]

Peaks, not a thru hiker here, just a section hiker.

I agree that powdered milk by itself is not too tasty, but mixed with granola it tastes more like the real thing. I guess from the cinnamon and sugar in the granola. Protein bars for breakfast aren't bad either. We were trying to bag miles on our section hike, so breakfast and lunch were no-cook items: protein bars, granola and milk, tang, kool aid, tuna, jerky, trail mix, candy, etc. Dinner was the only meal we cooked, and usually it was just boiling water for noodles or soup.

[Sleepy the Arab]

Boiled Squirrel.

Seriously, breakfast was usually 2 breakfast bars (General Mills Milk 'n' Cereal bars, or Quaker Oats oatmeal bars etc.), a chewy granola bar, 2 packets of instant breakfast mixed in a pint shaker of water and a good handfull of dried fruit (usually pineapple, mango or papaya). Oatmeal was reserved for those really cold mornings in the first and last 200 miles, and for trapping more squirrels.

Second breakfast (eaten after 4-5 miles of hiking) was an energy bar of sorts, usually a Pemmican bar from Bear Valley. They were tough to eat after the first week of nonstop consumption; it helps to order a large quantity beforehand from the company to increase motivation. They are also very dense - a weeks worth can weigh up to 2 pounds but this comes in handy should you need to club a small rodent for dinner.

[Fiddleback]

"And powdered milk is deadful when first mixed."

Nido is better than most -- it's whole milk (I didn't know there was such stuff until last year). After years of dealing with skim milk at home, powdered whole milk doesn't seem so bad to me. Your results may vary

FB

[swamp dawg]

I normally eat a cold breakfast so I can get a fast start or a few more minutes in my warm sleeping bag. Before my hike, I mix dry cereal and dry milk in a ziplock and add water on the trail. I find this light and I get all the proper food value.
Life is good on the trail.........Swamp Dawg

[java]

This summer I always at the cheap Sunbelt brand granola cereal with powered milk for breakfast. I ate a mugful everyday, and one box would last for four breakfasts. I think a box is only about $2.00, so that's a cheap way to go.
On our thru it was usually pop-tarts and Nature Valley Granola bars. Oh, and of course coffee!!

[Tim Rich]

When I section I usually have two apple/cinnamon or maple/brown sugar instant oatmeal packs with some powdered milk along with it. It's presweetened enough to offset any taste alteration by the milk. I also eat a fruit bar, usually Nutrigrain. After I finish the oatmel, I put a little warm water in my mug and drink my oatmeal remnants, and then make a cup of coffee in the mug from the Folgers coffee bags. The coffee's not the best but it's a conscious choice between taste, space and utility. I sip the coffee as I'm getting packed. I also drink 16 ounces of Cytomax exercise and recovery drink before heading out as well, and another 16 ounces at the end of the day. If I don't cook at breakfast, I eat a couple of Nutrigrain.

Take Care,

Tim

[runs247]

PB&J and a Power or Harvest Bar