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A good apple or an orange has saved my sanity on a few occasions.

FortMental wrote:

JasonH wrote:

FortMental wrote:A good salami is hard to beat.

I was wondering when someone would get that....

A Sharks fan. Go figure.

We are classy.

I agree with no2haven. Grapes are my favorite trail food right now. They are a little bit heavy but sooo refreshing and a nice bit of flavor.

I also eat a lot of frozen pizza. I like using thin crust frozen pizzas (ones with BBQ sauce are the best, imo) because the thicker crust ones are usually really dry and make you drink all your water.

This stuff is good. Never tried it until backpacking this summer and I found it to be much better than average trail mix.

Darija wrote:There are limitations with the food you can pack, because you want to go as light as possible.

Agreed but if there's one thing I've learned about climbing it's that I enjoy the climb more taking food I can eat at altitude rather than just packing something that's light. I find the advantage of traveling lighter much less than that of carrying food I enjoy eating. Even on Denali I've carried in 2 pounds of peanut butter and rolls instead of some dehydrated crap I don't enjoy.

Anything that tastes good works for me. Chocolate, cookies, chips, fig nutens, nuts, some fruits, beef jerky, etc.

I usually don't eat much of my hiking food when I'm not hiking so I don't get sick of the taste.

Brad Marshall wrote:

Darija wrote:There are limitations with the food you can pack, because you want to go as light as possible.

Agreed but if there's one thing I've learned about climbing it's that I enjoy the climb more taking food I can eat at altitude rather than just packing something that's light. I find the advantage of traveling lighter much less than that of carrying food I enjoy eating. Even on Denali I've carried in 2 pounds of peanut butter and rolls instead of some dehydrated crap I don't enjoy.

Peanut butter is actually "lighter" than many dehydrated foods, in the sense that it has a very high Calorie/mass.

MoapaPk wrote:

Brad Marshall wrote:

Darija wrote:There are limitations with the food you can pack, because you want to go as light as possible.

Agreed but if there's one thing I've learned about climbing it's that I enjoy the climb more taking food I can eat at altitude rather than just packing something that's light. I find the advantage of traveling lighter much less than that of carrying food I enjoy eating. Even on Denali I've carried in 2 pounds of peanut butter and rolls instead of some dehydrated crap I don't enjoy.

Peanut butter is actually "lighter" than many dehydrated foods, in the sense that it has a very high Calorie/mass.

right. Actually I don't know of anything that is lighter than peanut butter.

MoapaPk wrote:Peanut butter is actually "lighter" than many dehydrated foods, in the sense that it has a very high Calorie/mass.

That's the way I see it and I don't have to carry the fuel required to make a bad meal.

I will eat most anything so this is not a problem I have but a number of people have mentioned bagels which is something I bring a lot. Heavy in calories and carbs and they don't squish. Nothing like a big assiago cheese bagel with salami and some sharp chedder. Maybe a little hot sauce but I stay away from anything that can spoil. The fat in one of those things brings enough moisture to the party in your mouth, mmm...I want one now.

Because I'm always traveling (on a Plane) to any climb/hike it becomes a game in a sense. Find a store and try to put some food together for a reasonable amount of money. I will admit I'm a sucker for fruit chews, we bring them all over the world. I also have a good friend who works for General Mills so I always have a supply of Nature Valley bars, some of which are very tasty.

My favorites:

Tortillas with Salami and Cheese with dehydrated hummus.
Dry soup mix (split pea/bean/lentil) with a good hot sauce added (Cholula)
Soba noodles in miso soup with freshly caught trout.
Avocado
Almond Butter
Mashed potatoes with smoked gouda and sun dried tomatoes.
Oatmeal with candied pecans and dry WHOLE milk.
Halvah
A big fat steak! - Frozen and eaten on the second night or even later in the winter months. If your lucky the wild onions are blooming and you can smother it in grilled onions.

KFC - Fried CHicken - Ideally in a tortilla with hot sauce.

Sour Jolly Rogers

Trader Joes dried mango slices.

Pepper Jack cheeze.

Darija,
I have run into the same problems as you have on the more strenuous dayhikes. No appetite at all but had to get calories into my body in addition to sufficient liquids. This is what works for me now quite well after several years of experimenting.

Two bottles of Starbucks Mocha with some pastries at the trailhead before starting out.

Soft trail mix bars: light weight, sustained energy release due to good mixture of various carbohydrates.
Sometimes prepared deli sandwich with meats and cheese.
Chocolate or strawberry milk: 400 Calories per bottle. This goes down really easy. Sometimes I stash a bottle along the way for the return trip, especially if there is a substantial uphill such as going back over Lamarck Col from Evolution Valley (see 2009 SC).
For hydration: Gatorade powder (in ziplock). Makes water from snow melt, creeks and lakes more palatable, therefore I drink more. Replenishes electrolytes and has some sugar.

I usually eat an entire cheesecake before the trip. Also, I'm lactose-intolerant, so if I get in the lead, I stay in the lead. But given Darija's hair color, she likely can't depend on lactose intolerance.

If I'm out for a day long hike and not worried about protein, Twizzlers. Or Red Vines depending on your geographical location, but I like Twizzlers. They don't melt, they don't squish, they fit darn near anywhere in a backpack, can be chewed while I walk, and frankly, they don't ever not sound good.