One of my main recurring problems seems to be that I tend to lose my appetite at higher elevations, and it is a downward spiral from there-I don't eat the food I end up packing and I don't even want to look at it, let alone put it in my mouth, or I end up force feeding myself and turning my hiking experiences into a less than enjoyable event. I don't eat, I lose energy, start feeling more crappy, develop an even stronger aversion to food, etc. I can't afford to not eat when I am doing 10+ hour day hikes.

I wanted to get some good ideas for new food I could pack for high intensity outdoor DAYHIKE events that does not require extensive and intricate preparation.

The following is what has partially worked for me:

1. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They get crushed, and I can't stand them on the trail anymore.

2. Granola Bars-some are more tolerable than others. But will try to avoid when possible. Dry and not very appetizing. Cliff Bars-no thanks

3. Prepackaged sandwiches from Vons-so far, so good.

4. Subway sandwiches-bad idea, bad experiences in the past.

5. Dried Mango-I used to eat these ferociously on the trail, but I can't stand them anymore.

6. Candy-most of the time this is a good thing to have.

7. Beef Jerky-meh. I had a bad taste experience with one brand and seem to have developed a resistance to pack more again. Also, expensive


I'm not usually a picky eater, but my appetite becomes picky at high altitude. (10,000 ft.+) The one thing that I usually do not lose an appetite for, and start craving is FRUIT. But this sort of thing is crushed easily and is heavy to carry.

Some good ideas I have acquired from hiking friends:
Corn nuts-these things are good.
Tortilla, with salami and avocado (delicious, but oftentimes unpractical and annoying to pack)
Some sort of drink that you can get at cycling stores-I forgot the name-it is pink and freaking delicious.

Any other ideas and nutritional suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It's nice to avoid overly sweet stuff, too.

Jerky -- get the nuggets (chicken or beef), teriyaki OK.

You can live on M&Ms for a while!

Clif bars are methane (greenhouse gas) producers. Find the plain grocery-store bars that are most palatable.

Mountain House? The Sweet and Sour pork is my favorite. I also make spag from angel hair pasta, 1 Oz freeze-dried beef, and dried ground tomato (available at bulk foods).

I love the phony cheese-and-cheese cracker packages.

I prefer the cherries-and berries combos, and Trader Joe's lightly-fried bananas (freeze-dried). I put ascorbic acid with the repackaged dried fruit.

Darija,

I try to bring food that I know already like. I see lots of people trying to eat energy bars, perofmance gels, or things that they think will help their speed and endurance on the day(s) of the outing. But you have discovered the key to eating (or not eating). Your body has to be able to ingest and tolerate the food that you bring.

My main food ends up being sandwiches. You mentioned that you like PB&J but your sandwiches get smashed and then are less appetizing. You might try putting them in the inexpensive Rubbermaid or Glad sealable containers. Those containers are light, O.K. a few more ounces than a zip-lock baggie, but they keep your sandwiches in-tact.

Fortunately for me I can handle sliced deli-meat sandwiches at altitude. Just wheat-bread, a little mayo and meat. sometimes I add a slice of cheese or salami. Even on the fourth or fifth day I can still get a sandwich down. I've learned that if packing sandwiches for long distances and multiple days that it is best to avoid pickles, tomatoes or anything that can make a sandwich get soggy. A few barbecue flavor chips go good with a sandwich too, but you have to pack those in the protective rubbermaid container as well.

Aside from sandwiches I bring cookies, trail-mix (has to have some chocolate in it!) dried fruit. If its a single day outing, I'll bring a fresh apple or banana and one diet-coke for my caffiene fix on the summit.

After a day, or days, in the back country or at altitude, a greasy double-double, Famous-Star or what-ever burger always tastes good when I return to civiliztion.

My normal food is Irish Cheddar and (sometimes) salami with stone ground crackers.

Trader Joe's has lots of good options- to me... Dark chocolate covered pretzels, flattened dried bananas, dried peaches/apples. The pretzels and peaches are my favorite.

And I always bring a snickers bar for each day. Easy to eat on the go and you cannot beat the calories/weight/size.

MoapaPk wrote:Jerky -- get the nuggets (chicken or beef), teriyaki OK.

You can live on M&Ms for a while!

Clif bars are methane (greenhouse gas) producers. Find the plain grocery-store bars that are most palatable.

Mountain House? The Sweet and Sour pork is my favorite. I also make spag from angel hair pasta, 1 Oz freeze-dried beef, and dried ground tomato (available at bulk foods).

I love the phony cheese-and-cheese cracker packages.

I prefer the cherries-and berries combos, and Trader Joe's lightly-fried bananas (freeze-dried). I put ascorbic acid with the repackaged dried fruit.

http://www.summitpost.org/article/60226 ... tains.html

Deltaoperator17 wrote:
http://www.summitpost.org/article/60226 ... tains.html

It is clear that there are many tasty backpacking food options, with the right utencils and cooking hardware. Unfortunately, the focus of this posting is food that can be packed for day hikes-hikes where you are making fast ascents up to high elevation and back to the car in under 24 hours, where there is a greater possibility for nausea and negative responses to food to occur. There are limitations with the food you can pack, because you want to go as light as possible.

Peter Croft recommends fast food, he says Whoppers will last the longest.

FortMental wrote:pack a 1/2 L of decent wine. Seriously. It'll relax you, remove nausea, and make you stomach-hungry. Eat like a human, for Christ's sake.

Seriously? Wine is prone to make one sleepy and sluggish, based on my experience.

It's hard to adhere to human like behavior when undertaking unnatural and unhuman like endeavors like crazy dayhikes, usually with a great lack of sleep which doesn't help the appetite eiether, that totally throws off your system.

The thought processes and effort required to go in search of small packets of mayo, or jelly or specialty products is unbearable. If the product I am searching for is not found within one minute of entering a grocery store, I will most likely run out immediately.

James_W wrote:Peter Croft recommends fast food, he says Whoppers will last the longest.

Cold and greasy? Maybe a little yuck?

oh yea, another thing I've found that works quite well is pop tarts-quite tasty and energy providing

My experience has always been a bit the opposite- apparently. You can take just about anything on a dayhike, no issues, as melting, spoiling, sogginess, etc tend to be less of an issue. Fast food sandwiches should be fine, but I wouldn't eat a Subway under ANY circumstances.

Port of Subs!

mrchad9 wrote:My experience has always been a bit the opposite- apparently. You can take just about anything on a dayhike, no issues, as melting, spoiling, sogginess, etc tend to be less of an issue. Fast food sandwiches should be fine, but I wouldn't eat a Subway under ANY circumstances.

Port of Subs!

I agree with you there-Subway sandwiches don't last through the night (assuming you get them the night before an early start the following morning). I've also gotten sick from them a few times. They are made to eat immediately upon creation. Some would say they are made to never be eaten at all, which is a more desirable alternative.

Darija wrote:

mrchad9 wrote:My experience has always been a bit the opposite- apparently. You can take just about anything on a dayhike, no issues, as melting, spoiling, sogginess, etc tend to be less of an issue. Fast food sandwiches should be fine, but I wouldn't eat a Subway under ANY circumstances.

Port of Subs!

I agree with you there-Subway sandwiches don't last through the night (assuming you get them the night before an early start the following morning). I've also gotten sick from them a few times. They are made to eat immediately upon creation. Some would say they are made to never be eaten at all, which is a more desirable alternative.

Agreed! Never to be eaten at all. Just the smell of them puts me off. If I can't find a Port of Subs, Togos is a nice alternative. Otherwise it is sky pilot salad before I stoop to Subway.

Darija wrote:oh yea, another thing I've found that works quite well is pop tarts-quite tasty and energy providing

+ 1 for Pop-Tarts.

I forgot to include Pop-tarts on my list above. They should be right after cookies and before trail-mix heavily laden with chocolate. To keep 'em from getting smashed and crumbled, they also fit into the little Rubbermaid sandwich savers.

I've done a number of 9000-11000' elevation gain days, and my food for the day is way below the supposed calories I burned. What I take is very mundane:

~ 400-500 Calories in breakfast bars or grocery-store granola bars;
~ 250 Calories in pre-made cheese-and-cracker (very artificial-looking) packets;
~ 100-250 Calories in berries-and-cherries+pineapple+mango dried fruit with added ascorbic acid;
~ 100-300 Calories in m&ms.

I always test the breakfast.granola bars before I take them; they have to be yummy. I don't give a damn if they are hippie-approved, vegan, save-the-world qualified.

There is always something in there that I will eat. Water is most important, and a decent breakfast and dinner, before and after the hike, are very important.

I can't do the Sierra-Challenge-type, day-after-day masochism; I'm neurologically limited.