Food, Glorious Food

Hiking is not for connoisseurs of fine dining…

One lesson we learned pretty early was that lugging along heavy, fancy eats was a big waste of effort.  Sure, an occasional treat is fun, but, when it comes down to it, eating on the trail is for energy, not pleasure.  As usual, we have different opinions on what we like, but we find that carrying one cook pot is all we need to chow each meal.  Dying to try out our new Sea to Summit X-Pot collapsible kettle.

Max’s story:

Hello hikesters! This is Sweat Heart and I want to talk about food, but first I have to fess to some bad news, good news. Bad news, at 5 feet 8 inches tall I’m a chunkster at 240 pounds; good news, I used to be an Uber-chunkster at 265! So hey, walk slow and ever the optimist!!

Anyhoo, my favorite trail food, coming in at four ounces per serving, is top ramen. There’s at least four different companies that make it, and I’m gonna use this hike to determine which of them is my fav!

I’ve tried different coffee configurations, the latest being Folger’s coffee in a tea bag, which is okay. Maureen bought me a reusable filter thingy that weighs almost (but not quite) nothing, and I think I’m gonna try that and carry some coffee grounds. Sugar and Coffee Mate in separate glad bags.

Also, I want variety! I want a bunch of different stuff in small portions!  Any ideas anyone? Remember, variety! In any event, I’m not carrying a ton of food; I’m trying to lose another 20 pounds! Plenty of GORP I will have.

All right, I’ll check back in a few. I have to explain how I got the trail name Sweat Heart, bestowed by the lovely Maureen, who also goes by the name Marlene, although that is not her trail name!

Maureen:

How I tried to be creative in my food choices in the beginning, packing spices, oil, fresh vegetables, pickles (what a mess).  Now, it’s pretty simple:  Oatmeal, Knorr mixes (maybe with dehydrated chicken and veg), tortillas with nut butter, and lots of snackins (nuts, seeds, crackers).  A hot tea at the end of the day is a luxury.   We plan to stop in as many towns as we can for burgers and fresh salad.  Oh, and I’m one carrying the fish oil supplements and electrolyte powder.

Coming up:  Luxury Items

 

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Comments 2

  • Stephen : Mar 7th

    Max – Don’t be “on a diet” or worried about carrying and/or eating too much food at the start of your hike. You need to eat what will fuel your body or else you will bonk. If you get far enough on the trail, the weight will start to come off naturally.

    Reply
  • Crispy : Mar 8th

    I lost almost 70lbs on my first AT thru hike. I ate everything I could get my hands on. That was over twenty years ago though. Good luck and don’t worry about the weight.

    Reply

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