What I Eat on the AT

I need to eat a lot of food out here. Sadly, it’s not all the best food, but I need every bite I can get. I carry three to five days of food with me at a time to make it from town to town so when I go shopping I need to be smart because once I leave town I have to make it with what I’ve got in my bag. When I get into town it’s my time to feast because although I try to carry enough food to keep me nourished on the trail, it’s never enough.

What I Ate Today

I got into town today so it’s a good time to take a look at I ate and see what it takes to make me full.

Breakfast

– handfuls of trail mix
– two Clif bars
– peanut butter crackers
– almond butter and Nutella wrap

Second Breakfast

– chicken wrap
– fiber one bar
– one handful of granola
– scoop of almond butter

Lunch in Town

– black bean soup
– side salad
– barbecue sandwich with sweet potato fries
– three lemonades
– ten hush puppies

Dinner in Town

– six breadsticks
– cinnamon stick
– whole bowl of pasta with meat sauce

There it is; everything I ate today. I finished eating a half hour ago and I am honestly still hungry. It is a never-ending struggle to feed myself. Long miles through the mountains with all of my gear makes me burn a lot of calories.

When I am in town I always find myself wandering through a grocery store getting food for the week. I try to switch up the food as much as I can to keep myself from getting sick of certain foods. A typical food resupply looks like this:

Dinners

– two or three ramen packages
– one or two instant mashed potatoes
– pepperoni to add to ramen or potatoes
– chicken packets to add to ramen or potatoes

Snacks

– 20-25 assorted bars and cracker packages
– almond/peanut butter
– Nutella
– tortillas with chicken packets and pepperoni
– one or two bags of trail mix
– dried fruit
– electrolyte drink mixes
– jerky

Hopefully, that gives you an idea of what a typical resupply looks like for me. Below is a picture of the food I’ll be taking with me for the next several days.