Food - Overview

Written By Chase Silberbusch

The food you eat on the trail will be very different from what you eat in real life (hopefully). Since you’re burning so many calories, you need to eat high-calorie food to maintain weight, and you need food that will keep for 4-5 days. Unfortunately, junk food has become the staple, so a lot of ramen, chips, tuna/chicken packets, and candy.

But it doesn’t have to be all junk food. Usually, for the first day on trail, I try to bring a salad bag or some fresh produce for health.

Here’s the food that I found works for me and my body on the trail:

Breakfast

  • Jumbo Honeybun (or 2 small regular honeybuns)

    • If you can’t find Honeybun - which sometimes unfortunately happens -

  • Coffee

    • Folger Instant Coffee Crystal

    • Collagen Powder (acts like creamer but has more nutritional value)

2nd Breakfast

  • Trail Mix Tortilla

    • Trail Mix

    • Banana Chips - VERY IMPORTANT - high in potassium and helps your movements stay solid

    • Tortilla

    • Peanut Butter Spread on Tortilla

    OR

  • CLIFF Bar Builders (if I don’t feel like carrying the trail mix and peanut butter)

    • If I have the CLIFF Bar, then I’ll use the tortilla for lunch and make a tuna tortilla

Lunch

  • Tuna Packet - A lot of people get sick of tuna packets, but it hasn’t happened for me yet - I usually get some kind of sauce (obtain sauce packets in town at restaurants) to spice things up

  • Chips (Doritos or Lays) - pop the bag and crush them up after purchase so they fit better in your bag

  • Candy

    • Sour Patch Kids usually

    • Twinkie

Dinner

  • Ramen Bomb with chicken or tuna packet

    • Shin Ramyun is my favorite

    • Instant Mash Potatoes - DON’T use the whole potato packet, just enough to make it creamy

    • Chicken or Tuna Packet - I usually lean towards chicken packets if I can, since I have tuna for lunch, but whichever you use usually absorbs the ramen flavoring, so the taste is negligible

Dessert

  • Candy Bar

    • Butterfinger, Twix, Snickers - something sweet at the end of the night takes the edge off

  • Tea - sometimes I’ll save some of my hot water for some tea if I’m feeling frisky

    • Usually, you can find tea in hiker boxes, so don’t waste your money buying it - unless you have a favorite brand or type

    • My favorite brand is Yogi Tea - there are cute little sayings on the paper that always lift my spirits

Other Consumables

  • Electrolytes

    • Put in your main water bottle - leave your other water bottle as water

    • My favorite: Noon Electrolyte Tablets

  • Vitamin C - usually added to electrolyte water in the morning

    • Emergen-C Orange - tastes like orange juice

  • Multivitamins - try to take 1 a day, I usually save it for when I need a boost, like right before a pass or hard uphill climb

Chase Silberbusch
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