Cooking and Eating on the Trail

  One of the greatest  concerns for any hiker is food. Planning what to bring, how to resupply and an overall food and cooking strategy  is quite challenging. Here are a few things  we learned based on our 22 day, 274 mile section hike.

1) You will not know what and how much you will need to eat before the hike. Give it up, you cannot comprehensively plan your daily menu ahead of time. I had to stifle a laugh every time I saw OCD backpackers pull out zip lock bags with the day's food written on a zip lock bag. They seemed to always have too much (initially) or not enough if they had been on the trail for a while.

2) What looks good from home may not be what you want to eat during the hike

3) From Georgia to Damascus (and probably beyond) it is silly to ship food boxes. Fontana Dam is often listed as a tough resupply. Not when we were there, the general store had a good selection. I am glad we didn't send food, I preferred hunting and gathering with my credit card over receiving trail mix I was tired of in the mail. Note: During the Thru hiker bubble this may not be true, they may run out of food. But in May there was a great selection.

4) I like to cook. I like to eat. I thought I would do so on this trip. But when  you spend 10+ hours hiking, spending the last hour of daylight to make an elaborate meal is very unappealing. I'm use to short, winter trips where tasty, hot food really goes down well. With long days and hot  weather...I could have almost skipped the stove..and I certainly  didn't feel like doing more than heating water.

5) Early in the hike, we did not have much appetite. Sage and I could share a meal. And we typically ate only one hot meal a day.  By the end, we were cooking 2 or more meals for Dinner (One 2.5 serving Mountain  House each), and one or two more hot meals at other times during the day. Our food consumption  more than doubled for the last 7-10 days when compared against the first week.

6) The last week of our hike, when I was hungry my stomach would get unsettled and would hurt. Hiking  was very difficult  without eating something. I REALLY needed to eat when I was hungry. Didn't matter what, but it was critical to put something in my stomach. It would have been very uncomfortable to run out of food. It's been a few days since I got off the trail and I'm still dealing with this painful hunger.

7) Fast, easy to cook (or no cook), high calorie  and low weight was the goal for meals. The first day out of town I might carry something special, like some frozen sausage that would defrost prior to dinner. Ramen, instant mashed potatoes, rice sides...quick, easy and cheap. I brought red pepper flakes as a light hot sauce

8) You can eat a snickers bar or a honey bun for a meal, but it is hard to eat a rice side as a snack. When in doubt on how much you need, bring extra snacks. We never had enough Honey Buns, for example.

9) Healthy Eating? Good for you. That will last for a few days if you are really determined. Good luck eating enough calories eating healthy. You need energy...you will starve if you fill your bag with kale chips. Eating a few snickers bars a day may kill you in daily life. On the trail...it will keep you going.

10) You are not going into the wilderness for weeks. Instead, you are walking from town to town, with a resupply every 2-5 days. This also provides a chance to fend off scurvy with a trip to a Salad Bar. As much as we enjoyed the trail, we also really enjoyed the town stops and associated  showers and meals.

11) Cooking gear: A pot. One. Big enough to cook a single meal with add ins.  (Tuna for example). I found my Toaks 850ml pot to be a great size, definitely large enough for one, and even sufficient  for Sage and I. If you want to bring a separate mug for hot drinks, go ahead, but I would recommend using your pot as your coffee mug as well.

12) Amazon prime was great for resupply. Just  ship your food or gear ahead to a hostel and it will be waiting on you. Why bother  packing your own box..let Amazon do it.

13) Some of my personal favorite trail foods: Ramen, Peanut Butter M&Ms, Any other kind of M&Ms,  Gummy Bears, Snickers, Summer Sausage, Pre-cooked Bacon, Bacon Bits, Cashews, Macadamia Nuts, Mountain House Lasagna, Pepperoni, Cheese, Mrs. Freshly's Iced Honey Buns, Anything  made by Little Debbie, Tasty Cake or Krispy Kreme.

This is the entire cookset Sage and I settled on:

850 ml Toaks pot with lid and handles  4 Oz
Light Ti Cup- 1.6 Oz
Ti Plate/ frypan/ pot lid (minus pot)  1.4 Oz

Plus two ti Sporks: 1.2 Oz for both

Total Weight: 8.2 Oz

Canister Stove: 1 Oz