Preparing Your Food Bag for Your Next Hike

You’re preparing for your next hiking trip, or maybe this is your first one. You’ve probably done your research to figure out what’s the best bag to take, plotted your route out, and found all your camping sites. Now, the next question, what are you going to eat? There’s a good chance that everything or most of what you eat will have to be carried on your back, and potentially for multiple days. This means that some thinking and planning needs to be done to figure out exactly what you should take. We’ve covered the main things you should think about and some recommendations on what to take.

The first thing you should think about before you even start is how you’re going to manage your waste. This is probably the last thing you would typically think about, which is why we’ve put it here first. If you’re hiking, it’s probably because you love nature, and the last thing you want to do is to put damage to it. Always make sure that the waste you create is either disposed of properly at the campsite you’re staying at, or if not, taken home to compost or recycle if possible.

The next thing to think about is how you’re going to store your food. This is important because you’ll have limited room in your bag, and improper storage may mean that space isn’t being used effectively. In addition, depending on what food you take, you’ll need storage that will prevent your food from spoiling.

On that note, you’ll want to choose foods that will last the whole trip. If you’re only hiking for a day or two, this may not be an issue. But then, be careful when taking meat on any trip, especially if it’s hot. Some good choices for food that won’t spoil are dehydrated meals that you can add water to, and lots of snacks like energy bars, energy gels, and seeds and nuts to snack on. Trail mix is another excellent choice, which you can make yourself or buy premade.

The next thing to think about is how you’ll get all the calories you need to last the trip. If you’re walking for a considerable distance, then lots of calorie-dense food will be your friends. This includes things like nuts and trail mix again, as well as a large evening meal, which will be your main opportunity to get a lot of calories in for the next day.

As well as food that won’t spoil and will have enough calories to keep you going, you need to think about managing your heavy load. Water and other liquids can increase the weight of your bag quickly. If you have access to water on route or at your campsite, make sure to take advantage of this rather than to carry all your water on your back. Dehydrated meals are, again, a great choice here as they are lightweight, as well as easy to prepare.