When using a wood burning stove ( Solo Stove or the Silver Fire Scout ) you can pick up wood as you walk along. You see some wood , stop pick it up and zip lock it then continue hiking. If there isn't any wood to be found then you can use a Trangia spirit burner ( 4 oz ) and some alcohol in place of the wood in either stove. Even lighter is the Evernew Titanium Burner ( 1.2 oz ) or half the weigh of a Cliff Energy Bar ( 2.4 oz ) I canoe a lot and I take a Nalgene bottle and put dried Beans and Rice in it , then add the proper amount of water , cap it and let it roll around in the bottom of the canoe all day. Supper time everything is re-hydrated and ready to cook. Just add it to a pot with some seasoning and get supper done.
My staple! I also eat a lot of individual wrapped sharp cheddar cheese - it keeps on the trail, no problem and nuts. I also use dried powdered beans - they are awesome, high calorie, high protein and fiber, and quick cooking.
You make great points. Regarding the old guy, with lentils etc., I use an insulated food jar for all my food cooking. Things like lentils, oatmeal, brown instant rice, and many other things including those noodle dinners cook fine if you just pour boiling water over them and seal the jar for a couple of hours. (Make dinner at lunchtime.) It also means clean-up, following your basic methods, is even easier. Pour in some boiling water, shake, and drink... very bear friendly. Then seal the jar back up.
Can you tell us what kind of stove you carry, and how much fuel you would need for a week of this kind of cooking? Thanks in advance and thanks for watching!
I use ethanol. For the "stove," I cut the bottom off an aluminum shaving cream container, punched a few holes around the upper part, and then tapered the top open part inward with pliers. It weighs 16g. and outperforms my trangia. I also use a Primus ETA pot 1L with a heat exchanger. It is a bit heavier, but much faster. I really just use it as a kettle. I usually travel with my daughter. In the summer, 1L will last about six days for both of us. We do not travel for longer than that, so I think on the AT you will use more as your appetite increases hiking weeks at a time. I use a Thermos Urban Elements food jar, 332g.. But no other dishes or mug etc. It works as a water carrier in a pinch. For breakfast, I just pour boiling water over oatmeal, then pack-up and leave. We eat after an hour or so of hiking
Because of a physical injury, I am locked into using one particular external frame backpack, a high volume pack I bought many years ago. The down side is that it weighs over 3 pounds. Other than the pack, I have been an ultralight hiker for the past 40 years. My big pack has an unusual frame, without which I could not carry a pack. And there is an additional benefit, the high volume. While others munch Kind or Cliff bars(with all the taste of those dry rice cakes) , I am pigging out on potato chips, pretzels, Cheetos, and real snacks. I have room for those high volume, high taste treats that don't fit into little packs. They are also high grease and thus, high energy. I love it ! ! ! I can also pack in a hurry, cramming in my tent or sleeping bag, with no compression packs, and no worries about volume. They just quickly disappear into the big pack, along with the rest of my gear. Also I have several suspension options, so I can easily move the weight around on the frame during the day, to reduce fatigue. I pay a couple of pounds, but I get my chips and other munchies.
I make my own dehydrated meals from foods I dehydrate myself.. I's fun, nutritious, always something I like, inexpensive and light weight.. I pack them in vacuum bags, rehydrate in th bags and eat from th bags.. When I'm finished I use a small amount of water to rinse th bag, if needed.. Then I roll or fold th bag, put it ino a zipper bag and toss it at th first chance.. This works best for me and my folks.. ..... Subbed and liked.. Keep up th good work.. It's not only good for newbies but helpful for old-timers, too..
I agree, planning a 2019 hike using home dehydrated foods. I have medical nutritional needs more or less requiring me to do this but I have to admit cooking time as flat broke mentioned do cause me concern.
I have never been instructed on how to clean my cookware... I have only done overnight hikes so I would simply take my dirty cookpot home to wash... I am glad to see how you are doing your pot cleanup... Thank you... :)
I’m a lazy lady... I hate using the pot and stove set up. In addition to being lazy (it’s a hassle to clean them while on trail) I’m also clumsy and I knock over my pot all the time. I realized right away it was not my thing. But I applaud hikers who have found a way to make good use of it.
I believe food can make or break a long hike. On just about any hike I have ever been on of a week or more, I would begin having serious cravings by day four or five. Different hikes, different cravings. Chocolate covered raisins. Cheese. Bologna sandwich. Chocolate milk. What do they have in common? Fat! You gotta have fat on a long hike. Two years ago I hike the John Muir Trail. My dinner was always a Mountain House dinner: good but -- as one of your viewers has already mentioned -- takes up a lot of room. More importantly, my lunch every day was a whole wheat tortilla wrap with summer sausage, cheese, mayo, and mustard. I never got tired of it. I would put it together in the morning during breakfast. Lunch was more often than not a few nibbles at a time. I looked forward to this. And after 21 days on the trail: no cravings. I also carried a quart envelope of powdered milk and two Carnation Breakfast Essentials for each evening. Mix in one quart of water. That works out to around 600 calories. Remember: your long distance hike isn't the time to lose weight. That will happen naturally. I lost about a pound a day on my hike (but I'm a big guy.) Remember: fat is your food friend on the trail! (Informative no-nonsense videos. New subscriber.)
bq688 ..... Ramens taste good but ar pure junk.. You up th food valu with a handful of dried veggies..I graduated from ramens to mamas oriental noodle soup.. It cooks th same way but tastes so much better and is a little more healthy.. I still add veggies..
My AT dinner almost every night was to cook a pack an entire knorr rice meal, added a pack of instant mashed potatoes, and a foil pack of tuna or salmon. Quite substantial. Lunch was almost always peanut butter, dried fruit and spam rolled up in a tortilla. x2 Favorite snack was peanut butter and jelly, by the spoonful, right outta the jar.
Thank you for pointing out that we pack our trash! I am always shocked and dismayed to find trash at and near shelters on the AT (and other trails). Very helpful and informative video. Thanks!
This is both interesting and highly educational. The highest calories I'm aware of per ounce are foods high in saturated fat. Fat has double the amount of calories as carbs. Two foods that I would suggest are butter, and coconut oil: Butter - 205 calories/ounce Coconut oil - 244 calories/ounce Slabs of butter can be added to your hot cup of coffee. Coconut oil can be consumed straight out of the packet. Chedder cheese is also a good source, 113 calories/ounce.
I too dislike the price of prepared trail foods, and don't want to spend time cooking lentils, peas, or things like that on the trail. I found several solutions. Amazon sells powdered cheese, eggs, potatoes, onions, beans, garlic and dried veggies to make your own trail food combinations. So do commercial restaurant supplies. Or you can cook those things at home, and dry them in a dehydrator. I have dried onions, carrots, potatoes, meat, peppers, and much more. After they are cooked and dried, they can be shredded, or powdered in a blender, to become very compact. They are cheap and keep well. One staple I use is backpacker fudge. Mix a small jar of peanut butter, small jar of honey, 1/4 cup of oil or bacon grease, and add powdered milk until it stiffens(chocolate chips are optional). No shortage of energy or protein there! You can mix it in a plastic bag using jars of everything bought off the shelf, and just carry away the fudge in the plastic bag. Another staple is dried beef, potatoes, onion, and oil mixed to make hash. I soak it for an hour before cooking or eat it uncooked. I have developed a taste for eating the same thing every day. It makes life easier, and the inclusion of spices can add variety. Tortillas can be eaten as bread, and cut into strips and dropped into any liquid soup or stew, making pretty good dumplings. The Cossacks, some of history's strongest warriors, were known to fight while living on oatmeal as their sole food. Of course you can add whatever you have to the oatmeal to flavor or increase energy. John Muir often carried several heads of lettuce, providing both food and drink. PS Dipping the frosting with bread seems messy. I prefer to eat it plain, with a spoon. Thanks for a good video, and see you in the woods.
tom jackson ..... I agree with everything you said.. Th fudge sounds great I'll give it a try.. I always carry a jar of pnut butter in my car and one in my pack.. Do you use natural pnut butter or pnut butter spread.? Natural pnut butter seem to have more oil and of course no bad stuff.. I mix pnut butter with cocoa mix to similar consistency.. Th fun of camping starts at home.. Don't forget to include kids.. Mine started hiking when they were toddlers, never knew they were staying in shape.. 'Just thought they were having fun, especially when we camped in a cave..
At home, I grind my own peanuts in a corona mill, and add a bit more peanut oil. But on the trail, I get the best available at the place I resupply. Most cheap peanut butter has had the expensive peanut oil pressed out, and had cheaper cottonseed oil added to replace it, along with salt and high fructose corn syrup. Because cotton is not a food crop, some bad chemicals are used on it, that can get into the oil. The corn syrup acts as a hunger stimulant (as does MSG), not good when hiking with a limited food supply. I too enjoy preparation, and use a dehydrator a lot, preparing potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, meat, other foods very economically.
Another excellent video! I too am a greybeard who was nudged into ultralight by necessity. Thanks for sharing. I love whole wheat bagels or whole wheat tortillas. I eat them with peanut butter pre mixed with honey (breakfast or lunch), or foil packed spam or tuna (lunch). My cheap & ultralight supper meal: 1 pack of Ramen , broken up to make it easier to eat with a spoon, and one cup of TVP - Textured Vegetable Protein, available at some health food stores. You could just soak it, but I like a hot meal at the end of the day. Alternative, Ramen and add a cup or half of a cup of powdered eggs. Both of those give some balance of protein and carbs. I also bought a gallon can of freeze dried black beans to add to ramen. Very inexpensive per serving. No cooking required, soak in hot or cold water.
When I was flat broke outside in the city and working, I ate tortillas with chocolate frosting sometimes instead of peanut butter and honey tortillas. Not because I liked it but it was the cheapest dessert.
Another item commonly found in thru-hiker backpacks is olive oil. I don't carry it because I have found the taste disagreeable when mixed with other trail foods. The Mountain House type meals can usually be found at hiker hostels along the AT. I have stopped carrying tuna and prefer slim jims instead. Years ago I heard a story about a guy who was determined to thru-hike the AT on nothing but Power Bars. He got as far north as Fontana Dam on the south edge of the Smoky National Park and had to leave the Trail due to gastro-intestinal problems.
Very helpful, thank you. I've been thinking of food other than the $freeze dried items. The pot scraper and bush cleanup idea of yours "I shall use". Great video!
+charlieofthemohawkvalleyny Glad you like the video! A heads up - a couple of times I have had to use a really sharp pair of scissors to give the white scrapers a really clean, sharp edge. Sometimes they come a little fuzzy from factory. I also have 're-sharpened' old ones with sharp scissors. I dont have to take much off to get the job done, just a hair or two. Good hiking and thanks for watching!
Enjoying your video series. Your voice reminds me of the FM disc jockeys in the old days :-). As you state the prepackaged meals (ie: Mountain House) can be more expensive way to eat while backpacking, but they are convenient. I do use the grocery store for some items as it adds to the variety and enables me to know what to look for when I do get to a grocery store while hiking. My main problem is that packaging on the commercial brands (ie: Mountain House) take up way to much room in the pack. A good portion of my backpacking is in an area that requires a bear container and commercial meals have to be repackaged. I have found the small cottage prepared meal vendors have scaled back the packaging quite a bit and still allow you to use the bag to re-hydrate the food, if that is what you want to do. The additives to these meals seem a lot less and the quality in my experience has been good. It is true you may have to order ahead of time, it is more expensive than the grocery store and you pay shipping, but I find it worth it to try and mix some of these meals in on every trip. There are probably several cottage vendors, but the two I have experience with and have been satisfied with both are Hawk Vittles and PackIt Gourmet. Thanks again for your videos, looking forward to the next one.
He might be one of those people that skips breakfast or maybe he's making up for a lack of calories during the day. I could see eating a higher protein meal in the evening since I read about how protein repairs muscles.
I have almost no money too, but I strongly recomend trying to get your hands on one med to small size titanium cooking pot. Titanium is very lightweight and will not rust. At all. And absolutely steer clear of anything that has a teflon surface as the teflon coating will tend to eventually flake away into your food.
I agree - a ti pot is worth the money .... for one thing they are nearly indestructible. Mine is 18 years old and looks pretty good. And thanks for watching!
Class of 2016 here, spent 3 months on the trail and did about half of the whole AT and I ate some weird stuff out there, seriously I combined food that should never be combined, like peanut butter and man n cheese sandwhiches, I really ate that, I had mac n cheese and peanut butter and bread and I was just so hungry lol, but once you start doing 13-20mile days you eat so much.
powdered peanut butter, powdered egg and water removed versions (home dehydrator and a seal-a-meal)...cook, measure, dehydrate, remeasure (to know how much water to pout back in), seal.
I've used some protein peanut butter powder mix on some of my longer hiking trips and thought that its been great to have, just thought I'd share and see what others think of it. It's GNC puredge powdered PB at a serving size of 2 tbsp. (I eat more then suggested) with 60 calories and 7g of protein. I honestly hate peanut butter but I like the taste of this stuff, its very light and cheap.
Coconut oil sounds like a great option- very high in calories and fat. The fat from coconuts is saturated, but is a type that the body is able to convert to energy quickly, unlike saturated fats that come from meats. It has a light flavor that is absolutely delicious!! I'll be using it to cook fish, beans and vegetables, and I bet it would add a great flavor to chicken too.
A possible food for high calories is food oils. They basically have about 120 calories (fats) per tablespoon (14-16 grams). Peanut butter has about 90 (60 are fat calories) calories per table spoon (16 grams). I guess a tablespoon or two at each meal would be good.
Good video. Just beginning to learn about hiking this trail. Only parts of it. Have always been interested in doing this. My husband sent off for info on Appalachian trail long before there was google and you tube so we're getting long in the tooth. I'm off to learn more. Keep it up!
plan is to begin section hikes between del.gap to bear mt. any good average on distence points to re up on provisions.I'm thinking could pack 4 days comfortable. multi grain mix nuts cranberry am. dried sausage cheese biskets noon ,tuna rice dinner,jar peanut butter in between,considering water not a problem,thanks again. Camp dog
you maybe monotone , but info makes up for it :) good work , thanx . i may never seriously hike , but for day hike and camping , a great source. rock on , bro !!
Irwin Cline Are you considering a section hike? Shenandoah National Park in Virginia contains about 90 miles of AT and the terrain there is easier than most of the rest of the AT. Many conveniences are close at hand in the park, like campgrounds, which also makes it a fine choice for day hikes on the AT. Even for someone considering a thru hike, I think a section hike in advance is a helpful experience. Good hiking and thanks for watching!
The only snack I saw in Wuhan was 100 year old eggs, sold at the railway station. The eggs were not actually 100 years old, but by the time you'd made your way through the crowd to the stall, they would be.
You should have tried the Rah Ga Mian. A bowl cost about $.75. I know of Chinese people whose main gripe about moving out of Wuhan was no more Rah Ga Mian. The other Wuhanese breakfast food was some field of deep fried french baguette. Great cuisine in Wuhan. I miss being able to get breakfast for around 2.00 consisting of two bowls of Rah Ga Mian and some friend french bread. Downtown near the river there is a statute to the man who invented Rah Ga Mian. I think his genius was to tweak the traditional Hankoo Noode dish into something accessible as a street food. Hankoo is of course one of the three neighborhoods of Wuhan. Wuhan was founded like 6,000 years ago.
I like knor packs as well, 1$ last I checked. Try Nido brand dry milk, best stuff by far. It has different fat contents and is intended for babies in places like Mexico but you can get it at Walmart. Clarified butter is high in calories per ounce and does not need to be refrigerated.
+flatbrokeoutside You can make your own by melting butter and then straining out the milk solids. It is a liquid at room temp. Commercially it is known as gee, and is sold at Trader Joes. Fat has a higher satiety value and dence calorically.
I would say he was an example of someone who discovered his expectations were off-base. To anyone heading to the AT for the first time, I would say don't cling to your expectations too tightly. And thanks for watching!
Thanks, good info. Would have liked to see a ranking matrix comparing the foods you listed. Calories on one axis, protien on the other. Diagional slices of matrix would be a prioritized food list. PB sureley would have been at the top but would help to highlight the items that are good both on calorie and protien. Just a thought.
Thanks for the calorie per ounce chart. It prompted me to look up my all-time fav combination: baked beans with bacon, hotdogs, and mustard. It looks like it would be in the vicinity of 110 calories per ounce. Yay!!! lol Also, happy to see the split peas on the list of nutritious foods. Another fav of mine is thick split pea with ham soup, and a big dollop of extra virgin olive oil. About the fuel scarcity issue, the solution to that is stay away from the App Trail. ;-) Oh, and cool on the cook kit!
Fuel isn't exactly scarce along the AT - Some folks including me are just interested in saving some pennies by making it last as long as practical. Good eating and thanks for watching!
Yes, carrying water in food is a mixed blessing. Somewhere there is a compromise, and I think that's right along the lines of the canned baked beans with some kind of meat protein. You can heat it right in the can, and use the can for something else.
Your case study is fallacious Lentils when soaked yes cook within 10 minutes But put the pot in a cozy and the carry on cooking so bring them to the boil and put aside Then rice/quinoa in a second pot and the same The rice left over night with dried fruits make an instant breakfast
Yet my friend found that plan vexatious, we can infer, because he abandoned his thru hike attempt almost immediately. It is not a question of could he have done it because in theory he could have. The question is did he want to once he understood first-hand the price to be paid on a trail where the physical demands of daily mileage are punishing, and can soon overpower every other consideration. For many, the AT is a place where preconceived notions go to die. If you haven't seen it yet, this video takes a closer look at extreme measures hikers have found they have to take to cover hundreds of miles on that trail, and the trail diet is only one consideration -- ruclips.net/video/pJQHlBxPtyM/видео.html -- And thanks for watching.
If you don't like/are tired of/are allergic to peanuts, Nutella is made with palm oil and hazelnuts. It contains 153 calories per ounce, and it's good stuff. It only sucks if you have bad teeth, because it will make you dance and swear if it gets in an open cavity. When I had a bad cavity, I ate the Nutella with a spoon to avoid the pain.
+Kristopher Goldsby MRE are read to eat, meaning they have the water weight in them, meaning they are to heavy and fail on calories per oz. They can weigh as much as 26oz for 1200 calories, or less then 50 calories per oz. The lightest of them are 18oz for 1200 calories, which is better at 67/oz, but still WAY too low. 5 days at 3600 calories with the lightest MRE is almost 17lb. A good average for backpacking food is 120cal/oz, which the same 5 days at 3600, is 9.4lb. The saving of 7.5lb is MASSIVE. This additional weight will cost miles, a good rule of thumb is 2lb = 1 mile on a long distance trek, which also effect time between resupply. Say you have 70 miles to the next resupply, and with a 30lb pack you can do 15 miles per day. But for 4 days of MRE, it will push your pack weight up to 34lb (base + water weight = 20.5), slowing your pass to 13 miles per day, meaning you will need a 5th day for food, adding almost another 4lb, meaning 11 miles per day to start, then 13, 14, 16 and 18 (total of 72). Vs the 4 days with 7.5lb of food, meaning a starting weight of 28lb, meaning a starting speed of 16 miles per day + one per day (total of 70). This is, in large part, why light packs and light food means so much. It Cascades. Light pack means you go fast, so less days between resupply meaning ever less weight, means less ankle problems meaning no heavy boots means ever faster.
I like that stuff too - thanks for mentioning it. I also find it appetizing enough even if I don't use hot water. If the water isn't too cold and I let it soak a couple of minutes, I can eat it no problem. Might be a bit crunchy but it doesn't bother me at all. And thanks for watching!
I actually like it kind of crunchy lol..........While here I'm going to mention years ago a member of one of the backpacking forums put together a little book called freezer bag meals or something like that.It's not a huge book and its all available on the net but the book was a nice touch and she was a ranger so it was worth it to me.But the point is you can buy bulk freeze dried foods online if you want to and make great easy meals for pretty cheap.The best part is it can all be done in a gallon ziplock bag that are useful and light.
Just want you to know how much I appreciate your videos. As I prepare for my 2018 thru hike, I've regarded your sage advice many times! I would sincerely appreciate you subscribing and following my journey, as I'm sure I could greatly benefit from your comments. Cheers, Windjammer
+Jeff Huebner I've mentioned that scraper in maybe four videos now and I don't think I mentioned I got the idea a long time ago from a woman on whiteblaze.net. When I read what she said, I cried "Brilliant!" haha .... She gave me the answer to a problem I couldn't figure out too well by myself. And thanks for watching!
dude your videos are awesome. I'm watching all of them before my thru hike. The only advice I have is to crop the images to 16:9, because most people will be viewing on a widescreen device. your information is top notch though.
Nice video. A lot of Mountain House meals can be found on Amazon for $5-6. A few of the breakfast ones are under $5. I've also seen them at Wal-Mart pretty cheaply. I've not hiked the AT, but I wonder if there would be a way to use Amazon prime with a smart phone to supplement drops or pick up replacement items like tarps, shoes, etc. Seems like two day shipping and mobile access could make that practical.
It is indeed quite possible to buy things online with a phone and have them delivered to a post office along the trail, or a business that accepts mail drops. This can require some planning and patience --- for example, if we arrive at the post office on Sunday we'll have to wait until it opens. It might be possible to have such an item forwarded ahead if we phone the post office. I just made another section hike. I met a guy who had a pair of new shoes shipped to a campground, only to find the campground closed when he got there. Apparently the owners went someplace and just closed it for a day. And thanks for watching!
I think that "two servings in a package of Mountain House" business is a joke everyone who has tried them gets by now :). Agree that for extended trips they are too expensive and should be considered more along the lines of a treat.
I scoured through the candy rack before my hike and found that Baby Ruth bars hold 10 calories more than any other name brand candy bar...wonder if it was the extra peanuts that gave it the edge?
I tried it a couple of times, enough to convince me it can be done. But I went back to the pot cause I usually throw extra stuff in, like a package of sandwich crackers, jerky, etc. Like I said, it's no problem getting it clean with a scraper. Last section hike I didn't even use a toothbrush - just scraper and water and got it quite clean. And thanks again for being a great viewer!
+andrew Mundekis You want to mail drop all your food? This will take some advance work. If it was me: 1- I would buy David Miller's 2016 'The A.T. Guide' (it's on Amazon now.) 2 - I would look at each and every entry for all the stores and hostels etc etc to see who takes maildrops. Those who do are identified. I would use this 2016 book to get the latest info cause anything else might be outdated in places. Some hostels charge money to accept a maildrop if you don't stay there. 3 - I would note all the mail drop places and see exactly where they are and how many miles from one to the next. 4 - (This might be the hard part) I would try to figure out how long it would take me to walk from one drop to the other, to know how much food to include in each drop. I would be inclined to make each drop at least a week's worth. 5 - I also would make a note of where the post offices are. You can send stuff to yourself general delivery. Scroll to the bottom of this on how to do it in the U.S. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#United_States This is how I would get started. You can read a lot about mail drops at www.whiteblaze.net Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
i made.myself a full pot of.chilli useing 5 tea lights during a week long power outtage a few years back. those little suckers pump out some pretty substantial heat.
Great videos flatbrokeoutside!!!! Love your insight and well put together videos!! Disclaimer: Im gonna sound like an a##hole but by no means is that my intent. I love you all....Not a damn vegetable on the list. I dont get it. Plenty of places to get canned or dried veggies and meat and I NEVER hear of anyone procuring these things on the trail. I mean, I get it, a can of greens is heavy as far as weight goes, but, really? If you can stuff your face in town with tons of veggies and healthy meats (or even tons of veggies for vegans like beans and rice/quinoa, etc) then why all the crapola like mac n cheese, crackers, granola, etc? Now, It really comes down to what you can afford and pack, and carbs are a great idea, but as a touring cyclist (crossing the US numerous times by bike) who burns 2000 cal in a days ride (60-100 miles) and is dirty as sh#t, I know that there are two major things you have to take care of- your immune system (vegetables and protein) and your guts (more vegetables and protein). All this carby, cheesey, salty, ramen, bready, starvation crop sustenance is well and good for a couple of days but, if you think about what our nomadic gatherer/hunter ancestors ate it was mostly veggies and then meat and, by the way, was great for us for hundreds of thousands of years of long distance travel. I feel that this is one reason why people "bonk". Or give up or hit the wall or whatever. Id gladly trade the weight in camping gear (a hammock instead of a tent, unflattering moisture wicking clothes vs. that cotton concert t-shirt I love so much) for the weight in canned greens and meats (never the best quality but hey were walking 2000 miles with limited resources). Maybe someone can explain to me the benefits of cake icing soaked bread and MSG ridden noodles is the mainstay. Raw veggies dont keep, yes. But somebody clear this up for me. love all you hiker trash.
+complementarychaos Eating unbalanced meals on the trail is a tradition that stretches back to John Wayne with nothing but beans and bacon on a cattle drive. I also have never seen canned veggies on the trail but I have seen (as the video said) canned meat and tuna in the vacuum foil packs. Hikers have to carry their own trash out and this has to be a factor in any anti-can bias. I have heard the claim canned veggies are robbed of their essential vitamins or something but I dunno how accurate that is. Mountain House sells f/d sides of corn, peas and green beans about $3.70 a pop in Sept. 2015 (says their website) yet I have never seen these in stores. By way of further example - I counted, I think it was, 24 current MRE menus and 21 of them have an entree based on noodles, rice, or meat and gravy. I do not know the answer. Perhaps it will take revolutionary thinking and an increase in market demand to create lighter options, like veggies in vacuum packs. Good hiking and cycling - thanks for writing and thanks for watching!
Thanks for the reply, friend! I think this spring Im gonna dehydrate some veggies and bring them on long hike and see how i feel. Then do the same long hike with canned veggies. Ideally, Id like to pack as many fresh veggies with me on the hike but alas, nature designed them to be eaten within a few days (greens especially). Ill do some experiments and let you know what Ive come up with!! Happy hiking!!
when people say cook away from the shelter because it attracts mice how far are we talking about? And the same when stealth camping? More importantly (we've talked about ponchos before) when the weather turns and I feel like cooking in the vestibule... Should I grab my poncho+cordage and setup a makeshift kitchen away from camp and then cook? (I now see the poncho in triple duty) Speaking of trail smell... put on sleepy clothes after dinner? Where to the smelly clothes go assuming they smell like dinner?
A main point to remember is that animals from mice to bears will be a problem in a specific area if they find something to eat every time they visit that area. If we can manage to stealth camp in an area where these animals have found nothing to eat in the past, odds are very low we will encounter such animals there. Tuna and some other types of fish have a powerful smell and I avoid them. If we can manage to avoid spilling food on ourselves, we shouldn't have much of a problem with food odor on our clothes. At shelters - The idea is if nobody eats inside the shelter, there will be no crumbs etc that will interest mice. We want them to stay out of the shelter building because mice come out at night and that's when we're in there trying to sleep. I have slept in shelters that seemed to have no mice. Something makes a difference. At some places they will enter our tent if at all possible. Regardless of whether we cooked in the tent or not. So we make sure there's no food of any kind in our tent and the food is hanging in a bag. This way, at least we won't be rewarding the little SOB for running across our face as we try to sleep. Which they will do. And thanks again for watching.
I got into the habit of cooking enough for lunch AND dinner at my lunchtime stop. I would eat lunch on the spot, then pack the mess of stuff into a Ziploc or a sealable container to eat cold at dinner. That way the cooking odors didn't draw attention at my nighttime spot and I spent less time cooking.
I am shocked that Ramen bombs did not make it into this video... But that being said, hikers that don't bring nuts as a part of their food confuse that crap out of me. I have seen hikers who must of spend $4K on getting super light gear and then lose all that light weight by poor food choices. If you are going for 5 days without a resupply the difference in weight between 75 calories per oz and 125/oz is 5.3lbs. Peanuts are great because the are cheap and 168 calories per oz with protein. But all nuts are great and some are more extreme then peanuts (which are technically a nut, but nm that). Macadamia Nuts win on pure cal/oz, at a whopping 203/oz, 1lb of Macadamia Nuts is 3,248 calories, though it is a LOT of fat. Cashew are a personal favorite of mine, and also run 163/oz (dry roasted). I personally dislike tuna, but it is not a great trail food on the cal/oz and dry salami is a better choice for meat to add.
The calories listed on food labels are useless. Whether they were measured by bomb calorimeter or the Atwater system, those numbers do not reflect how the food is digested. Doesn't matter how many calories a food contains, if it doesn't get digested fully, then you don't get all of the calories. You are better off simply paying attention to how you well you digest your food at home, how much energy or weight you gain, to find the best type of food for you on the trails. Everyone is different and will digest different food with different efficiency.
I have not seen anyone use MREs on the AT. Probably because they aren't too available in stores. I live near a city of a million people and I know of only one store there that sells them. They are, of course, readily available online. And thanks for watching!
Is there a particular ingredient that critters don't like? I'm thinking if I put frank's redhot on everything except maybe poptarts would I be less likely to be disturbed? I'm certain I still need a kitchen.
Since bears and raccoons will eat stuff that's half rotten, I don't think anything we add to food can discourage them. Bears have an unreal sense of smell and if they get their paws on it they'll eat it.
My pot and cup are both MSR Titan. The current version of the pot weighs 4.2 oz., with lid. Filled to the brim it holds a bit over 3 1/4 cups, which is 26.5 fluid ounces (783 ml) checked with my kitchen measuring cups. I would emphasize that when I cook a trail meal, the pot is virtually never more than about 3/4 full. This is what I want - I don't want to be spilling anything and I don't. This means I think I could not get by with anything smaller and anything bigger is more than I need. When my daughter went on the AT with me I bought her one, also - figuring two pots is lighter than one big pot and two bowls. Also, we preferred to eat different meals. The cup weighs two ounces and holds 13 fluid ounces (380ml) - I never put more than 10 fluid ounces in it if I am drinking out of it. They were not cheap, but when I bought them about 16 years ago I figured I would never need to buy anything else for backpacking. So far, I have not. And thanks again for watching!
wait, was the rice & noodles on those weight too cal/protein charts before or after hydration? because that could drastically change the chart if you put their hydrated weight up there as we carry the rice dry.
Short answer - What I do personally is whatever I can manage to stomach. :) Longer answer - The garlic noodles directions list a lower calorie alternative of skipping the margarine or butter and using skim milk. I figured skipping the milk and using water is even lower calories. Pretty much ditto with the mac and cheese. Adding some olive oil to either (which I have done) helps matters. Several important points in no particular order - I test cooked these kinds of things at home to see if I can really choke them down. Being a section hiker I certainly could have carried things like powered milk or fancy meals dehydrated at home. Same applies to the freeze dried stuff, which I once used. These are all options if we section hike up to two weeks at a time and decide to carry at least all our entrees when we start out. If we plan to be on the trail for weeks at a time covering hundreds of miles, everything gets more grim. Food selections in stores close to the trail tend to be limited, at least compared to what we would find in a huge supermarket in a big town. Hikers can carry some types of vegetables if they eat them fairly quickly after purchase - when they can find them. Some people get all their food mail dropped to them. It can work but it takes planning and it sure helps to have someone at home to mail the material over a period of several months. Many folks do whatever they have to do to get by and I am sure that leads to the kind of bizarre choices this video discusses. Long distance hikers find they are forced to accept the idea they will smell terrible, that their socks sometimes will feel as if coated in slime, that their feet and knees will hurt, that their hair will get greasy, that several days of rain will leave practically everything damp, and that they will experience dirt in ways they had never before imagined. Subjected to these conditions for long periods, it's no surprise to me many of them abandon any hope of the normal diet they would eat at home. On top of all this, I found that a couple of things I enjoy eating at home I could not eat on the trail. Topping this list was chocolate - on a long hike I cannot stand to even look at the stuff. I hope this helps a little and thanks for watching!
+flatbrokeoutside ahh I see. I've been wondering this for a while now :) so thanks for the quick response! I guess it's true... If you don't like it at home, you won't like it on the trail
+flatbrokeoutside I live in Canada, so there is a difference in that kind of things. Here, places like the bulk barn have all sorts of bag your own quick cook beans and so do grocery stores. Open your eyes when you go to dried beans section of grocery store. Things like red lentils and yellow split peas also. They provide more energy as they are a slower burning carb and also soluable fibre and protein. Soup mixes, with no fancy name or packaging and add some dehyydrated onion and garlic flakes in a spice mixture to. MSG and chemical crap stay away from.
+flatbrokeoutside Yeah I make a lot of soups and when I was younger did interior canoe style camping and caught fish to eat also. A lot different than trail hiking, but I see no reason some of the quick cook stuff would apply in your situation and oatmeal to. LOL.
When using a wood burning stove ( Solo Stove or the Silver Fire Scout ) you can pick up wood as you walk along. You see some wood , stop pick it up and zip lock it then continue hiking. If there isn't any wood to be found then you can use a Trangia spirit burner ( 4 oz ) and some alcohol in place of the wood in either stove. Even lighter is the Evernew Titanium Burner ( 1.2 oz ) or half the weigh of a Cliff Energy Bar ( 2.4 oz )
I canoe a lot and I take a Nalgene bottle and put dried Beans and Rice in it , then add the proper amount of water , cap it and let it roll around in the bottom of the canoe all day. Supper time everything is re-hydrated and ready to cook. Just add it to a pot with some seasoning and get supper done.
+Chuck Littleton Good ideas and thanks again for watching!
oatmeal with a big scoop of peanutbutter is good morning camping breakfast
You sir, like myself, are "in the know."
The Downtrodden You just became a hero of mine.
My staple! I also eat a lot of individual wrapped sharp cheddar cheese - it keeps on the trail, no problem and nuts. I also use dried powdered beans - they are awesome, high calorie, high protein and fiber, and quick cooking.
You make great points. Regarding the old guy, with lentils etc., I use an insulated food jar for all my food cooking. Things like lentils, oatmeal, brown instant rice, and many other things including those noodle dinners cook fine if you just pour boiling water over them and seal the jar for a couple of hours. (Make dinner at lunchtime.) It also means clean-up, following your basic methods, is even easier. Pour in some boiling water, shake, and drink... very bear friendly. Then seal the jar back up.
Can you tell us what kind of stove you carry, and how much fuel you would need for a week of this kind of cooking? Thanks in advance and thanks for watching!
I use ethanol. For the "stove," I cut the bottom off an aluminum shaving cream container, punched a few holes around the upper part, and then tapered the top open part inward with pliers. It weighs 16g. and outperforms my trangia.
I also use a Primus ETA pot 1L with a heat exchanger. It is a bit heavier, but much faster. I really just use it as a kettle.
I usually travel with my daughter. In the summer, 1L will last about six days for both of us. We do not travel for longer than that, so I think on the AT you will use more as your appetite increases hiking weeks at a time.
I use a Thermos Urban Elements food jar, 332g.. But no other dishes or mug etc. It works as a water carrier in a pinch. For breakfast, I just pour boiling water over oatmeal, then pack-up and leave. We eat after an hour or so of hiking
This is a great idea on the soup thermos! I think I will incorporate this method into my hike.
Great video and I like how you took the time to make the calorie chart/graph.. Appreciate the details sir. KEEP EXPLORING.
+BooTYwiZARd Glad you liked the video and thanks for watching!
Because of a physical injury, I am locked into using one particular external frame backpack, a high volume pack I bought many years ago. The down side is that it weighs over 3 pounds. Other than the pack, I have been an ultralight hiker for the past 40 years. My big pack has an unusual frame, without which I could not carry a pack. And there is an additional benefit, the high volume.
While others munch Kind or Cliff bars(with all the taste of those dry rice cakes) , I am pigging out on potato chips, pretzels, Cheetos, and real snacks. I have room for those high volume, high taste treats that don't fit into little packs. They are also high grease and thus, high energy. I love it ! ! !
I can also pack in a hurry, cramming in my tent or sleeping bag, with no compression packs, and no worries about volume. They just quickly disappear into the big pack, along with the rest of my gear. Also I have several suspension options, so I can easily move the weight around on the frame during the day, to reduce fatigue.
I pay a couple of pounds, but I get my chips and other munchies.
I usually end up jamming everything into the pack in a hurry also. :) Thanks for sharing your experience on this and thanks again for watching!
At 6'1". and a fit 200 pounds, a pound or two of gear one way or the other is no big deal.
He's not complaining about it. Why are you being so rude?
"...he abandoned his hike after 4 days and went home" - Love it.
I have wondered if I should feel guilty for not trying to talk him out of that food system. No easy answer to that one. And thanks for watching.
flatbrokeoutside Nah. I'd be willing to bet he had already considered workable items and chose to ignore them.
I make my own dehydrated meals from foods I dehydrate myself.. I's fun, nutritious, always something I like, inexpensive and light weight.. I pack them in vacuum bags, rehydrate in th bags and eat from th bags.. When I'm finished I use a small amount of water to rinse th bag, if needed.. Then I roll or fold th bag, put it ino a zipper bag and toss it at th first chance.. This works best for me and my folks..
..... Subbed and liked.. Keep up th good work.. It's not only good for newbies but helpful for old-timers, too..
Mrhycannon Thanks and thanks for watching!
flatbrokeoutside
welcome
I agree, planning a 2019 hike using home dehydrated foods. I have medical nutritional needs more or less requiring me to do this but I have to admit cooking time as flat broke mentioned do cause me concern.
I have never been instructed on how to clean my cookware... I have only done overnight hikes so I would simply take my dirty cookpot home to wash... I am glad to see how you are doing your pot cleanup... Thank you... :)
ZiggZagg11 You're welcome and thanks for watching!
I’m a lazy lady... I hate using the pot and stove set up. In addition to being lazy (it’s a hassle to clean them while on trail) I’m also clumsy and I knock over my pot all the time. I realized right away it was not my thing. But I applaud hikers who have found a way to make good use of it.
Going stoveless is increasingly popular, so you have lots of company! And thanks for watching!
Thanks so much for sharing all of your tips! Balancing "healthy" with easy and quick to prepare is harder than it sounds!
The Hungry Hungry Hyker Very true. And thanks for watching!
I believe food can make or break a long hike. On just about any hike I have ever been on of a week or more, I would begin having serious cravings by day four or five. Different hikes, different cravings. Chocolate covered raisins. Cheese. Bologna sandwich. Chocolate milk. What do they have in common? Fat! You gotta have fat on a long hike. Two years ago I hike the John Muir Trail. My dinner was always a Mountain House dinner: good but -- as one of your viewers has already mentioned -- takes up a lot of room. More importantly, my lunch every day was a whole wheat tortilla wrap with summer sausage, cheese, mayo, and mustard. I never got tired of it. I would put it together in the morning during breakfast. Lunch was more often than not a few nibbles at a time. I looked forward to this. And after 21 days on the trail: no cravings. I also carried a quart envelope of powdered milk and two Carnation Breakfast Essentials for each evening. Mix in one quart of water. That works out to around 600 calories. Remember: your long distance hike isn't the time to lose weight. That will happen naturally. I lost about a pound a day on my hike (but I'm a big guy.) Remember: fat is your food friend on the trail! (Informative no-nonsense videos. New subscriber.)
bq688 Thanks for sharing and thanks for subscribing!
bq688
..... Ramens taste good but ar pure junk.. You up th food valu with a handful of dried veggies..I graduated from ramens to mamas oriental noodle soup.. It cooks th same way but tastes so much better and is a little more healthy.. I still add veggies..
My AT dinner almost every night was to cook a pack an entire knorr rice meal, added a pack of instant mashed potatoes, and a foil pack of tuna or salmon. Quite substantial. Lunch was almost always peanut butter, dried fruit and spam rolled up in a tortilla. x2 Favorite snack was peanut butter and jelly, by the spoonful, right outta the jar.
Good system. And thanks for watching!
Thank you for pointing out that we pack our trash! I am always shocked and dismayed to find trash at and near shelters on the AT (and other trails). Very helpful and informative video. Thanks!
Chanda Harkins I agree completely. Seeing trash like that is upsetting. And thanks for watching!
This is both interesting and highly educational.
The highest calories I'm aware of per ounce are foods high in saturated fat. Fat has double the amount of calories as carbs. Two foods that I would suggest are butter, and coconut oil:
Butter - 205 calories/ounce
Coconut oil - 244 calories/ounce
Slabs of butter can be added to your hot cup of coffee. Coconut oil can be consumed straight out of the packet.
Chedder cheese is also a good source, 113 calories/ounce.
Thanks for watching!
I too dislike the price of prepared trail foods, and don't want to spend time cooking lentils, peas, or things like that on the trail. I found several solutions.
Amazon sells powdered cheese, eggs, potatoes, onions, beans, garlic and dried veggies to make your own trail food combinations. So do commercial restaurant supplies. Or you can cook those things at home, and dry them in a dehydrator. I have dried onions, carrots, potatoes, meat, peppers, and much more. After they are cooked and dried, they can be shredded, or powdered in a blender, to become very compact. They are cheap and keep well.
One staple I use is backpacker fudge. Mix a small jar of peanut butter, small jar of honey, 1/4 cup of oil or bacon grease, and add powdered milk until it stiffens(chocolate chips are optional). No shortage of energy or protein there! You can mix it in a plastic bag using jars of everything bought off the shelf, and just carry away the fudge in the plastic bag. Another staple is dried beef, potatoes, onion, and oil mixed to make hash. I soak it for an hour before cooking or eat it uncooked. I have developed a taste for eating the same thing every day. It makes life easier, and the inclusion of spices can add variety. Tortillas can be eaten as bread, and cut into strips and dropped into any liquid soup or stew, making pretty good dumplings.
The Cossacks, some of history's strongest warriors, were known to fight while living on oatmeal as their sole food. Of course you can add whatever you have to the oatmeal to flavor or increase energy. John Muir often carried several heads of lettuce, providing both food and drink.
PS Dipping the frosting with bread seems messy. I prefer to eat it plain, with a spoon.
Thanks for a good video, and see you in the woods.
tom jackson Thanks for the tips and thanks for watching!
tom jackson
..... I agree with everything you said.. Th fudge sounds great I'll give it a try.. I always carry a jar of pnut butter in my car and one in my pack.. Do you use natural pnut butter or pnut butter spread.? Natural pnut butter seem to have more oil and of course no bad stuff.. I mix pnut butter with cocoa mix to similar consistency.. Th fun of camping starts at home.. Don't forget to include kids.. Mine started hiking when they were toddlers, never knew they were staying in shape.. 'Just thought they were having fun, especially when we camped in a cave..
At home, I grind my own peanuts in a corona mill, and add a bit more peanut oil. But on the trail, I get the best available at the place I resupply.
Most cheap peanut butter has had the expensive peanut oil pressed out, and had cheaper cottonseed oil added to replace it, along with salt and high fructose corn syrup. Because cotton is not a food crop, some bad chemicals are used on it, that can get into the oil. The corn syrup acts as a hunger stimulant (as does MSG), not good when hiking with a limited food supply. I too enjoy preparation, and use a dehydrator a lot, preparing potatoes, tomatoes, onions, carrots, meat, other foods very economically.
tom jackson
Another excellent video! I too am a greybeard who was nudged into ultralight by necessity. Thanks for sharing.
I love whole wheat bagels or whole wheat tortillas. I eat them
with peanut butter pre mixed with honey (breakfast or lunch), or foil packed
spam or tuna (lunch). My cheap & ultralight supper meal: 1 pack of Ramen ,
broken up to make it easier to eat with a spoon, and one cup of TVP - Textured
Vegetable Protein, available at some health food stores. You could just soak
it, but I like a hot meal at the end of the day. Alternative, Ramen and add a cup
or half of a cup of powdered eggs. Both of those give some balance of protein
and carbs. I also bought a gallon can of freeze dried black beans to add to
ramen. Very inexpensive per serving. No cooking required, soak in hot or cold
water.
Thanks for the tips and thanks again for watching!
When I was flat broke outside in the city and working, I ate tortillas with chocolate frosting sometimes instead of peanut butter and honey tortillas. Not because I liked it but it was the cheapest dessert.
I know what you mean, thanks for sharing! And thanks a million for watching!
Another item commonly found in thru-hiker backpacks is olive oil. I don't carry it because I have found the taste disagreeable when mixed with other trail foods. The Mountain House type meals can usually be found at hiker hostels along the AT. I have stopped carrying tuna and prefer slim jims instead. Years ago I heard a story about a guy who was determined to thru-hike the AT on nothing but Power Bars. He got as far north as Fontana Dam on the south edge of the Smoky National Park and had to leave the Trail due to gastro-intestinal problems.
Appalachian Swede Good tip about the hostels. Thanks for watching!
Appalachian Snapsho
It is very helpful video.
I think food is a key of happy trails.
Please keep uploading your experiences.
Gyesoon Lee I have many more videos planned. And thanks for watching!
Very helpful, thank you. I've been thinking of food other than the $freeze dried items. The pot scraper and bush cleanup idea of yours "I shall use". Great video!
+charlieofthemohawkvalleyny Glad you like the video! A heads up - a couple of times I have had to use a really sharp pair of scissors to give the white scrapers a really clean, sharp edge. Sometimes they come a little fuzzy from factory. I also have 're-sharpened' old ones with sharp scissors. I dont have to take much off to get the job done, just a hair or two. Good hiking and thanks for watching!
Yet another great video. Your videos are always informative and hilarious! Your efforts are appreciated.
+Hiker Feet Thank you and thanks again for watching!
Enjoying your video series. Your voice reminds me of the FM disc jockeys in the old days :-). As you state the prepackaged meals (ie: Mountain House) can be more expensive way to eat while backpacking, but they are convenient. I do use the grocery store for some items as it adds to the variety and enables me to know what to look for when I do get to a grocery store while hiking. My main problem is that packaging on the commercial brands (ie: Mountain House) take up way to much room in the pack. A good portion of my backpacking is in an area that requires a bear container and commercial meals have to be repackaged. I have found the small cottage prepared meal vendors have scaled back the packaging quite a bit and still allow you to use the bag to re-hydrate the food, if that is what you want to do. The additives to these meals seem a lot less and the quality in my experience has been good. It is true you may have to order ahead of time, it is more expensive than the grocery store and you pay shipping, but I find it worth it to try and mix some of these meals in on every trip. There are probably several cottage vendors, but the two I have experience with and have been satisfied with both are Hawk Vittles and PackIt Gourmet. Thanks again for your videos, looking forward to the next one.
Tom Bebee Thanks for the tips and thanks for watching!
Extremely useful and interesting information!
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Loved the video. I found your channel a couple days ago and have enjoyed it quite a lot! Yours and Darwin, Dixie and Hiker Jare may favorites.
Glad you liked the video and thanks for being a viewer!
The frosting and bread thing would be great for really fast energy if you ate it at a midway point during the day, but at night it makes less sense.
+Brock Jenkins Good point. And thanks for watching!
He might be one of those people that skips breakfast or maybe he's making up for a lack of calories during the day. I could see eating a higher protein meal in the evening since I read about how protein repairs muscles.
I have almost no money too, but I strongly recomend trying to get your hands on one med to small size titanium cooking pot. Titanium is very lightweight and will not rust. At all. And absolutely steer clear of anything that has a teflon surface as the teflon coating will tend to eventually flake away into your food.
I agree - a ti pot is worth the money .... for one thing they are nearly indestructible. Mine is 18 years old and looks pretty good. And thanks for watching!
glad you took the time for the video's you do great channel
Barry Weigle Thanks for watching!
Good tips as usual. I'm way into raisins, too.
Thanks again for watching!
I was gnawing on a pepperoni link while canoeing down the Delaware Water Gap. It's like a camping delicacy
Dan Tyler Tasty stuff! Thanks for watching!
I just found your channel and subbed. Great information, thank you!
Glad you like the channel and thanks a million for subbing!
Class of 2016 here, spent 3 months on the trail and did about half of the whole AT and I ate some weird stuff out there, seriously I combined food that should never be combined, like peanut butter and man n cheese sandwhiches, I really ate that, I had mac n cheese and peanut butter and bread and I was just so hungry lol, but once you start doing 13-20mile days you eat so much.
That sounds like a pretty tasty sandwich to me! ;) Thanks for sharing your experience and thanks a million for watching!
powdered peanut butter, powdered egg and water removed versions (home dehydrator and a seal-a-meal)...cook, measure, dehydrate, remeasure (to know how much water to pout back in), seal.
I've used some protein peanut butter powder mix on some of my longer hiking trips and thought that its been great to have, just thought I'd share and see what others think of it. It's GNC puredge powdered PB at a serving size of 2 tbsp. (I eat more then suggested) with 60 calories and 7g of protein. I honestly hate peanut butter but I like the taste of this stuff, its very light and cheap.
chriss daniell I definitely will have to give that powder a try. And thanks for watching!
Great video! Lots of useful info I'll remember on my first thru next year.
+Brett Wilshe Have a great hike and thanks for watching!
Coconut oil sounds like a great option- very high in calories and fat. The fat from coconuts is saturated, but is a type that the body is able to convert to energy quickly, unlike saturated fats that come from meats. It has a light flavor that is absolutely delicious!! I'll be using it to cook fish, beans and vegetables, and I bet it would add a great flavor to chicken too.
+Madeline Knowles Excellent tip! Thanks for watching!
+flatbrokeoutside And thanks for posting!!
Not a thru hiker (yet) but I do some backpacking. Olive oil: 200 cal/oz mix with pasta or just drink straight.
+MrRickroll23 Yeah, that's some calories for sure! And thanks for watching!
A possible food for high calories is food oils. They basically have about 120 calories (fats) per tablespoon (14-16 grams). Peanut butter has about 90 (60 are fat calories) calories per table spoon (16 grams). I guess a tablespoon or two at each meal would be good.
+trailkeeper Good tip and thanks for watching!
Good video. Just beginning to learn about hiking this trail. Only parts of it. Have always been interested in doing this. My husband sent off for info on Appalachian trail long before there was google and you tube so we're getting long in the tooth. I'm off to learn more. Keep it up!
+Deborah Mauck Glad you liked the video and thanks for watching!
Never thought about peanut butter. Thanks! Good to know!
Some people say they get tired of it. I never do. And thanks for watching!
I would take both peanut butter and honey, that's a win win in so many ways, and when I say honey, I mean 100 percent honey.
I'm just getting into long-form hiking and bikepacking, subbed!
Thanks for subbing and hope you have some great hikes!
single serving of Spam is great for calories w/t instant potatoes... great info thanks for the video
A lot of us will eat Spam and be glad to have it! Thanks a million for watching!
Great video! One recommendation I'll make is to consider fiber rich foods, for less messy poops!
Good idea, and thanks for watching!
VERY helpful. Thank you so much for all this great info !
Glad you liked the video and thanks a million for watching!
plan is to begin section hikes between del.gap to bear mt. any good average on distence points to re up on provisions.I'm thinking could pack 4 days comfortable. multi grain mix nuts cranberry am. dried sausage cheese biskets noon ,tuna rice dinner,jar peanut butter in between,considering water not a problem,thanks again. Camp dog
you maybe monotone , but info makes up for it :) good work , thanx . i may never seriously hike , but for day hike and camping , a great source. rock on , bro !!
Monotone? I was sure there was a second tone in there someplace. :) Glad you like the videos and thanks again for watching!
:) dont change a thing ; signature
Someday, A drone will deliver 3 hot meals a day to each hiker who signs up for DroneFood.com
Really enjoy your videos.Down to earth w/o male ego. Considering trying the AT at 67 and not the best of health
Irwin Cline Are you considering a section hike? Shenandoah National Park in Virginia contains about 90 miles of AT and the terrain there is easier than most of the rest of the AT. Many conveniences are close at hand in the park, like campgrounds, which also makes it a fine choice for day hikes on the AT. Even for someone considering a thru hike, I think a section hike in advance is a helpful experience. Good hiking and thanks for watching!
A tasty dish is ramen noodles (strained) with peanut butter and tabasco sauce. This recipe is based on Hankoo noodle dish from Wuhan China.
Sounds pretty good - I'll try it! And thanks again for watching!
The only snack I saw in Wuhan was 100 year old eggs, sold at the railway station. The eggs were not actually 100 years old, but by the time you'd made your way through the crowd to the stall, they would be.
You should have tried the Rah Ga Mian. A bowl cost about $.75. I know of Chinese people whose main gripe about moving out of Wuhan was no more Rah Ga Mian. The other Wuhanese breakfast food was some field of deep fried french baguette. Great cuisine in Wuhan. I miss being able to get breakfast for around 2.00 consisting of two bowls of Rah Ga Mian and some friend french bread. Downtown near the river there is a statute to the man who invented Rah Ga Mian. I think his genius was to tweak the traditional Hankoo Noode dish into something accessible as a street food. Hankoo is of course one of the three neighborhoods of Wuhan. Wuhan was founded like 6,000 years ago.
I like knor packs as well, 1$ last I checked. Try Nido brand dry milk, best stuff by far. It has different fat contents and is intended for babies in places like Mexico but you can get it at Walmart. Clarified butter is high in calories per ounce and does not need to be refrigerated.
Interesting point about clarified butter. I don't think I've ever seen it for sale. Is it a liquid or more of a solid? And thanks for watching!
+flatbrokeoutside You can make your own by melting butter and then straining out the milk solids. It is a liquid at room temp. Commercially it is known as gee, and is sold at Trader Joes. Fat has a higher satiety value and dence calorically.
jerky...peanut butter..skittles...OMG mashed potatoes and ramen....meals for kings.
Agreed! And thanks for watching!
Great tips! I can't believe that guy thought half an hour cook times would work on trail!
I would say he was an example of someone who discovered his expectations were off-base. To anyone heading to the AT for the first time, I would say don't cling to your expectations too tightly. And thanks for watching!
Thanks, good info. Would have liked to see a ranking matrix comparing the foods you listed. Calories on one axis, protien on the other. Diagional slices of matrix would be a prioritized food list. PB sureley would have been at the top but would help to highlight the items that are good both on calorie and protien. Just a thought.
Minion Man Not a bad idea. Maybe I'll give it a shot later. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for the calorie per ounce chart. It prompted me to look up my all-time fav combination: baked beans with bacon, hotdogs, and mustard. It looks like it would be in the vicinity of 110 calories per ounce. Yay!!! lol Also, happy to see the split peas on the list of nutritious foods. Another fav of mine is thick split pea with ham soup, and a big dollop of extra virgin olive oil. About the fuel scarcity issue, the solution to that is stay away from the App Trail. ;-) Oh, and cool on the cook kit!
Fuel isn't exactly scarce along the AT - Some folks including me are just interested in saving some pennies by making it last as long as practical. Good eating and thanks for watching!
Yes, carrying water in food is a mixed blessing. Somewhere there is a compromise, and I think that's right along the lines of the canned baked beans with some kind of meat protein. You can heat it right in the can, and use the can for something else.
I just found your channel last night. Awesome information!
+joe Progar Thanks for watching!
I eat smoked fish in cans, small potatos in aluminum foil thrown into the ashes, falafel ( chickpea ) balls, peanuts, instant coffee.
Thanks for the video, it was very educational.
+william coarsey Thanks for watching!
Great Video, I'll pass it on to others.
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Your case study is fallacious
Lentils when soaked yes cook within 10 minutes
But put the pot in a cozy and the carry on cooking
so bring them to the boil and put aside
Then rice/quinoa in a second pot and the same
The rice left over night with dried fruits make an instant breakfast
Yet my friend found that plan vexatious, we can infer, because he abandoned his thru hike attempt almost immediately. It is not a question of could he have done it because in theory he could have. The question is did he want to once he understood first-hand the price to be paid on a trail where the physical demands of daily mileage are punishing, and can soon overpower every other consideration. For many, the AT is a place where preconceived notions go to die. If you haven't seen it yet, this video takes a closer look at extreme measures hikers have found they have to take to cover hundreds of miles on that trail, and the trail diet is only one consideration -- ruclips.net/video/pJQHlBxPtyM/видео.html -- And thanks for watching.
If you don't like/are tired of/are allergic to peanuts, Nutella is made with palm oil and hazelnuts. It contains 153 calories per ounce, and it's good stuff. It only sucks if you have bad teeth, because it will make you dance and swear if it gets in an open cavity. When I had a bad cavity, I ate the Nutella with a spoon to avoid the pain.
Thanks for the tip. I've also bought pretty good hazelnut spread (basically fake Nutella) in dollar stores. And thanks again for watching!
Great advice. Lots of good info. You da man!
Thanks again for being a great viewer!
Great and informative
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
An MRE could get heavy maybe, but they are about 3000 calories per meal.
Kristopher Goldsby
..... Too much weight, waste and aggravation, for me..
+Kristopher Goldsby MRE are read to eat, meaning they have the water weight in them, meaning they are to heavy and fail on calories per oz. They can weigh as much as 26oz for 1200 calories, or less then 50 calories per oz. The lightest of them are 18oz for 1200 calories, which is better at 67/oz, but still WAY too low. 5 days at 3600 calories with the lightest MRE is almost 17lb. A good average for backpacking food is 120cal/oz, which the same 5 days at 3600, is 9.4lb. The saving of 7.5lb is MASSIVE. This additional weight will cost miles, a good rule of thumb is 2lb = 1 mile on a long distance trek, which also effect time between resupply.
Say you have 70 miles to the next resupply, and with a 30lb pack you can do 15 miles per day. But for 4 days of MRE, it will push your pack weight up to 34lb (base + water weight = 20.5), slowing your pass to 13 miles per day, meaning you will need a 5th day for food, adding almost another 4lb, meaning 11 miles per day to start, then 13, 14, 16 and 18 (total of 72). Vs the 4 days with 7.5lb of food, meaning a starting weight of 28lb, meaning a starting speed of 16 miles per day + one per day (total of 70). This is, in large part, why light packs and light food means so much. It Cascades. Light pack means you go fast, so less days between resupply meaning ever less weight, means less ankle problems meaning no heavy boots means ever faster.
You forgot stovetop stuffing mix lol.........I cant live on the trails without it :-)
I like that stuff too - thanks for mentioning it. I also find it appetizing enough even if I don't use hot water. If the water isn't too cold and I let it soak a couple of minutes, I can eat it no problem. Might be a bit crunchy but it doesn't bother me at all. And thanks for watching!
I actually like it kind of crunchy lol..........While here I'm going to mention years ago a member of one of the backpacking forums put together a little book called freezer bag meals or something like that.It's not a huge book and its all available on the net but the book was a nice touch and she was a ranger so it was worth it to me.But the point is you can buy bulk freeze dried foods online if you want to and make great easy meals for pretty cheap.The best part is it can all be done in a gallon ziplock bag that are useful and light.
Good info!
+Big Terrapin Outdoors Glad you liked it and thanks again for watching!
Just want you to know how much I appreciate your videos. As I prepare for my 2018 thru hike, I've regarded your sage advice many times! I would sincerely appreciate you subscribing and following my journey, as I'm sure I could greatly benefit from your comments. Cheers, Windjammer
You got it! And thanks for watching!
Try tuna packed in oil. 150 calories for single serve. Very helpful video. Thanks!
+1wetpaint Good tip. And thanks for watching!
Great video with useful insights.
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Great video. Thanks for sharing..
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
Pot scraper. Brilliant!!
+Jeff Huebner I've mentioned that scraper in maybe four videos now and I don't think I mentioned I got the idea a long time ago from a woman on whiteblaze.net. When I read what she said, I cried "Brilliant!" haha .... She gave me the answer to a problem I couldn't figure out too well by myself. And thanks for watching!
dude your videos are awesome. I'm watching all of them before my thru hike. The only advice I have is to crop the images to 16:9, because most people will be viewing on a widescreen device. your information is top notch though.
+matt vt Do you plan to post videos of your thru hike? And thanks for watching!
Nice video. A lot of Mountain House meals can be found on Amazon for $5-6. A few of the breakfast ones are under $5. I've also seen them at Wal-Mart pretty cheaply.
I've not hiked the AT, but I wonder if there would be a way to use Amazon prime with a smart phone to supplement drops or pick up replacement items like tarps, shoes, etc. Seems like two day shipping and mobile access could make that practical.
It is indeed quite possible to buy things online with a phone and have them delivered to a post office along the trail, or a business that accepts mail drops. This can require some planning and patience --- for example, if we arrive at the post office on Sunday we'll have to wait until it opens. It might be possible to have such an item forwarded ahead if we phone the post office. I just made another section hike. I met a guy who had a pair of new shoes shipped to a campground, only to find the campground closed when he got there. Apparently the owners went someplace and just closed it for a day. And thanks for watching!
flatbrokeoutside Interesting. Thanks for the reply.
Libby's now sells vegetables in plastic pouches: corn, green beans, peas.
Thanks for the tip and thanks for watching!
I think that "two servings in a package of Mountain House" business is a joke everyone who has tried them gets by now :). Agree that for extended trips they are too expensive and should be considered more along the lines of a treat.
Good point. And thanks for watching!
Richard Schott - LOL. I usually say Mountain House packs are for one person who's hungry or two who aren't.
I scoured through the candy rack before my hike and found that Baby Ruth bars hold 10 calories more than any other name brand candy bar...wonder if it was the extra peanuts that gave it the edge?
That's a good candy bar - and thanks for watching!
As always some excellent tips. Love the pot scraper idea. Do you ever just add water to the Knorr sides bag for less cleaning?
I tried it a couple of times, enough to convince me it can be done. But I went back to the pot cause I usually throw extra stuff in, like a package of sandwich crackers, jerky, etc. Like I said, it's no problem getting it clean with a scraper. Last section hike I didn't even use a toothbrush - just scraper and water and got it quite clean. And thanks again for being a great viewer!
Ran into ranger's training eating MRE's before around springer one time.
I really need help figuring out how to plan out my mail drops. That's the most confusing thing to me.
+andrew Mundekis You want to mail drop all your food? This will take some advance work. If it was me: 1- I would buy David Miller's 2016 'The A.T. Guide' (it's on Amazon now.) 2 - I would look at each and every entry for all the stores and hostels etc etc to see who takes maildrops. Those who do are identified. I would use this 2016 book to get the latest info cause anything else might be outdated in places. Some hostels charge money to accept a maildrop if you don't stay there. 3 - I would note all the mail drop places and see exactly where they are and how many miles from one to the next. 4 - (This might be the hard part) I would try to figure out how long it would take me to walk from one drop to the other, to know how much food to include in each drop. I would be inclined to make each drop at least a week's worth. 5 - I also would make a note of where the post offices are. You can send stuff to yourself general delivery. Scroll to the bottom of this on how to do it in the U.S. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poste_restante#United_States This is how I would get started. You can read a lot about mail drops at www.whiteblaze.net Hope this helps. Thanks for watching!
Your videos are very informative. Subscribed!
Hiker63 Thanks!
i made.myself a full pot of.chilli useing 5 tea lights during a week long power outtage a few years back. those little suckers pump out some pretty substantial heat.
Interesting idea - and thanks for watching!
Great videos flatbrokeoutside!!!! Love your insight and well put together videos!! Disclaimer: Im gonna sound like an a##hole but by no means is that my intent. I love you all....Not a damn vegetable on the list. I dont get it. Plenty of places to get canned or dried veggies and meat and I NEVER hear of anyone procuring these things on the trail. I mean, I get it, a can of greens is heavy as far as weight goes, but, really? If you can stuff your face in town with tons of veggies and healthy meats (or even tons of veggies for vegans like beans and rice/quinoa, etc) then why all the crapola like mac n cheese, crackers, granola, etc? Now, It really comes down to what you can afford and pack, and carbs are a great idea, but as a touring cyclist (crossing the US numerous times by bike) who burns 2000 cal in a days ride (60-100 miles) and is dirty as sh#t, I know that there are two major things you have to take care of- your immune system (vegetables and protein) and your guts (more vegetables and protein). All this carby, cheesey, salty, ramen, bready, starvation crop sustenance is well and good for a couple of days but, if you think about what our nomadic gatherer/hunter ancestors ate it was mostly veggies and then meat and, by the way, was great for us for hundreds of thousands of years of long distance travel. I feel that this is one reason why people "bonk". Or give up or hit the wall or whatever. Id gladly trade the weight in camping gear (a hammock instead of a tent, unflattering moisture wicking clothes vs. that cotton concert t-shirt I love so much) for the weight in canned greens and meats (never the best quality but hey were walking 2000 miles with limited resources). Maybe someone can explain to me the benefits of cake icing soaked bread and MSG ridden noodles is the mainstay. Raw veggies dont keep, yes. But somebody clear this up for me. love all you hiker trash.
+complementarychaos Eating unbalanced meals on the trail is a tradition that stretches back to John Wayne with nothing but beans and bacon on a cattle drive. I also have never seen canned veggies on the trail but I have seen (as the video said) canned meat and tuna in the vacuum foil packs. Hikers have to carry their own trash out and this has to be a factor in any anti-can bias. I have heard the claim canned veggies are robbed of their essential vitamins or something but I dunno how accurate that is. Mountain House sells f/d sides of corn, peas and green beans about $3.70 a pop in Sept. 2015 (says their website) yet I have never seen these in stores. By way of further example - I counted, I think it was, 24 current MRE menus and 21 of them have an entree based on noodles, rice, or meat and gravy. I do not know the answer. Perhaps it will take revolutionary thinking and an increase in market demand to create lighter options, like veggies in vacuum packs. Good hiking and cycling - thanks for writing and thanks for watching!
Thanks for the reply, friend! I think this spring Im gonna dehydrate some veggies and bring them on long hike and see how i feel. Then do the same long hike with canned veggies. Ideally, Id like to pack as many fresh veggies with me on the hike but alas, nature designed them to be eaten within a few days (greens especially). Ill do some experiments and let you know what Ive come up with!! Happy hiking!!
I agree with the peanuts and peanut butter.
Thanks for watching!
when people say cook away from the shelter because it attracts mice how far are we talking about? And the same when stealth camping? More importantly (we've talked about ponchos before) when the weather turns and I feel like cooking in the vestibule... Should I grab my poncho+cordage and setup a makeshift kitchen away from camp and then cook? (I now see the poncho in triple duty) Speaking of trail smell... put on sleepy clothes after dinner? Where to the smelly clothes go assuming they smell like dinner?
A main point to remember is that animals from mice to bears will be a problem in a specific area if they find something to eat every time they visit that area. If we can manage to stealth camp in an area where these animals have found nothing to eat in the past, odds are very low we will encounter such animals there.
Tuna and some other types of fish have a powerful smell and I avoid them. If we can manage to avoid spilling food on ourselves, we shouldn't have much of a problem with food odor on our clothes.
At shelters - The idea is if nobody eats inside the shelter, there will be no crumbs etc that will interest mice. We want them to stay out of the shelter building because mice come out at night and that's when we're in there trying to sleep. I have slept in shelters that seemed to have no mice. Something makes a difference. At some places they will enter our tent if at all possible. Regardless of whether we cooked in the tent or not. So we make sure there's no food of any kind in our tent and the food is hanging in a bag. This way, at least we won't be rewarding the little SOB for running across our face as we try to sleep. Which they will do. And thanks again for watching.
I got into the habit of cooking enough for lunch AND dinner at my lunchtime stop. I would eat lunch on the spot, then pack the mess of stuff into a Ziploc or a sealable container to eat cold at dinner. That way the cooking odors didn't draw attention at my nighttime spot and I spent less time cooking.
very informative video, thanks
+Alan Hale And thanks for watching!
nice video friend thanks
+kenneth caloun Thanks for commenting and thanks again for watching!
I am shocked that Ramen bombs did not make it into this video... But that being said, hikers that don't bring nuts as a part of their food confuse that crap out of me. I have seen hikers who must of spend $4K on getting super light gear and then lose all that light weight by poor food choices. If you are going for 5 days without a resupply the difference in weight between 75 calories per oz and 125/oz is 5.3lbs.
Peanuts are great because the are cheap and 168 calories per oz with protein. But all nuts are great and some are more extreme then peanuts (which are technically a nut, but nm that). Macadamia Nuts win on pure cal/oz, at a whopping 203/oz, 1lb of Macadamia Nuts is 3,248 calories, though it is a LOT of fat. Cashew are a personal favorite of mine, and also run 163/oz (dry roasted). I personally dislike tuna, but it is not a great trail food on the cal/oz and dry salami is a better choice for meat to add.
+Loathomar Thanks for the report on the different nut varieties and thanks for watching!
Wouldn't beef jerky be a good choice for these extensive hikes?
An excellent choice, but pricey. And thanks for watching!
Thank you for your information will appreciate it.
Glad you like it and thanks for watching!
Great video, thank you!!!
+Mad Flavour Disciple And thank you for watching!
flatbrokeoutside I saved this in my favourites as it will help me plan my PCT hike!! Thanks again!
The calories listed on food labels are useless. Whether they were measured by bomb calorimeter or the Atwater system, those numbers do not reflect how the food is digested. Doesn't matter how many calories a food contains, if it doesn't get digested fully, then you don't get all of the calories. You are better off simply paying attention to how you well you digest your food at home, how much energy or weight you gain, to find the best type of food for you on the trails. Everyone is different and will digest different food with different efficiency.
Do you run into many people packing MREs? The individual peanut butter squeeze packs can be purchased alone and might be of use in minimizing weight.
I have not seen anyone use MREs on the AT. Probably because they aren't too available in stores. I live near a city of a million people and I know of only one store there that sells them. They are, of course, readily available online. And thanks for watching!
Is there a particular ingredient that critters don't like? I'm thinking if I put frank's redhot on everything except maybe poptarts would I be less likely to be disturbed? I'm certain I still need a kitchen.
Since bears and raccoons will eat stuff that's half rotten, I don't think anything we add to food can discourage them. Bears have an unreal sense of smell and if they get their paws on it they'll eat it.
Very informative, thank u
Glad you liked it and thanks for watching!
I couldn't handle all the sugar with nutella and candy. I loved it, but it didn't love me XP
Rotty N' Scotty Thanks for watching!
Nice video thanks for sharing. Can you tell me what is the capacity of your pots/pans/ mugs ?? and how heavy it is?? thanks again !!
My pot and cup are both MSR Titan. The current version of the pot weighs 4.2 oz., with lid. Filled to the brim it holds a bit over 3 1/4 cups, which is 26.5 fluid ounces (783 ml) checked with my kitchen measuring cups. I would emphasize that when I cook a trail meal, the pot is virtually never more than about 3/4 full. This is what I want - I don't want to be spilling anything and I don't. This means I think I could not get by with anything smaller and anything bigger is more than I need. When my daughter went on the AT with me I bought her one, also - figuring two pots is lighter than one big pot and two bowls. Also, we preferred to eat different meals. The cup weighs two ounces and holds 13 fluid ounces (380ml) - I never put more than 10 fluid ounces in it if I am drinking out of it. They were not cheap, but when I bought them about 16 years ago I figured I would never need to buy anything else for backpacking. So far, I have not. And thanks again for watching!
thanks for your answer!! very informative and useful, much appreciated
wait, was the rice & noodles on those weight too cal/protein charts before or after hydration? because that could drastically change the chart if you put their hydrated weight up there as we carry the rice dry.
All the weights listed are as the items come in the packages when we buy them. And thanks for watching.
When I get on the trail I will have to mail ahead most of my food. Cannot eat anything with gluten or dairy.
dam so basically thru hikers just eat jail food I got this I've lived off commissary multiple times!!!
I saw nothing weird about these food choices, just creative evening.
Maybe a dumb question... but with the mac and cheese and the creamy garlic noodles... do you just omit the milk and butter?? or what do you do???
Short answer - What I do personally is whatever I can manage to stomach. :) Longer answer - The garlic noodles directions list a lower calorie alternative of skipping the margarine or butter and using skim milk. I figured skipping the milk and using water is even lower calories. Pretty much ditto with the mac and cheese. Adding some olive oil to either (which I have done) helps matters. Several important points in no particular order - I test cooked these kinds of things at home to see if I can really choke them down. Being a section hiker I certainly could have carried things like powered milk or fancy meals dehydrated at home. Same applies to the freeze dried stuff, which I once used. These are all options if we section hike up to two weeks at a time and decide to carry at least all our entrees when we start out. If we plan to be on the trail for weeks at a time covering hundreds of miles, everything gets more grim. Food selections in stores close to the trail tend to be limited, at least compared to what we would find in a huge supermarket in a big town. Hikers can carry some types of vegetables if they eat them fairly quickly after purchase - when they can find them. Some people get all their food mail dropped to them. It can work but it takes planning and it sure helps to have someone at home to mail the material over a period of several months. Many folks do whatever they have to do to get by and I am sure that leads to the kind of bizarre choices this video discusses. Long distance hikers find they are forced to accept the idea they will smell terrible, that their socks sometimes will feel as if coated in slime, that their feet and knees will hurt, that their hair will get greasy, that several days of rain will leave practically everything damp, and that they will experience dirt in ways they had never before imagined. Subjected to these conditions for long periods, it's no surprise to me many of them abandon any hope of the normal diet they would eat at home. On top of all this, I found that a couple of things I enjoy eating at home I could not eat on the trail. Topping this list was chocolate - on a long hike I cannot stand to even look at the stuff. I hope this helps a little and thanks for watching!
+flatbrokeoutside ahh I see. I've been wondering this for a while now :) so thanks for the quick response! I guess it's true... If you don't like it at home, you won't like it on the trail
Why isn't there any quick cook beans and barley mixture in those lists. I see a lot of fast burning carbs.
+ShalimarPerfume Tell us some brand names - that detail will help.
+flatbrokeoutside I live in Canada, so there is a difference in that kind of things. Here, places like the bulk barn have all sorts of bag your own quick cook beans and so do grocery stores. Open your eyes when you go to dried beans section of grocery store. Things like red lentils and yellow split peas also. They provide more energy as they are a slower burning carb and also soluable fibre and protein. Soup mixes, with no fancy name or packaging and add some dehyydrated onion and garlic flakes in a spice mixture to. MSG and chemical crap stay away from.
+flatbrokeoutside Yeah I make a lot of soups and when I was younger did interior canoe style camping and caught fish to eat also. A lot different than trail hiking, but I see no reason some of the quick cook stuff would apply in your situation and oatmeal to. LOL.