“Hard work should be rewarded by good food.”
Ken Follett
The two most frequent questions I get asked about bushwalking (other than where am I going next!) is what is in my pack and what I eat? Hopefully you find some of my tips handy. If you have any food related tips you can share with me please do so as I would love to hear them.
When it comes to food what I pack for one adventure might be completely different to what I pack for my next adventure. I find it useful to stick to a few golden rules to guide me when I am choosing what food to pack. Perhaps you might develop your own golden rules - things that work for you. I use my golden rules like I would a packing list. That way I am not just tossing food into my pack willy nilly!
Xing’s eight golden rules.
Rule One - Make it tasty!
There is nothing worse than sitting down to a meal you dread after a tough days walking.
In my opinion taste is your absolute first consideration - after all no matter how nutritious it is - if you can’t face eating it out on trail its of no benefit to you at all.
One of my all time “treats” in summer used to be an icy cold coke. One of the mini cans. I would drop it into a tarn before leaving camp and upon returning enjoy its refreshing fizz! I’ve gradually broken this habit over the last few years, but it is an example of having something for pure “taste”, even if it is not entirely practical!
These days to save weight I pack an electrolyte sachet instead of coke. I buy multiple different flavors, and pop one into icy cold water from a running stream for a treat drink. I also have a few other tasty treats listed in my snack list. Remember keep Rule Number 1 in mind when packing. Flavor, flavor, flavor!
Rule Two - Keep it energy dense.
It’s all about bang for your buck. By keeping your meals and snacks energy dense, you can carry less food overall which lightens your pack on a multi day walk. Food weight on a 5, 7 or 10 day bushwalk can add up very quickly so everything you take needs to refuel you - ie. have a purpose.
You can absolutely fill your pack with food that ticks both Rules 1 & 2. The type of food I eat out on the trail is different to what I eat at home. When I am out walking I want food that is higher in nutrients and calories for two reasons. One, my body is working physically harder and so needs good nutrients for repair and for energy. And two, I find I actually eat smaller amounts out on trail so what I do consume must have a high energy count.
Rule Three - Mix it up.
The fastest way to learn to hate a particular food is to pack too much of it for a multiday hike! Trust me, I know this from experience. Whether its snacks or main meals level up the variety.
You may think you love tuna on crackers, but after having it for lunch five days in a row chances are you will find out you don’t love it that much! I learned this the hard way on The Overland Track. I only packed the one flavor muesli bar for the whole trip, two each day for seven days. I loved that muesli bar before the trip - now I can’t even stand seeing it on the shelf at the supermarket! Rule 3 - variety is key.
Rule Four - Try it before you leave the house.
Never try anything for the first time out on trail. Try it at home first. Imagine cooking up your dinner, taking one mouthful and going yuk! This also allows you to test out how it cooks, eats and keeps. Better to learn at home than to have regrets out on trail.
Most people get a slightly sensitive stomach on longer multi day treks due to the difference in the food you they are consuming. Reduce the chances of feeling miserable in the bush by trying everything at home first.
Remember, you are not just trying your food for taste and cookability. You need to test and confirm that it is shelf stable and stores in hot/cold conditions without deteriorating/causing illness if consumed. Rule 4 also covers having practice packs of “how” you will pack your food. What will that look like practically? Keep in mind you need to protect it from excess heat/cold, crushing, dampness, mold, sweating or holes getting poked in it!
Rule Five - Make it quick to prepare.
The best meal is the one you can eat right away. Seriously, who wants a forty step recipe that takes three hours to prepare when you arrive starving and cold into camp? After a long day’s walking, time in camp before bed can be precious and fleeting, especially if you’ve other considerations like getting tents up and yourself dry and warm to deal with too.
Meals that take a lot of time over the camp stove also require excess fuel which you don’t want to have to carry around. Food can be super tasty without taking a lifetime to prepare. I don’t really stop for long breaks or extended lunches whilst out bushwalking, so my snacks and lunches in particular need to be quick and easy to prep. For dinners I tend to boil water and then use a HMG Re-Pack pouch. That way dinner cooks whilst I am setting up the tent!
Rule Six - Light Weight.
Food for a multi day bushwalk can add up weight wise in no time. Try to keep it as light as possible. Look for freeze dried or dehydrated options. Ditch excess packaging before you leave the house. Not only does excess packaging add extra weight and bulk, but what’s packed in needs to be packed out - so save yourself the hassle of carrying around empty packets for the duration of your hike.
I prepare almost all my own snacks, lunches and dinners these days, including dehydrating my own meals. Prepping my own food allows me to enjoy filling, calorie dense food that weighs no more than 500gms a day. The general rule of thumb is anywhere from 500g to 1kg a day per person of food. Save weight by making sure nothing is in cans or jars. Buddy up and share the weight of coffee/tea/drinks etc. *I don’t recommend saving weight by letting someone else carry your actual food. If you get separated/lost you need to have food to eat until the cavalry arrives!
Rule Seven - Don’t pack your fears....
This goes for anything packing and hiking related, but extends to food too. Avoid packing excess “just in case” food because you will only end up carrying unnecessary weight and throwing away a ton of food when you get home.
Apart from the unnecessary weight, it takes a lot of the worlds resources to produce food so waste is a big no no. For all but the most ‘flexible’ trips, I take one extra main meal and a couple of extra snacks. That’s it. Don’t pack your fears in the form of copious amounts of excess food.
Rule Eight - Write it down. Be accountable.
Never just smash and grab! Plan your menus and meals. Write them down or record them on a menu planner (here is a sample copy of mine or a blank one here to use yourself). Using a menu planner does a few things.
Firstly, it ensures you don’t overpack as you only pack what’s on your menu planner. It limits the chances of you packing your food fears.
Secondly, it allows you to ditch almost all packaging and just have bigger bags of items. I.e. If your menu planner says you are having muesli at breakfast for three days, then it all goes into one large bag and you ration it out on trail. Lots of little bags create excess packaging waste that you have to carry around, and a whole heap of extra plastic waste for our world to deal with. Your menu planner goes in with your food which is handy out on trail if you can’t remember what was for when!
Where to start?
Ok - now we have the golden rules covered you can start to build the menu for your trip. The easiest place to start with your planning is your main meals (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and build out from there. Choices for food range from commercially bought items and meals, to home made deliciousness. There is a more detailed section here on commercial brands (including some reviews). When it comes to homemade there are endless websites, blogs and books on cooking and dehydrating your own food.
With so many commercial or homemade choices out there it can sometimes be daunting. However, if you remember Rule 1 - Taste - then it is pretty simple. If you like the taste of it, use it! I much prefer my own homemade and dehydrated food.
Commercial meals can get pricey too, so making your own works out cheaper if you’re doing regular trips. That said, I do supplement my stocks of home made food with some commercial brands occasionally. The main reason I love my own home-cooked meals is I know what is in them and can control the calorie content and flavor.