Hiking Food For Your Journey

At a steady pace, the average hiker can expect to burn somewhere in the region of 300 calories for every hour spent on the trail. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that this number soon stacks up if you're out in the wilderness for several nights, and the more calories burnt the less energy you have left to complete your journey. This is where hiking food can be of crucial importance!

Obviously, it's not convenient (or possible, really) to consume the same food whilst on an expedition that you would in everyday life- fresh food spoils quickly inside a backpack, and is difficult to cook, and your low calorie, low fat ready meal isn't really appropriate sustenance at the end of a hard day's walk. So what is the right kind of food for consumption on the trail?

The majority of all hiking food you take walking with you should be calorie-rich. As a guide, aim for foods that contain a minimum of 400 calories per one hundred grams. The majority of these calories, at least in hiking circumstances, should come from complex carbohydrates (such as those found in bread, oats and rice) which are released more slowly than sugars and so should provide a steadier controlled release of energy over a longer period of time.

A great source for these carbohydrates are porridge oats (or instant porridge, which is more convenient to make in less-than-ideal conditions) which you can sweeten or salt according to preference. Dried fruits are great for packing many calories into a very small space, and can be snacked on whilst on the move.

There are plenty of pre-packaged hiking foods available from camping stores, and they usually come in “boil in the bag” form. If you can afford to pay the often inflated prices for this type of meal they do make it incredibly easy to plan for the exact number of meals you'll require on your trip. They're also some of the easiest and cleanest meals to cook because you can simply place the pack into a pan of boiling water and remove when it's thoroughly heated- cutting down the time spent cleaning up after dinner drastically.

A more affordable option, if you have access to them (and many people do) is to opt for freeze dried ration packs as used in the past by the British Army, amongst others. These are slightly trickier to prepare but essentially still only require the application of a little hot water before they're ready to eat.