Food & nutrition
Hikers love to talk about food almost as much as they like to talk about gear and bowel movements. When it comes to trail food, there’s often a lot of uncertainty about how much and what types of food to take. In this post, we’ll address each of those topics as well as share 58…
This is meant to be a final ‘send-off’ post for our Plan Like a Pro course and guided trips with links, books, and other resources meant to further your education if you like, on your own terms. It starts with some of our favorite books, classes, apps, online communities and podcasts; and then it goes…
For the 2022 guiding season we’re looking for a new breakfast and new dinner recipe to replace two of our longstanding meals, the Coconut Chia Oatmeal and the Backcountry Chili. The two winners will be entered into a drawing, and the first chosen will have their option of taking the Plan Like A Pro online…
As a hard-charging thru-hiker — when I would hike sunrise-to-sunset, take very few breaks, and cover 30 to 40 miles day after day — food was simply fuel. I carried items that were calorie dense, required minimal or no field preparation, and could be eaten on the go. So I ate a lot of bars…
My first summit hike of Mt. St. Helens took over 16 hours round-trip, and I hit the wall a little more than halfway up. From there, every step to the summit was a struggle, and it took days to recover after the climb. I didn’t know it then, but a flawed nutritional strategy had set…
The term “porridge” may not sound particularly appetizing, but we think this breakfast is pretty decent. It’s slightly nutty and not too sweet, and another great template that can be adjusted to your personal preferences. The most unique element of this recipe is the streusel topping, which bumps up its craveability factor. Meal Statistics: Meal…
This spin-off on the classic oatmeal breakfast is rich and decadent. Combined with our Coconut Chia version, we’ve taken oatmeal up a notch or two. Meal Stats: Recipe Weight: 4.5 ounces Calories per Ounce: 136 Total Calories: 612 Ingredients The chief benefit of this recipe is that the ingredients are widely available and easy to…
This was another new dinner for 2019, and it quickly became one of my favorite dinners. Here’s why: Completely unique flavor profile among our 12-recipe repertoire; Great variety of textures; A hearty and filling portion; and, Easy to increase the calorie count and density, like by adding olive oil or chunks of protein. The original…
A near weekly dinner at home for Amanda and me during the colder months is chili. It’s particularly gratifying to make with DIY elk meat and homegrown peppers and tomatoes. It seemed like my chili recipe could be converted for backcountry use, and I asked David last spring to develop a recipe. On its maiden…
A classic oatmeal breakfast (or worse, an instant packet) consists of simple grains and sugar, and not much else. I find that it gives a quick sugar rush, but I’m often hungry within an hour or two. For last season, David developed a recipe that sticks better to my ribs, combining an oatmeal base with…