Food Post | 1 | Eating on the Trail

Let's face it, we all need to eat.  Food go in, energy comes out, rinse and repeat, day after day.

Long distance hikers eat a lot.  Pretty much anything in sight disappears.  If it's out, somebody will eat it.  

Food preferences on the trail are as wide and diverse as there are stars in the universe.  There are junk food junkies, honey-bun lovers, natural food noshers, and pretty much everything in between.  I think I fall into all of those categories.

Let's be real, we would all love to eat a gourmet meal 5 times a day on the trail, but that's simply not possible.  There are few key issues when dealing with food on the trail that must be looked at:

1. Weight: Water is heavy.  Extremely heavy.  8.34lbs per gallon to be exact.  Unfortunately nearly everything we eat on a daily basis is chock full of water. Minimizing water weight is critical.
2. Calories: Long distance hiking burns far more calories than the average day at the office.  Consuming enough calories is a major issue for anybody hiking long term.  
3. Nutrition: Sure, honeybuns are delicious.  They're full of sweet, sweet calories, but they're awful for you.  400+ calories of pure fat and sugar.  Delicious.  But again, awful for nutrition.
4. Packaging: cans are heavy, packaging can be bulky, and old trash smells awful.

Considering the points above, there are many options that I have for eating on the trail, but all of the options fall under two categories:

1. Buying as you go
2. Regular resupplies

Both options allow for great food diversity, but there are advantages and disadvantages to both.  First off, buying as you go requires no partner back home to mail your packages or really any outside assistance, and minimizes the risk of missing a package at a post office or location holding your package.  Disadvantages are that you must properly buy enough food for the time between stops, you may find a market has a less than optimal selection (like eating nothing but junk food until your next stop), and the risk of carrying foods you'd regularly not take.  Receiving packages at regular intervals allows for consistent food resupplies, minimizes the risk of running into less optimal food options, and allows the hiker to receive anything else they may need on the trail from a home base.  Of course there are disadvantages to this method, which include getting bored of the food being sent, missing a window to getting a package (post office/motel closed, missing a delivery, etc.), and above all, it requires a partner to send packages on regular intervals.

For my hike, I still haven't decided.  I thought I wanted to do resupply boxes, but I'm not sure anymore.  Freedom on the trails seems pretty nice.  Plus who wants to eat clif bars and trail mix for 5 months...

Both have their merits, but I'm not quite sure which way I want to go yet.  To be decided, I guess.