Thanks for sharing. I’ve noticed that it is very difficult to avoid plastic packaging, especially with instant / dried foods. Perhaps you would consider a video about plastic-free backpacking/hiking? With everyone watching your channel and following you, it may be easier for you, Darwin, to gather everyone’s hacks and tips about cutting down or cutting out plastics. Just an idea. Thanks again.
@@scottb9937 Thanks, Scott. We have a couple of those 'bring your own jar/container/bag' stores opening in my area -- problem (nearly) solved.... don't even need to buy the ingredients plastic-packaged.
Just want to say thanks for taking the time to make these videos for people to learn from your experiences so they don't have to learn from the misery of mistakes out in the bush.
1977 carried one #10 can of Mountain House freeze dried beef stew as main dinner menu. Tahoe-Yosemite trail. Thanks for updating me how things are done in modern times
When I use to fight wildfire we would just pour a little water straight into the instant coffee packet and shoot it...didn't do it for the taste thats for sure haha
Did you find most of these foods while hiking, or did you send yourself resupply boxes? I'd love to see a video on how you went about your resupplies on the PCT :)
It seems as though he frequently goes into towns. He has mentioned in other videos that he often buys new/different supplies in towns and even packs out things like Subway sandwiches
This is close to video number 10 of yours for me today, this is the one that made me subscribe. As a pescatarian and generally whole food eater off the trail, I struggle with the idea of fueling myself off of candy. This provided a ton of good and helpful information! Many snack foods I use at home and throughout life were mentioned. Didn't realize that I could stack these deep for backpacking fuel! Thanks!
Great stuff, Darwin! I myself enjoy some of the options you pointed out, but I’ve found that I personally need more variety than that, and I just have a hard time putting down more than 1-2 bars a day. For me, if I’m not looking forward to a rewarding meal on the trail, it quickly stops being fun. More often than not, that means prioritizing taste and texture over calorie density and practicality, and having at least 3-5 different dinners to rotate between. You’re lucky that you can get by on less variety, it certainly simplifies things.
Thanks for the pro-tips! Your videos are super helpful and you have a great voice for explaining things! East to listen to and full of good experience. See you on the trail!
I appreciate your getting healthy and efficient food sourcing. One comment: Disclaimer- I haven’t tried the complete cookie but word is, the chickory extract they put in it can make some of us bloated and gassy. Still looking for that other video ( more recent) one that was really really good in that you dialed it in even more. Great work Darwin.
There are very few areas where you need to carry more than 4 days of food, the Sierras being ones of those areas. If you are able to hike 30 miles a day, that actually reduces your food carry.
Your videos are very informative. I don't hike ,but I do backpack hunting in the mountains. So I use your info to help me decide ,foods, shelters, containers etc. Appreciate the time you take to talk to us👍
My father was in the military for a number of years and I live close to a base one thing I’ve been doing is gathering up MRE’s and breaking them down to use for food along with a collapsible cup saves up a good amount of space and food is warm.
Yes, as we get older the value of nutrition comes into view. For health and longevity, but also efficient and effective fuelling for performance sake. This only improves with the heating of food! My doctor is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She never tires of enlightening me as to the value of heating food and consuming it warm.
Food is key to keeping morale high. I became a much happier thru hiker with a lightweight skillet by MSR. Only 7oz I think... being able to cook a quesadilla, pancakes, hash browns, etc. Absolute game changer and before long anyone hiking around me bought one too.
Dropping hot meals to save a very small weight seems ridiculous to me.. Enjoy the trip man, enjoy the meals, enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning while taking in the view and the sounds.
Talos353 I know, right? Il gladly still carry my stove and alcohol fuel just so I can have a warm meal. Having that warm meal at the end of a long, strenuous day really feels good mentally.
The key part about what you said was that it seems ridiculous to you; he mentioned that some people will have allergies, or sensitivities. If you can't hack it -- don't. Enjoy the trail your way!
John Publius I live in a small town in North East Alabama. I spend a lot of time in northeast Tennessee visiting family and friends. I personally haven’t had a problem finding any of these other than the alpine start coffee and bobo’s bars however those are things that can easily be changed out because there are dozens of bars that offer the exact same thing it’s just subjective to taste.
Excellent video! Just recently started planning multi day hunting trips where I pack in the whole time and calorie intake is important so I needed ideas as to what kinds of foods could help me without going too crazy with it. Ive found videos like these from backpackers have been super helpful in many ways. Thanks for sharing!
I was in the I Will Never Give Up My Stove camp until my stove broke. It took me a while to make the leap, but going stoveless means more "just a few ounces" out of your pack - no fuel bottle/canister & fuel and no cook pot is more than just a few ounces. I won't deny that hot food has a strong emotional impact, but even on miserably rainy days, once I was swaddled into my down cocoon it didn't matter that dinner was cold. There's an environmental impact to going stoveless. If you use a canister stove, it's highly likely you cannot recycle the steel canisters once they're empty. The fuels are usually petroleum distillates. I have people carping at me for using a Smartwater bottle because it's plastic, but they're just fine with burning a carbon-based fuel.
I take this on all my trips and it recently served me well in the canyons of Utah in the snow. I take the weight and hike with a thermos on shorter trips to keep it hot all day. Magic Cocoa Mix 3 parts cacao powder 3 parts maple sugar 2 parts coconut milk powder 1 part vanilla protein powder ( I use a hemp/chia/pea protein blend) 1 part medicinal mushroom powder (cordyceps, lions mane, reishi, chaga, turkey tail) dash of pink salt dash of cayenne Make this mix as large or small as you want. If you plan on brewing it cold, make sure to run the sugar through a blender or spice mill first. This will give you sustained energy and you can add some of your coconut oil (If hot) packets to it. Coconut milk powder is available at health food stores or at Asian markets. Ensure that your mushrooms are extracts and not just mushroom powders, they are more efficient, sometimes 40:1 and more bioavailable. If the weather is cold, add ginger and cinnamon equalling one part. Thanks for the info Darwin,
It’s been over a year since I’ve been on my last through hike it was just a little 30 mile one here in Colorado but you make me wanna go out on the trail again
I’ve never hiked more than 5 days at a time and plan on bumping that up significantly in the spring. I’ve never been on the PCT and am looking forward to it.
Glad to see you are eating better. On my long distance bikes I take my own home made freeze dried meals. No sugar. Nuts and bars. As an older lady it made a huge difference.😀
Thanks for the advise on the peanut butter. I normally like to take some tortillas with me and put some peanut butter on it but I never found a method I liked. Gonna try yours.
"cold" soaking is a bit of a misnomer. Ambient temperature soaking is more appropriate. It's not as if you are pulling the soaked food out of a refrigerator, the food is at roughly air temp when soaked without heating the water. I tried this a bit on my last backpacking trip and was surprised by how much I was not missing boiled water in my rice side or BP/MH meal. Now, I haven't done a trip where I haven't carried a stove at all...mainly because I still love a cup of hot coffee in the AM. But ambient temp oat meal is just fine for me and I eat it at home even. There is something to be said for the simplicity of soaking. I've balked in the past, but I am gonna try the stoveless thing in the future
If utter depression on trail and dreaming of town is your thing then take this advice. Food is often all we thru hikers think about. My morale changed greatly when I started sacrificing extra weight for sanity. I carried a lightweight skillet and routinely cooked hash browns, grilled cheese, quesadillas, pancakes, stir fry veggies, etc. It wasn't long before others did the same. With ultra light gear you can eat well and still pack under 40lbs. Suck it up. Old head hikers use to carry 70. Take adventure of technology and stop starving yourself. (Advice from a thru hiker)
I grew up on couscous, and I love bobos bars. When I hiked as a kid I got to eat Golden Bricks, basically a thick homemade granola bar witha ton of honey and butter in it, an inch thick. Gotta make those again, talk about dense, and calorie rich. Be careful with Lara bars for rocks.
great video. the problem for me is not calories but the sodium. i sweat a lot on the trail and drink lots of water so i know i am losing tons of sodium. i know this because i cramp a lot in the legs when i dont have enough sodium. the food i choose are usually salted nuts, ramen, beef jerky, pepperoni etc. i will certainly add some of your ideas to my food list. thanks
Besides the green superfood powder, did you take any type of daily supplement/vitamin capsule for additional nutrients during your thru-hike? Thank you for all of your informative videos! :)
When I'm on the trail, I eat a ProBar or add hot water to some oatmeal and dehydrated fruit in a ziplock bag for breakfast. Mid morning I eat peanut butter cookies (Nekot) or an RX bar. For lunch, it's the Quest cookies or tuna in a sealed bag with a Payday candy bar and then I would take a caffeine pill. Mid-afternoon is Peanut M&M's and some beef Jerky. For dinner, its a Packit Gourmet meal (best hot meal food on the market) and then before bed, I eat some Oreo cookies. I mix it up sometimes, but this is usually what I have been taking with me and for a 5 day hike, my food bag weighs 5-7 lbs. The greenbelly bars are too heavy and allot of calories just for lunch (at least for me). My calories intake is not that much, however, I don't eat allot of calories off the trail.
Cool! I'm glad I found this vid (YT suggested it). I did 500 miles on the PCT last summer. I did the Poptarts + sugar candy stuff a LOT of the time. And I paid for it. Next summer I plan on doing another 600-700 miles, and I'll be eating MUCH better food ... including some of the bars you recommended.
Fantastic video, Darwin. Appreciate this information. I too am a few years older than I used to be and really gravitate towards putting good fuel in my tank. This video gives me some great options. Safe hiking my dude.
I'm really trying to find ways to eat healthier while on trail and this has been really inspirational! I ate pretty healthy on the AT but I need some more ideas of different things to try and I learned a lot from you! Thank you!
Like you I can eat pretty the much same thing everyday. But something that I cannot get tired of is powdered milk. Goes a long way, extremely versatile, you can have a protein drink quickly, tasty adding whatever you want. Really is a lifesaver for me. While others will be grossed out by it. Everyone of course is different, but love to see the different options just to learn more. Then you choose for yourself.
Hi Darwin! Did you ever think to make your own staff? Prepare energy bars for example? Reduce the conservatives? What about fruits and vegetables? Wouldn't be that more efficient and cost-effective?
Looking at the ingredients on Mountain Inn meals, I notices a lot of Sodium, Potassium, Iron, Protein--the essential electrolytes to prevent medical disaster.
Really cool idea with the couscous, I hadn't realized that it was that caloric. Have you tried the dry hummus mix that's readily available from the grocery? With some additions, it's really tasty and makes a great trail sandwich filling.
Extremely helpful video! Like you I was originally just looking for calorie dense foods. Now I want nutritious and calorie dense. Thanks for some terrific suggestions...
Great input. I carry emergen-c but have only used it when I get a scratchy throat. Makes sense it would be good to have some to give an extra boost of c even in good health! Thanks!
Darwin, what’s a rough estimate of the cost difference to fuel your hike with snickers/ramen/pop tarts vs. the healthier items you mentioned here? The thinking behind better fuel=better performance is an ideal I agree with, so I’m curious about the $
Hi, Ive just found your videos and now binge watch with dinner. Would you use something like huel on a hike even if just for one meal. Its labeled as a complete meal and contains all the vitamins etc. Thanks
I get it though. For me; it does get annoying to wait 5-10 minutes for the water to boil then an additional 15-20 minutes for the food to warm soak... eat then clean everything up.... sometimes can take up to an hour. Going stoveless can potentially lead up to 2 more hours actually on the trail each day.
@@domgifford7061 get a better stove that you basically dknt have to pack up and takes less than 5 mins to pack up and relax while you wait for your food to soal
Bobo's for the win! My favorite bar for starting the day while thru-hiking the PCT this year. My trail diet was different than yours but it worked for me. Hmm, when will my food video be released?
Maybe a dumb question but im building my kit for my first thru hike of the AT and im considering cutting Weight by food I bring. My thought on this is to hunt small game like squirrel n rabbit n fishing along the trail.... obviously i will bring some food and restock along the way but mostly I wanna rely on hunting n fishing. How doable is that in reality? I'm not finding any videos that really answer that question.
''I'm not the one that believes that hot food warms you up''...of course it does, even hot water raises your core temperature. A hot drink/meal on the trail raises morale too, very important.
Hi Darwin, love your videos and learn a lot from them? Do you have any tips or tricks to clean your pot after eating, since I am always struggling with that...
Hi Darwin, this was a great video since nutrition is so important on the trail. I appreciate your comments about the healthy fats as I'm diabetic and eating tons of carbs and sugar even on a hike isn't a great idea for me so calorie quality and source are just as important as quantity. Good thing fats are more calorically dense then proteins or carbs. Thanks for sharing!
Great video I did try the couscous, cooked and I really liked it. I added some freeze dried vegetables and gravy mix. Will be added to my food bag. thanks
Any suggestions for nut free, dairy free, grain free, soy free, corn free, high protein bars? I'm highly allergic to nuts, corn and oatmeal and extremely sensitive to dairy and gluten, but it's very hard to find bars that don't get a lot of their calories from nuts and oats.
Hey Darwin, maybe I missed it but how many "resupply boxes" did you send yourself on the trail? I've heard the average is around 10 for the PCT. Because I doubt you can find Pro Bars, Rx Bars,green belly meals, or even couscous at gas stations/general stores along the trail. So when you didn't have those items, what did you eat? Thanks!
I have a goal to one day through hike the PCT. I’ve been diagnosed with coeliac disease, do you know if there are many gluten free options in towns while through hiking?? I guess I can live off of Couscous😝
Hey Darwin thanks for the video. I see you were cold soaking but you mentioned in a previous video that you might leave the bot behind on the next journey. The advantage I see with the bot for the weight penalty is that you can heat things after soaking for a warm meal. I wish you commented on this as I now assume you will just carry something plastic like a talenti or peanut butter jar as you have no stove source? Care to comment?
Food is the only category worth carrying a little more in. I know its not ultralight, but with my 5lb base weight, I pack out fresh fruit/veg, at least a pound or two of deli meat, a little cheese etc.
Don't try the cold soaking routine in your Scotland trip this year. The cold, damp climate will quickly teach you the value of hot food!
"I will never forgive you this lack of gas tank for stove" - last famous words of my friend in Lake District :)
@@Marcin79W Your friend died and you're smiling about it? You're one sick puppy.
@@AttunedFlux It's a joke mate. We're both good and heading Scotland soon back again 😂😂😂
Marcin Wojtaszczyk trying to read what you said, gave me a stroke
Lots of places along the Way to get a good, hot meal.
Thanks for sharing.
I’ve noticed that it is very difficult to avoid plastic packaging, especially with instant / dried foods.
Perhaps you would consider a video about plastic-free backpacking/hiking?
With everyone watching your channel and following you, it may be easier for you, Darwin, to gather everyone’s hacks and tips about cutting down or cutting out plastics.
Just an idea.
Thanks again.
No, since you need container to hold your food
Agree.....waaaay too much plastic here. Check out video below after giving this one a 👎
th-cam.com/video/Il75dzsFax8/w-d-xo.html
@@scottb9937 Thanks, Scott. We have a couple of those 'bring your own jar/container/bag' stores opening in my area -- problem (nearly) solved.... don't even need to buy the ingredients plastic-packaged.
Just want to say thanks for taking the time to make these videos for people to learn from your experiences so they don't have to learn from the misery of mistakes out in the bush.
Cold coff... Stop right there! You have violated the law!
@@svenlima Iced coffee is a real treat
1977 carried one #10 can of Mountain House freeze dried beef stew as main dinner menu. Tahoe-Yosemite trail. Thanks for updating me how things are done in modern times
Ronald McDonald i still do that
5years in the infantry and I can tell you morale is just as important as calories.
MaxAmmoNeeded damn fucking straight.
That is so insanely true.
Definitely. MRE’s didn’t cut it for me so I got creative with them.
Wow. Walking champ and library.
What branch ?
When I use to fight wildfire we would just pour a little water straight into the instant coffee packet and shoot it...didn't do it for the taste thats for sure haha
oh my god i just laughed and dribbled coffee down my chin. That's the best/worst thing I've ever heard of !
This is more my style
THIS GUY. Darwin you are the man for reppin BETTER TRAIL NUTRITION. LOVE that most of your trail foods are vegetarian friendly too.
You are the only youtube backpacker talking about nutrition, thanks for speaking for it!
Thank you for making the videos that help so many people.
Priceless!! Fits my modus operandi. I'll be adopting MOST of these recommendations. Thanks!!
2nd breakfast you say? I didnt know hobbits were on the trail!
Julio Sandoval all thru hikers are probably descended from hobbits 😆
@@katielaeger6174 amen to that
He's a bit tall for a Hobbit
Shawn R must’ve gotten into some ent draught
@@katielaeger6174 where can I get some of that, I could start a career as an NBA superstar 😀
Did you find most of these foods while hiking, or did you send yourself resupply boxes? I'd love to see a video on how you went about your resupplies on the PCT :)
The mandem
It seems as though he frequently goes into towns. He has mentioned in other videos that he often buys new/different supplies in towns and even packs out things like Subway sandwiches
This is close to video number 10 of yours for me today, this is the one that made me subscribe. As a pescatarian and generally whole food eater off the trail, I struggle with the idea of fueling myself off of candy. This provided a ton of good and helpful information! Many snack foods I use at home and throughout life were mentioned. Didn't realize that I could stack these deep for backpacking fuel! Thanks!
Great stuff, Darwin! I myself enjoy some of the options you pointed out, but I’ve found that I personally need more variety than that, and I just have a hard time putting down more than 1-2 bars a day. For me, if I’m not looking forward to a rewarding meal on the trail, it quickly stops being fun. More often than not, that means prioritizing taste and texture over calorie density and practicality, and having at least 3-5 different dinners to rotate between. You’re lucky that you can get by on less variety, it certainly simplifies things.
Thanks for the pro-tips! Your videos are super helpful and you have a great voice for explaining things! East to listen to and full of good experience. See you on the trail!
Seaweed is a great lightweight option to get those vitamins that you need
New tshirt: "Fueled by Couscous!" Lol!
Nice!🤙🤙
Hike On,
Darwin
I appreciate your getting healthy and efficient food sourcing. One comment: Disclaimer- I haven’t tried the complete cookie but word is, the chickory extract they put in it can make some of us bloated and gassy.
Still looking for that other video ( more recent) one that was really really good in that you dialed it in even more. Great work Darwin.
my question is, how much food were you caring at a time tell you had to restock and how many days did it last. then how did you restock
That’s a great question. It’s a Five Month trail run the PCT.
Yeah good question
There are very few areas where you need to carry more than 4 days of food, the Sierras being ones of those areas. If you are able to hike 30 miles a day, that actually reduces your food carry.
Thanks for always sharing your knowledge. I am a combo hiker/bushcrafter but I always enjoy your channel . Always great and positive 👍.
Your videos are very informative. I don't hike ,but I do backpack hunting in the mountains. So I use your info to help me decide ,foods, shelters, containers etc. Appreciate the time you take to talk to us👍
Title. "How I ate a ton of granola bars with peanut butter and happened to hike as a side effect" roflcopter
My father was in the military for a number of years and I live close to a base one thing I’ve been doing is gathering up MRE’s and breaking them down to use for food along with a collapsible cup saves up a good amount of space and food is warm.
It’s been awesome to see your channel grow over the past year or so! Keep up the great work and thanks for the info!
Couscous....food so nice they named it twice ;)
From now on, I call beer "beer beer" 😁
thanksssss alot. dont remove this video never ever pleassss
Yes, as we get older the value of nutrition comes into view. For health and longevity, but also efficient and effective fuelling for performance sake. This only improves with the heating of food!
My doctor is a doctor of traditional Chinese medicine. She never tires of enlightening me as to the value of heating food and consuming it warm.
Enjoyable video. You speak very clearly, great job. I picked up some cool tips from this!
Food is key to keeping morale high. I became a much happier thru hiker with a lightweight skillet by MSR. Only 7oz I think... being able to cook a quesadilla, pancakes, hash browns, etc. Absolute game changer and before long anyone hiking around me bought one too.
Dropping hot meals to save a very small weight seems ridiculous to me.. Enjoy the trip man, enjoy the meals, enjoy a cup of coffee in the morning while taking in the view and the sounds.
Talos353 I know, right? Il gladly still carry my stove and alcohol fuel just so I can have a warm meal.
Having that warm meal at the end of a long, strenuous day really feels good mentally.
Depends on the person. I can see dropping hot meals in hot weather but seems crazy in cold temps.
The key part about what you said was that it seems ridiculous to you; he mentioned that some people will have allergies, or sensitivities. If you can't hack it -- don't. Enjoy the trail your way!
I thanked God I had hot meals in WA
2nd breakfast is a favorite of mine when I do weeklong bike trips.
Man, your eyes lit up when you got to cous cous. Totally adding your ideas to my outdoor cooking.
Please add seasoning to it before you leave. I add cumin, black pepper, garlic power, red peppers powder, salt etc
Did you find most of this stuff available in towns you stopped in, or did most of it have to be shipped to you? Hike on...
Tony Pierce I had the same question
John Publius Yes all of these questions!!
Zerodayresupply.com is a great service for thru hikers, all similar stuff available, costs a bit more but worth it imo 👍
Almost all of these things can be found in any grocery store or definitely a Walmart
John Publius I live in a small town in North East Alabama. I spend a lot of time in northeast Tennessee visiting family and friends. I personally haven’t had a problem finding any of these other than the alpine start coffee and bobo’s bars however those are things that can easily be changed out because there are dozens of bars that offer the exact same thing it’s just subjective to taste.
Excellent video! Just recently started planning multi day hunting trips where I pack in the whole time and calorie intake is important so I needed ideas as to what kinds of foods could help me without going too crazy with it. Ive found videos like these from backpackers have been super helpful in many ways. Thanks for sharing!
I was in the I Will Never Give Up My Stove camp until my stove broke. It took me a while to make the leap, but going stoveless means more "just a few ounces" out of your pack - no fuel bottle/canister & fuel and no cook pot is more than just a few ounces. I won't deny that hot food has a strong emotional impact, but even on miserably rainy days, once I was swaddled into my down cocoon it didn't matter that dinner was cold.
There's an environmental impact to going stoveless. If you use a canister stove, it's highly likely you cannot recycle the steel canisters once they're empty. The fuels are usually petroleum distillates. I have people carping at me for using a Smartwater bottle because it's plastic, but they're just fine with burning a carbon-based fuel.
Another satisfied consumer of your awesome vids! Thanks!
Thanks for sharing! These are great ideas for long hikes. I’ll keep them in mind.
I take this on all my trips and it recently served me well in the canyons of Utah in the snow.
I take the weight and hike with a thermos on shorter trips to keep it hot all day.
Magic Cocoa Mix
3 parts cacao powder
3 parts maple sugar
2 parts coconut milk powder
1 part vanilla protein powder ( I use a hemp/chia/pea protein blend)
1 part medicinal mushroom powder (cordyceps, lions mane, reishi, chaga, turkey tail)
dash of pink salt
dash of cayenne
Make this mix as large or small as you want. If you plan on brewing it cold, make sure to run the sugar through a blender or spice mill first.
This will give you sustained energy and you can add some of your coconut oil (If hot) packets to it.
Coconut milk powder is available at health food stores or at Asian markets. Ensure that your mushrooms are extracts and not just mushroom powders, they are more efficient, sometimes 40:1 and more bioavailable.
If the weather is cold, add ginger and cinnamon equalling one part.
Thanks for the info Darwin,
Appreciate your expertise and experience that you share with all of us, thank you Darwin! 👍🏽💯🏕
I'm going to miss the PCT vids! I always looked for them when I got home late from work and were the first things I'd watch!
You’re a good dude, thanks for your video
It’s been over a year since I’ve been on my last through hike it was just a little 30 mile one here in Colorado but you make me wanna go out on the trail again
I’ve never hiked more than 5 days at a time and plan on bumping that up significantly in the spring. I’ve never been on the PCT and am looking forward to it.
Love your meal plans! Thanks for making another good video!
Glad to see you are eating better. On my long distance bikes I take my own home made freeze dried meals. No sugar. Nuts and bars. As an older lady it made a huge difference.😀
Pine needles are an exCellent source of vitamin C as well! I highly recommend fashioning the fresh green needles into tea.
Were those compression socks? How did they hold up? What brand and did they help protect you from ticks and poison ivy?
Awesome vid!!!!
Thanks for the advise on the peanut butter. I normally like to take some tortillas with me and put some peanut butter on it but I never found a method I liked. Gonna try yours.
"cold" soaking is a bit of a misnomer. Ambient temperature soaking is more appropriate. It's not as if you are pulling the soaked food out of a refrigerator, the food is at roughly air temp when soaked without heating the water. I tried this a bit on my last backpacking trip and was surprised by how much I was not missing boiled water in my rice side or BP/MH meal. Now, I haven't done a trip where I haven't carried a stove at all...mainly because I still love a cup of hot coffee in the AM. But ambient temp oat meal is just fine for me and I eat it at home even. There is something to be said for the simplicity of soaking. I've balked in the past, but I am gonna try the stoveless thing in the future
This is the healthiest thru hike food video ive seen. Were these things available at most stores?
If utter depression on trail and dreaming of town is your thing then take this advice. Food is often all we thru hikers think about. My morale changed greatly when I started sacrificing extra weight for sanity. I carried a lightweight skillet and routinely cooked hash browns, grilled cheese, quesadillas, pancakes, stir fry veggies, etc. It wasn't long before others did the same. With ultra light gear you can eat well and still pack under 40lbs. Suck it up. Old head hikers use to carry 70. Take adventure of technology and stop starving yourself. (Advice from a thru hiker)
I grew up on couscous, and I love bobos bars. When I hiked as a kid I got to eat Golden Bricks, basically a thick homemade granola bar witha ton of honey and butter in it, an inch thick. Gotta make those again, talk about dense, and calorie rich. Be careful with Lara bars for rocks.
great video. the problem for me is not calories but the sodium. i sweat a lot on the trail and drink lots of water so i know i am losing tons of sodium. i know this because i cramp a lot in the legs when i dont have enough sodium. the food i choose are usually salted nuts, ramen, beef jerky, pepperoni etc. i will certainly add some of your ideas to my food list. thanks
Quinoa in the morning, vega one at lunch, brown rice at night, for me 😋. Do you cook then dehydrate your coos coos to save weight?
Besides the green superfood powder, did you take any type of daily supplement/vitamin capsule for additional nutrients during your thru-hike? Thank you for all of your informative videos! :)
When I'm on the trail, I eat a ProBar or add hot water to some oatmeal and dehydrated fruit in a ziplock bag for breakfast. Mid morning I eat peanut butter cookies (Nekot) or an RX bar. For lunch, it's the Quest cookies or tuna in a sealed bag with a Payday candy bar and then I would take a caffeine pill. Mid-afternoon is Peanut M&M's and some beef Jerky. For dinner, its a Packit Gourmet meal (best hot meal food on the market) and then before bed, I eat some Oreo cookies. I mix it up sometimes, but this is usually what I have been taking with me and for a 5 day hike, my food bag weighs 5-7 lbs. The greenbelly bars are too heavy and allot of calories just for lunch (at least for me). My calories intake is not that much, however, I don't eat allot of calories off the trail.
Cool! I'm glad I found this vid (YT suggested it). I did 500 miles on the PCT last summer. I did the Poptarts + sugar candy stuff a LOT of the time. And I paid for it. Next summer I plan on doing another 600-700 miles, and I'll be eating MUCH better food ... including some of the bars you recommended.
Fantastic video, Darwin. Appreciate this information. I too am a few years older than I used to be and really gravitate towards putting good fuel in my tank. This video gives me some great options. Safe hiking my dude.
Thanks Darwin. Would love to hear how you feel on this better calorie source. Energy, recovery, injury, healing, mental clarity, etc.
I'm really trying to find ways to eat healthier while on trail and this has been really inspirational! I ate pretty healthy on the AT but I need some more ideas of different things to try and I learned a lot from you! Thank you!
I went to an Indian grocery. They have dehydrated spiced veggies on the cheap. You could add some of that to the couscous.
I think I have commented 20 times with this comment but still can’t get over the lack of a hot cup of coffee in the morning and no stove. Impressive.
Put together a soda can stove setup and you could likely save the weight of all that plastic crap anyway.
I always drink my coffee cold. I hate hot stuff.
Like you I can eat pretty the much same thing everyday. But something that I cannot get tired of is powdered milk. Goes a long way, extremely versatile, you can have a protein drink quickly, tasty adding whatever you want. Really is a lifesaver for me. While others will be grossed out by it. Everyone of course is different, but love to see the different options just to learn more. Then you choose for yourself.
Hi Darwin! Did you ever think to make your own staff? Prepare energy bars for example? Reduce the conservatives? What about fruits and vegetables? Wouldn't be that more efficient and cost-effective?
Looking at the ingredients on Mountain Inn meals, I notices a lot of Sodium, Potassium, Iron, Protein--the essential electrolytes to prevent medical disaster.
Hi Darwin. Great video, thanks! Do you have a food list on your blog?
Really cool idea with the couscous, I hadn't realized that it was that caloric.
Have you tried the dry hummus mix that's readily available from the grocery? With some additions, it's really tasty and makes a great trail sandwich filling.
Have you ever made your own pemmican? Super calarie dense and you can control the quality of the ingredients.
Excellent video. Love having different options. Thanks for sharing bud.
Extremely helpful video! Like you I was originally just looking for calorie dense foods. Now I want nutritious and calorie dense. Thanks for some terrific suggestions...
Great input. I carry emergen-c but have only used it when I get a scratchy throat. Makes sense it would be good to have some to give an extra boost of c even in good health! Thanks!
Darwin, what’s a rough estimate of the cost difference to fuel your hike with snickers/ramen/pop tarts vs. the healthier items you mentioned here?
The thinking behind better fuel=better performance is an ideal I agree with, so I’m curious about the $
Hi,
Ive just found your videos and now binge watch with dinner.
Would you use something like huel on a hike even if just for one meal. Its labeled as a complete meal and contains all the vitamins etc.
Thanks
Those laughing cow cheeses are pretty tight trail food. They don't need to be refrigerated and are somewhat calorie dense.
Whatever works for you man. I know for sure cold coffee won’t cut it for me in the morning.
electrolytes are great for water retention and muscle activation (and more) :)
Yeaaah, I'm not leaving my stove at home.
I get it though. For me; it does get annoying to wait 5-10 minutes for the water to boil then an additional 15-20 minutes for the food to warm soak... eat then clean everything up.... sometimes can take up to an hour. Going stoveless can potentially lead up to 2 more hours actually on the trail each day.
@@domgifford7061 nah
@@domgifford7061 get a better stove that you basically dknt have to pack up and takes less than 5 mins to pack up and relax while you wait for your food to soal
On the PCT, where a lot of the trail is warm to hot weather, stoveless can be preferred.
Yikes. Good job man. Did all those dense bars constipate you at all?
Bobo's for the win! My favorite bar for starting the day while thru-hiking the PCT this year. My trail diet was different than yours but it worked for me. Hmm, when will my food video be released?
🤔🤔🤔... When Indeed?
Hike On,
Darwin
Maybe a dumb question but im building my kit for my first thru hike of the AT and im considering cutting Weight by food I bring. My thought on this is to hunt small game like squirrel n rabbit n fishing along the trail.... obviously i will bring some food and restock along the way but mostly I wanna rely on hunting n fishing. How doable is that in reality? I'm not finding any videos that really answer that question.
I love couscous! I'm gonna try that! Where'd you get the packets of coconut oil?
Good vid! BUT alot of wrappers! What do you do with all your rubbish?? Please reply Darwin this is an important question?!
You pack it out. There's no other option.
Just burn it.
You carry an extra plastic bag for waste, that you empty at the end of the hike, or at any town etc.on the way.
You drop them on the trail, no big deal. Relax
I agree w/couscous besides just rice. Bulgar wheat or lentils can be added to your rice blend. 5 bars /day @ $2 each ?
''I'm not the one that believes that hot food warms you up''...of course it does, even hot water raises your core temperature. A hot drink/meal on the trail raises morale too, very important.
Hi Darwin, love your videos and learn a lot from them? Do you have any tips or tricks to clean your pot after eating, since I am always struggling with that...
What do you regarding waste (trash)? Just curious.
well good thing I like couscous as its a good base food that can go with pretty much anything
Viva La Couscous!!!
Hike On,
Darwin
Hi Darwin, this was a great video since nutrition is so important on the trail. I appreciate your comments about the healthy fats as I'm diabetic and eating tons of carbs and sugar even on a hike isn't a great idea for me so calorie quality and source are just as important as quantity. Good thing fats are more calorically dense then proteins or carbs. Thanks for sharing!
Great video I did try the couscous, cooked and I really liked it. I added some freeze dried vegetables and gravy mix. Will be added to my food bag. thanks
Any suggestions for nut free, dairy free, grain free, soy free, corn free, high protein bars? I'm highly allergic to nuts, corn and oatmeal and extremely sensitive to dairy and gluten, but it's very hard to find bars that don't get a lot of their calories from nuts and oats.
Hey Darwin, maybe I missed it but how many "resupply boxes" did you send yourself on the trail? I've heard the average is around 10 for the PCT. Because I doubt you can find Pro Bars, Rx Bars,green belly meals, or even couscous at gas stations/general stores along the trail. So when you didn't have those items, what did you eat? Thanks!
I have a goal to one day through hike the PCT. I’ve been diagnosed with coeliac disease, do you know if there are many gluten free options in towns while through hiking?? I guess I can live off of Couscous😝
You can eat Oath flakes or muesli, it's like cuscus, needs only water.
Very good ideas. Very informative and educational. Thank you very much
You are awesome Darwin!
Hey Darwin thanks for the video. I see you were cold soaking but you mentioned in a previous video that you might leave the bot behind on the next journey. The advantage I see with the bot for the weight penalty is that you can heat things after soaking for a warm meal. I wish you commented on this as I now assume you will just carry something plastic like a talenti or peanut butter jar as you have no stove source? Care to comment?
I could live off of dehydrated saviory chili beans. Sooo good! Plus they dehydrate easy, rehydrate easy and are loaded with calories and nutrients
Food is the only category worth carrying a little more in. I know its not ultralight, but with my 5lb base weight, I pack out fresh fruit/veg, at least a pound or two of deli meat, a little cheese etc.
This is a very smart video! Great ideas for future meals and snacks/ trail hiking fuel