Staying Healthy On The Trail

      This is really a big issue to me.  I laugh whenever I pull into a campground or shelter and see someone eating only prepackaged freeze dried food.  Or even worse that guy over there in site two taking the canned food out of his pack.  Come on people, do a little research if your new to it.  No one wants to carry 10 extra pounds of can with them, or spend $100 on a four day trip.  As everyone who works in the outdoor industry has seen, there are really people out there that will do things like this, and there are also really people out there that will laugh at you, also known as me.  In this post I will help you not look like a moron while making dinner and add input on some healthier foods to eat when your out on the trail.

      When planning meals for a trip you need to know how many people you are cooking for and how long you will be gone; there's nothing worse than running out of food the day before you leave.  There is also a very fine line between too little and too much food.  Think about how much food you would eat for a normal meal, then pack about half as much more than you would normally eat (depending on what you are eating.)  If you are cooking for a normal group buy the family sized things, and leave the cans at home dry food is much easier to pack.

      Another thing that I see all the time is people that take a ton of packaging with them.  Ziplock bags are your best friend in this category.  Lets say your gonn have mashed potatoes and stuffing one night, loose the boxes and you probably save at least half if not more the space you would have used packing those boxes into your pack.  Most places that I go are pack it in pack it out kind of places, and I am not very fond of trash.  The less packaging you take in the less you get to carry with you for the rest of the trip.  Try mixing up your foods to be about half dehydrated, and half dry food.  Just add water and instant dinner, but remember that a lot of these foods can be pretty bland!

      Spice it up.  Spices are lightweight and easily emptied into bags instead of their little plastic containers, and can make or break a back country meal.  That same couscous you've been eating every day for a week can be garlic one night, Italian the next, and finish it off with Cajun the last.  It helps save your sanity in the woods if you can enjoy some flavor every once and a while.

      So you have been out there for 4 days now and don't have anything sweet to eat.  The amount of salt people generally take in while backpacking or paddling is insane.  Don't forget to take some chocolate or a few pieces of your favorite candy.  My personal favorite is pudding in a bag, pick your flavor and just add water, but remember take it out of the box and put it into the bag before you leave.  Treat yourself, your not on a diet out here, as long as you don't keep eating 4000-5000 calories a day after you get home you'll be fine.  Also don't forget to use the environment around you, pick berries and eat fish if you can its like an added bonus to the trip, kind of like your boss just bought you lunch.

Who says you can't have a good meal on the trail.

      Last when choosing what foods to take, pick calorie dense lightweight things.  Couscous, peanut butter, potatoes, nuts, the list goes on.  One of the biggest things I see people forget on the trail is protein.  Without protein your body slowly grinds to a stop.  Your metabolism slows and you wake up with little to no energy to do your 30 mile day.  Beef jerky is great but moderately priced and tuna in a bag is perfect if you like fish. I like mixing TVP into my meals on the trail, it goes great with stuffing, but not so great with soup so plan accordingly, no matter how you get your protein (whether it be from horrible for you cliff bars or a fish you caught in the lake) just make sure you get enough of it so your body doesn't start shutting down.  One of the worst things on the trail is being sick.  Get those calories in you too Peanut butter and olive oil are my personal favorites to this.  You may look like a goof taking a shot of pure olive oil, but chances are your going to be miles ahead of the guy eating a single package of ramen for dinner.

-Tattooed Adventure