What food to take on a trek, what food is worth taking on a long trek, layout

Speaking about trekking, many people anticipate an unusual gastronomic experience: an unforgettable picnic in nature, food on the fire and herbal tea at sunset. It sounds, of course, tempting, but is it realistic to organize it? Any experienced tourist knows that camping meals require competent planning. Therefore, before going on a hiking trip, the most important thing is to think through the diet. And in this guide, which we have compiled together with experts, will help you.

PRO-expert Sportmaster PRO, winner of all-Russian competitions in hiking and ski touring

When hiking, it is important to regain strength and efficiency in order to successfully overcome the route. That’s why the food layout should be caloric.

How to organize food for a hike?

Let’s start with the fact that trekking is a multi-day hike with overcoming rugged terrain. Sports tourism, like any other sport, requires a lot of strength and energy. Therefore, the choice in food depends on how long your trek will last and how difficult it will be. Knowing these nuances will make it much easier for you to compile your diet.

Express hike

It is a speed climb or multi-race in the format of a two-day trek. It is usually non-stop and there is no time to cook. Therefore, take with you sublimates, electrolyte gels, isotonics, protein bars, chocolate bars. To avoid monotony of dishes, plan the menu for each day of the week in advance.

For example, oatmeal for breakfast, dried fruit (raisins, dates, cranberries) and crackers for lunch, nuts (almonds, hazelnuts, cashews) for a snack. Oh, and marshmallows for dessert around the campfire. If you can’t do without luxuries while away from home, limiting yourself to dry rations is optional. Bring along some ham, slices of cheese, liver or tuna pate. In any case, do not forget that your hike will not last forever and soon you will return to the former “greenhouse” conditions.

Two-day hike

This is most often a weekend hike. In this situation, you are not too limited by the weight of your gear and you can take your usual foods with you. Usually, the hiking layout for one person in such conditions is about 3 thousand calories per day. In a two-day hike, you can even take fresh vegetables, make a salad in the evening and have a delicious meal with a view of the sunset. In this sense, short hikes are very comfortable. Even if you make a mistake or forget to take something – no big deal. Yes, you will miss one meal, you will be a little more tired, but at the end of the day you will return home and recover your strength.

Expedition tour

Here the layout of food is made according to the group’s requests, taking into account the total weight of the equipment. Either it will be usual, but voluminous by weight products from the store – such as pasta, stew. Or light freeze dried mixes. You don’t need to bring water with you – when making a route, you should take into account where you can find it.

Sportmaster PRO-expert, leader of mountain treks of 1-4 categories of difficulty.

For a snack you can take chocolates, bars, nuts, dried fruit. Breakfast, lunch and dinner are usually prepared from the general layout, which was made for the group. The volume depends on the preparation of people. The average calculation per person per day – 350-500 g of dry sublimates. Minimum – 250, maximum – 600.

Multi-day trekking

If it is a cross-country route with difficult mountain passes, in this case you will need to make “throws” – food stock is replenished during the movement. Probably, it will be usual products from stores, most often – canned. But if, let’s say, you are traveling in Karelia and made a mistake with the layout, you can always find something to eat right on the ground – berries, mushrooms. You can even fish, notes the head of mountain hiking.

On a long hike, it is also important to follow the rules of food safety – proper packaging, storage, cooking. Store raw and ready-to-eat food separately. And remember that perishable food should not be stored in hot weather for more than one hour, and in cool weather for more than two hours. Otherwise, the food will be unfit for consumption.

What would be the most optimal snacks on a long trip?

On a hike, especially a long one, you should not take heavy foods, as weight is crucial. After all, in addition to food, you will have a tent, sleeping bag, a change of clothes, personal hygiene products and other things on your shoulders. In long trekking, there is an opportunity to collect firewood and find water along the way, while in high altitude trekking the layout will be different. In the forest zone there is a possibility to cook on a fire, while in the mountains you will be able to use only a gas burner and will have to save fuel.

Sergei: Be sure to include meat – stew or sausage (cervalat, which contains fat and keeps for a long time), sweets, condensed milk. As for the general requirements for products, they should weigh a little, quickly cooked and long time not to spoil – that is, have a long shelf life without refrigeration. That’s why making a layout (the total set of products per group, taking into account the optimal set and weight in grams per participant) is an important moment.

A good option for camping is freeze-dried food. These are foods from which moisture is removed while retaining flavor. It is enough to add hot water, wait a couple of minutes – and you will get ready borscht, goulash or something else. Some experienced tourists do their own drying and make preparations of vegetables and meat in advance.

Chips that allow you to save weight so that the nutritional and flavor qualities of the dishes do not suffer:

There are no trees in the mountains – here you cook with gas or gasoline – the fuel supply is limited and you will be forced to save it. Freeze-dried products do not require cooking – it is enough to pour boiling water to get a ready dish in 3-4 minutes, for example – buckwheat with chicken.
An integral part of the set is milk powder. This is a caloric and light product. It is impossible to cook porridge on ordinary milk in the morning on a camping trip, but you can replace it with powdered milk. Or, for example, to cook borscht high in the mountains, potatoes are replaced with potato flakes.
On a long route it is convenient to take dried or dried meat, pieces of lard – a quick and convenient snack.
Fast carbohydrates are important, so you can put candies, lollipops, dried fruits and nuts in your pockets – a source of protein.
A multi-day hike favors loose foods – rice, oatmeal are easy to pack in bags or plastic water bottles. Vegetables can also be, but in dried form.