Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board What to eat?

I attempted a 1-day hike to the top and back on Tuesday. I got to Trail Crest in 6 hours feeling fine and no altitude problems. Kept going well for about the next mile and then I hit a wall. It wasn't altitude (I had hiked White Mtn 3 weeks earlier with no problem) but total energy depletion. I was like one of those batteries that doesn't die gradually but dumps all its power suddenly once it starts to go. A short distance before Keeler Needle I knew I had to turn back or I would be in real trouble on the way down. (I was right - going down was agony and it took me 7 hours.)

It's clear to me that I simply wasn't replacing the calories I was burning and I had nothing left to go on. I was sipping Cytomax, had taken a couple of Shots (like GU) but I find them impossible to get down after a while, had a few Cliff bars, and lots of hard candy. I was counting on the candy for a steady flow of carbs. So the question is: what do other people consume on a monster hike to keep the energy up? I regularly do long mountain hikes (15 - 24 miles) and regularly have a hard time with depletion.

Finally - thanks to the people who saw me there and asked if they could help. I must have really looked like hell.

This is kind of a loaded question and I'm sure you'll get many different answers. What works for me is a carb and protein rich meal the night before, usually a spelt pasta with ground turkey and veggie's. This keeps my glycogen and muscle replenishing protein stores high so when early morning comes around and I don't feel like eating much I have more than enough fuel saved up.
As for your in-hike food selections...It's just my opinion, but it leaves something to be desired. Everything you ate and drank was made up of processed sugars and it appears you had very little to no protein to eat the whole way up to TC. Is this correct?
You will hear a lot of talk about cutting the weight by carrying light weight foods like GU's and freeze dried food, but, in my opinion, the weight of a fresh orange, apple, turkey or chicken slices is well worth its extra weight. I'm not saying don't eat the bars and GU's but you just can't perform well on those alone. Also, while drinking an energy replacement drink is recommended, your body also needs pure water to filter all the sugars and salts in your body. I always, always bring water and Gatorade on my hikes or bike rides and drink them with alternating swigs. Plus, if you ain't peein' while you're hiking you ain't drinkin' enough.
Finally, it's important to find foods that you enjoy eating while hiking. If you don't like GU's that much when you're hiking then there is really no point in carrying them. I personally love Carb Boom in vanilla/orange, it never messes with my stomach. And, if you're gonna bring candy I always like to pack a Snickers and a Payday. They make breaks so much more enjoyable.
Just my 2 cents.

I have had a great deal of success with mixing Hydralyte (Gookin Aid ERG) in my water. I have found a large difference in how I feel during and after hikes, runs and strenous exercise since I started using this in my water about a year ago.

Summited Whitney on Aug. 24, 2006 and felt good during and after the hike. Also, ate Cliff Bars at the rate of ~ one every hour & half.

I did the hike for the first time on Sunday. Up in 7:15, 25min on top and 6 even coming down and then I drove home to the Thousand Oaks area. I had a pb&j to start and then 8 gu gels, a balance bar and another type of bar along the way. I carried 4L of water and used it all, peeing almost every hour. No problems at all.

Everyone is different and you will have to find out what works for you. I have used Cytomax with great success, but I now use Sustained Energy, I think it is better. I carry it in ziplocks and spoon it in with a sip of water when I want it. That way I can have fresh water without having to carry both. GU, Hammer Gel, they work well, but if I suddenly start eating a lot of them, they can upset my stomach. Once my system gets used to those products, I can go all day. It is nice to have something different, jerkey, cookies, fruits, etc. in the pack because it can get old real fast if all you have is SE and GU's. Again, each is different.

I summited last weekend. I ate roast beef for lunch the day before and pasta the night before. For the hike, at lower altitudes, I ate bagels and a powerbar. I nibbled another powerbar bit by bite up to trailcrest. From there it was candy to the top. Both up and down I drank both water and Gookinaid. Keep the drinking going. It could be your were dehydrated.

Many causes for sure each with different remedies.

You need to get the right balance of carbs, fat, and protein. Everyone is different, so what works for one person doesn't work for another.

When I get to high elevation, I find that I can't stomach a lot of different food, and I have to experiment to find things that go down well. What works best for me on hikes like Whitney is a combination of peanut M&Ms, dried pineapple, granola bars, salted nuts, and sometimes the foil packs of salmon with crackers. And keep hydrated. When I did Whitney from Guitar Lake last month, I left Guitar Lake with four liters of water, and I ran out before reaching Outpost Camp on the way down.

On our Mt. Whitney main trail hikes, my wife makes ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone to eat on the trail for lunch.
I've heard of an ultalight hiker who liked potato chips (lots of fat,carbs,salt).
Last year, on a multi-day hike from Horseshoe Meadows to Mt.Whitney, I used packaged tuna and crackers for lunch. I ate alot of thin-cut jerky while hiking and I seemed to feel a real energy pick-up in my legs. I had Trail Mix also, but it has not worked well for me, especially at altitude. I also can't eat any of the engery bars on the market at altitude, so I use Snicker Bars.

I eat a huge pasta dinner the night before to load up on the carbs, plus start drinking lots of water beginning two days prior to hike day. On hike day, I drink plain water plus 2 quarts of Cytomax, and filter water at Trail Camp both on the way up and down. I find that if I stay plenty hydrated, it really helps once I get past Trail Crest. To eat is plenty of Gu packs, beef jerky, dried fruit, salted peanuts, and a bagel throughout the day. I also pop a couple of Advil every couple of hours. It works for me, but everyone is different, and needs to experiment to see what works best for them.

Michael T.

I have reduced my intake of simple carbohydrates, it tends to spike my blood sugar level which leads to a crash. Complex carbs with protein and fat works much better for me. I don't think the form matters much as long as it tastes good to you. My diet includes dried fruit, granola, nuts, and jerky.

I have also started using amino acids, branched chain and L Glutamine. You can find it at sports nutrition stores. It significantly reduces my muscle sorness.

Try different things till you find what works well for you. The previous posts have some good input. You might bring several things to try, more food than you know you will eat, so you have a lot of options. Better that than be stuck with that fresh granola which tasted so good at home but turns stale in your pack.

I would look at the food you are thinking of bringing and take into account the calories per ounce that they provide as well. You want to get "more bang for your buck", so I'd favor foods that give the most energy per ounce.

For me, hydration is more important. I carry a one gallon bladder(I'm 6' 215lbs) of fruit punch Gookinaid on all my long hikes. On Whitney, I usually have to make another gallon on the switchbacks on the way down. As for food. I like Nutter-Butters, beef jerky, gorp. I take what tastes good so I'll eat it even if I'm not that hungary.

Nobody runs to Doug's place for a Clif Bar after the hike. Eat what tastes good. A calorie is a calorie.

while I agree with tchiker that "energy density" is one good measure of what food to bring, that would cause you to load up on fats, which are the highest energy density but worst food to eat on the trail. Basically you want to have a good supply of mostly carbs, with a mix of high, medium and low glycemic index carbs (a measure of how quickly the carb is available as simple sugar to muscles and brain). Also, eat what your stomach can handle best once you get to higher elevations where many/most people start losing their apetite for any food.

A couple of things may have happened. You went anaerobic for long period draining a bunch of your energy stores or you did, in fact, suffer AMS. Lethargy and malise are two of the most pernicious symptoms of AMS.

I treat Mt. Whitney day hike like a big backpacking day with a couple of exceptions I will take a couple of sandwiches, couple of Clif bars, hard candy, some jerky, a candy bar or two and some Cytomax. I will front load my food, in that I will eat the bulk of it before I leave Trailside Meadow. Since I usually lost my appetite above 12,000' day hiking. YMMV

The appetite tends to go out the window at altitude. Try stuff thats easy to eat and tastes good. Chocolate bars and jelly beans work real well with me. Its not nutritional science but it keeps me going. Good luck

When I hike I always like to carry Life Savers or some other type of hard candy. They have a nice flavor, and they tend to help with hydration. This time I am going to bring some packets of honey. I like trail mix, but I tend to eat too much at a time
and feel nauseated. I guess I'll set up smaller portions.

When I hike I just bring about 4 cliff bars, a 4 ounce bag of turkey jerky, and a large bag of jelly belly jelly beans. I used to bring sandwiches, but those always seem to get soggy.