Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board food for the hike

hi avid hikers going for a 2nd hike to whitney summit with newbies my quistion is what are people eating going up to the summit pls relay going hiking 21st of aug.

i'm buying a Pizza Factory pizza the night before my hike and taking half of it in my pack. : )

Bring what you like to eat, for us its salami, cheese, crackers, Quaker granola bars, madeleine cookies, snickers bars... everyone likes different things.

I actually open up & repackage everything the night before, I get a ziplock bag ready for the trip for everything we are bringing, so I have one bag for all the granola bars, one bag for the madeleines, etc. etc., and that saves alot when you are on the trail in terms of having to deal with trash.

I also pre-cut everything the night before too, so the salami & cheese gets sliced up and put in a bag so it's ready to go for the trail... just gotta make life a little easier is how I see it.

When you're ready to eat, just open up your ziplocks and it couldn't be easier.

Good luck and have fun !

For trail snacks, I always take peanut M&Ms. Chocolate and nuts togehter, they travel well in your pocket, I can eat them without stopping, and they provide good energy. For something more hearty, beef jerky. Again, it travels well in your pocket, provide a good and unique flavor during a hike, and gives you a blast of salt.

The trip up Mt. Whitney is nothing special food-wise. It would be a good idea to bring the foods you like and you have been utilizing during your training hikes, just a bit more.

The problem is a lot of folks will lose their appetites when to go higher than 12,000'. This will make food that is marginally appealing at sea level wholly unappealing at these elevations.

I generally go heavy on complex carbs because they are easier to digest but bring all food groups plus electrolyte replacements.

Definitely bring stuff you like. Bars and goos are great for energy, but if you don't eat them they obviously don't help. I do like those snickers energy bars though.

I sometimes make cheese quesadillas, just cheese and tortilla (nothing exotic) in the microwave, cut them up into small peices and throw them in a zip lock bag. I've eaten them up to 2 days after cooking and they still taste pretty good.

Also, I throw some tortillas in my bag along with one of those big peanut butter squeeze pack things. They go great with chocolate chips, m&ms, raisins, or by themselves.

I once hiked with a guy that barbecued up some chicken breasts the night before and brought them along. (He was doing the low carb thing at the time)

Does anyone have anything to say about taking a portal burger to go?

When I started a few weeks ago, just as we left the portals I was eating a PB&J on a bagel. It tasted good at midnight. I also ate some Slim Jims, those little pepperoni sticks. I also like to suck on Life Savers/Jolly Ranchers or other hard candies. I have learned that you don't want to experiment with food on the Whitney hike, so just eat what you would normally eat on a hike.

I have an idea!!! (need a smiley face with a light bulb)! We should start an on-line Whitney Cook Book! Everyone could add their favorite "recipe" for hiking Whitney. I have a friend who makes her own freeze dried foods. MooseTracks could add a few "recipes"; that's for sure!

Just a thought...

MC

If you make sandwiches I fell in love with "King's Hawaiian bread." It's a slightly sweet white bread that's in every store, even the one in Lone Pine. It's a round loaf in an aluminum pie tin, covered with bright orange/tan plastic wrapper. It's gooey and doughy and sucks up mayo and goes down real easy especially when you're forcing yourself to eat at altitude. It comes in rolls too for mini sandwiches.

Tried the healthy wheat breads full of oats and wheat , but they are so dry, it takes so much water and energy to digest it up high.