Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board vegan trail/backpacking food

Hello, I'm fairly new at this, but here goes...I'm planning aMt. Whitney hike in late Sept. with a small group of friends. We are all vegan. We've come up with some good ideas on what to bring on the trail and if there is anyone out there with any ideas, experiences, or info I'd love to hear it and pass it on to my group. Thanks in advance for any feedback coming my way...:) Nube

The Jane Farms meals (available at REI) came in vegetarian and I think vegan (also organic). I'm not either, but what I liked the best was that they packed flat so I could carry a LOT of them (13 total for a long trip). They were fairly tasty as well, although I missed my home cookin'!

-L

I have been using the book Lipsmackin Vegetarian Backpackin available here .

They are not all vegan but you can make substitutions for the cheese.

Dried Hummus is very good..just mix with water....we had it on pita bread or crackers and even those little cocktail size rye breads..that is probably not 100% vegan.
I take on backpacking trips flat banana bread you can get it at Trader Joes..but not sure if it is all Vegan.
Have a nice trip!

Not vegan, not even veggie, but have a few suggestions. I'm a firm believer in constant snacking, and love dried fruit for this. My favorite is dried mangos. Watch out though, there is serious sugar in there. Another snack I like (mainly for dayhikes, or that first long day) is peanut butter on celery. just put the peanutbutter (fresh/homemade) in two celery stick and put them together, they make less of a mess than you'd think.
We use alot of dehydrated food. With a little expiramentation you can pretty much dehydrate any meal you would make at home, and they are easily rehydrated on the trail.

Hi Nube,

I kept it pretty simple for my trip last year. For car camping at the portal, I brought a pre-made pasta/veggie dish and cornbread (rice or quinoa would be good, too). All breakfasts were a couple packets of instant oatmeal, lunch was regular trail food – energy bars, fruit cups, trail mix, dried fruit (I second the suggestion for dried mango) chips, candy, etc., and dinner on the trail was a vegetarian backpacking meal (I don't recall the name) that I also believe was vegan. My luxury food items were fresh fruit and some homemade vegan banana bread – well worth the weight. I don’t know how long your trip is but some vegetables should travel well for a day or two. Instant soup makes a great appetizer while your backpacking meal is cooking. You could also get some of the those squeeze containers for pnut butter, hummus, vegan cream cheese to have with bagels or crackers or vegan sour cream to have with tortillas, beans, avocado. And don’t forget cookies... good any time of day.

Have a great trip!

Leslie

Hi Nube -

first of all - I'm a vegetarian not a vegan so if I include non-vegan ideas plz forgive me in advance.

If you're planning a shorter trip (say 3 days) and like to cook you can bring your own (fresh) food and cook your favourite dishes. Since you have enough people you can go communal (share water filters, stoves, dishes etc) and share your load so nobody has to carry too much.

It used to be that the big bummer on cooking was the stove - like the old Whisperlites which only have one setting: scorch. Nowadays modern stoves can simmer thus enabling a much greater range of culinary experience.

So as long as you share the load, have a decent stove, like to cook, then bring whatever you want to cook. You'll still want to be smart and not bring waterlogged stuff or food that's complex to prepare. Look thru your favorite foods and see what you could make in elevation.

If you're skittish about cooking REI has a bunch of dehydrated vegan meals that are surprisingly ok. You'll want to bring seanonings and spices since they tend to be on the bland side. Trader Joe's may also be a resource - on one trip a vegan friend of mine stacked up on indian food packets (unfortunately hydrated so heavy) but boy - was I jealous!

Aside from that, given a shorter trip you can bring fresh veggies, fruit, nuts, berries, all the good stuff. Remember cooking in elevation takes longer.

Bon appetit!

Hi Nube.
Don't know about vegan but their products are organic and tasty;

http://www.maryjanesfarmoutpost.org/

This may be the same company that Moosetracks mentioned. I orderd on line last year and the shipping was free!
Hope you have a nice trip.

Hello to all who have lovingly responded to my vegan camping food inquiries. Thank you for all the great ideas and links, I've got a lot to work with ! And, seems Maryjanesfarmoutpost.org has lots of vegan options, thanks moosetracks and hoser23 for that link. Many joyous adventures ahead to all...Nube

Hello folks, it's Nube again. Are their any raw food hikers out there? I'd like to hear your take on raw food and packing light; getting your daily electrolytes; green foods in powder form and anything else you'd care to share about being raw and healthy on the high altitude trails. Thanks much... Nube

Thanks Leslie, I'm definately into the cookie reminder, LOL ! Nube

Hi Nube..speaking of cookies check out www.sunflourbaking.com
they have vegan & wheat and gluten free vegan cookies..

I have used these on a few trips I do mostly overnite, the cinnamon is great for breakfast, you can find some of there products in health stores...mark

Carrot & celery sticks usually hold up OK on the trail if you're only out 2-3 days. As for electrolytes, we always take along Gatorade powder in zip-lok bags to mix in our water bottles. Other brands are coming out now with little packets of powdered drink mixes that are easy to pack. Powerbar has one I recently tried, & Propel is also available in small 1-serving size packets. You can find these in any regular grocery store.