Mt. Whitney Portal Store & Hostel Forums General Mt. Whitney Portal Store Message Board Snacks-lunch-munchies-sustenance

I am not what you would call a "good eater". Any sort of stress, chaos, time contraint, or physical discomfort steals my appetite....yeah, great combo for no endurance and a lousy hike.

Since Whoa Nelli Deli does not deliver on the mountain, I need to learn to eat the way everyone did on the group hikes: while I stood there frozen, realizing that there was no time to mix up my salmon, relish, mayo, onion, pita delight (like I do on the leisurely backpacking trips,) other hikers were shovling down cookies, quick breads, and other things that I have never eaten before. The others were fed, watered, and ready to go before I even got past the "to filter, or not to filter -- how shall I squander my brief restbit".

Please suggest to me what it is that you survive on during those 10 minute, hourly breaks!

B

Trail snacks don't get any better than dried mango. They're great for long trips.

For 2-3 day trips, I love taking along fruit cups. Sucking down the juice tastes mighty fine.

For simple trail lunches, try flour tortillas loaded with hummus. World Market has hummus in single serving sizes. Look in their rack of sample size foods. You can also find little meal size sausages and cheeses.

All of these snacks are easy to prepare and help you load up with energy.

I used to be a fancy eater but now since I'm dirtbagging and getting lazy, I go for food that packs the smallest and has the highest calorie/weight ratio available.

1. Flour Tortilla $.99 bag of dozen ~ 1,000 calories.
2. Jar of peanut butter $1.99. 18oz jar ~ 3,000 calories.
3. Honey $2.99. 8oz bottle ~ 1,000 calories

If you want to get fancy add two McDoubles and three cookies from McDonalds which bring your total cost to $9 and calories count to 6,000+. A weekend outing for $9.

This food quote seems appropriate:

Most expeditions have some story about their food and
attitudes to it vary from the haute cuisine of some French
expeditions to the blunt assertion of Tilman, the famous
eccentric and explorer, that he did not mind as long
as there was some.
Joe Tasker, Everest the Cruel Way page 158

Food - the human fuel. Keep it simple. Harvey

Dried fruits have always been a quick source of fructose and energy during my trips. I find they pack light, digest well and give you that quick burst or energy needed to make a summit push.
..............and they keep you "regular"

My short list:
Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches (the Smuckers Uncrustables are very good to get)
Almonds
Any trail mix
Swedish fish (saved me on a few good mountains!)
Gatorade

Bob...I want to pack some dried fruit.....I do worry about it running through me faster than anticipated......

mvidahoclimber !!!!

Ya know that peanut butter you posted about. I bet that would slow the passing of anything behind it !!!! LOL !!!!

A couple past 'Topics' on snacks:
Trail food
Snacks

My stand by:
Gallo Italian dry salame chub (The dry salame does not need refrigeration until it has been cut; it will actually last a day, maybe two, if stored in air tight zip lock bag).
Shard of French Bread
Sharp Cheddar Cheese (or cheese of choice)
Dry almonds
Apple (if you don't mind the weight)

Easy to prepare and ohhhhh so good! Contains protein, carbs and natural sugar.

I like to bring a wide variety and get a lot of mileage out of planning and thinking about my next meal while hiking. Here's a few off the top of my head that I really enjoy:

Sunflower seeds
Shredded coconut
Beef jerky (a must for me)
Gummy bears (good candy to pop while hiking, won't melt in your pack)
Dried fruits (Trader Joes has a million different types to try)
Cliff bars
Smoked salmon and crackers!

I've often thought that chocolate covered coffee beans would be a good idea in winter, but have yet to bring them along.

The following preferences for us are "organic":
String cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla (hey you can put salmon in it, too!)
Fresh blueberries (I like to put some in my water bottle)
Cranberry juice

The following are not organic but hey why the heck not!:
Payday or Bit-O-Honey bar (the BOH I kid you not works wonders!)
Seaweed-wrapped rice crackers
Cheese pizza slices (pepperoni...maybe...depends on # of WAG bags you want to use)
Clif shot blocks with caffeine (what a buzz at 14k!)

Disclaimer: What tastes good at lower elevations tends to taste "differently" at higher altitudes. I don't eat much on hikes. Drives my wife nuts cuz she has to EAT SOMETHING!

Afterwards:
A Portal Pancake the next day after the big un, or
A double order of Portal Fries IMMEDIATELY following the hike provided we are finished before the store closes!

I better stop...my stomach is grumbling...

Have fun.

Thank you thank you THANK YOU!!! Mistakes that I thought were my own, seem to play out all over (Yeah -- those three square meals that took three times as long to prepare, and then they tasted like merda at altitude, were never enough to sustain me)

Funny story: I had carried those little tuna salad packets all summer. And all summer, I experienced different levels of nausea at altitude with those damn things. Finally, I was day hiking to 13k and one mile into the hike, I reached into my pack for the tuna and almost cried at the thought of choking it down. I turned around, headed back to the car, threw ALL of my peanut M & M's into my pack, dumpted the tuna....and had the best hike EVER. I could eat peanut M & M's doing a headstand on the moon!(I guess that I did not know that it was "okay" to sustain on a non-food type item such as chocolate)

B

I've thought the same thing. Might just have to bring some along for summit day on the MR...

THAT'S the ticket! What passes 'tween your lips during the hike is simply fuel to get you to the WPS counter for the cheeseburger and fries 'fore the store closes.

That can't taste good at any altitude.

This is a great thread! I would like to add that Nutella tastes amazing at any altitude at any time. My go-to food system for one hard day in the mountains is a loaf of bread + a jar of nutella, aiming for about 10 pre-made sandwiches. They take about a minute each to eat and are delicious. I use them in lieu of real food for dinner when I'm too lazy to cook something better.

What kind of bread do you use? (btw, you can get Nutella just about anywhere in the world)

Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches are # 1
Trail mix
Dried Apricots
Peanut M&M's
Salami
Cliff Bar
Bean & Cheese burrito

i like sports beans as a quick snack. The orange and fruit flavor are very tasty:)

marmot jerky

Trader Joe's $1.99 loaf! Paired with $2.50 knock-off Ralph's brand Nutella, that's $4.50 for 4000 calories. Perfect. If you're of the rare sort who gets tired of Nutella, getting a baguette instead of toast and bringing along some goat cheese is a mighty fine supplement. Realizing that it's OK to consume a whole jar of Nutella in one day may or may not do horrible things for your health later if you stop hiking