On Trail Food

Just a few short days away from heading out on the trail. Once again I will see the Mexican border and that monument I stood at 6 years ago. Curious to see how it is now, however. Recent photos have shown walls and all sorts of things being built around (and in front of) the monument.

At any rate, lots of folks ask about what I eat, so here is a breakdown!

All in all, I’m putting in about 2200 calories per day. I basically starve myself every day burning between 5000-7000 calories each hiking day, so this doesn’t include any additions like candy or junk snacks I get to bump up my calorie count, but is the main bulk of my nutrition:

** one thing I did start doing on the CDT was cooking fresh eggs. I bring one of those yellow egg carry devices that hasn’t changed since the 50’s — and it works well! Typically hardboiled for breakfast, sometimes soft boiled to add to ramen at dinner. Going to try bringing a little pan with me to fry up some eggs, add some cheese and throw in a tortilla for a nice second breakfast or brunch on the trail. That would be a nice 400 calorie boost and have some nice ‘real’ food feel for on trail culinary pursuits. Didn’t add it below as I’m not sure how it will play out on the regular just yet.

Breakfast:
2x Pack Apples + Cinnamon Oatmeal
1x Pack Peanut Butter
1x Human Improvement Protein Powder - Vanilla
1x Triple Crown Coffee Pouch

Lunch:
1x Meal Bar (trying Range Meal Bar and Greenbelly Meals, TBD at the moment, but over 600 calories per bar)
Additional Candies

Dinner:
1-2x Packet Ramen (starting real fancy with Momofuko Ramen, going medium fancy for mail drops, and standard for on the fly)
- depending on hunger levels, and towards the end of longer hikes when nutrition is down, I’ll often add another pack of peanut butter for an extra protein and calorie bump)
1x Cookie/Macaroon
1x Athletic Greens Shake