
The weight of the food, its price, whether you can cook it with your camp stove and how long it can keep without refrigeration are a few of the main things to consider when resupplying. This is of course assuming you’re not going stoveless, in which case it’s cold ramen, cold oats, candy, days-old fast food and Pop-Tarts all around.
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The basic menu of a hiker bum (disclaimer: Some folks were able to eat quite healthy and wholesome food on trail. This was generally not my experience. Consider yourself warned.)
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Ramen noodles.
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Instant mashed potatoes.
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Ramen noodles and instant mashed potatoes all mixed together, also known as a “Ramen Bomb.”
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Mac and cheese with tuna.
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Pasta sides and rice sides — you can find these for less than a dollar at most supermarkets. Even better with black trumpet mushrooms picked from the trail.
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Oatmeal (extra tasty with fresh blueberries straight from the trail).
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Snickers. Too many to count. Cheaper than Cliff Bars.
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Pop-Tarts, Honey Buns, Nutty Buddies.
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Carnation Breakfast Essential chocolate protein drink mix.
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Instant coffee.
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Tortillas with peanut butter and nutella.
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Cheez-Its or potato chips. They will turn to dust, but you will crave salt and you will drink the crumbs.
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Frozen burritos — eat them when they thaw within the same day or so of resupplying.
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The nights after resupplies are a good time for a bag of salad from the supermarket.One of the few ways to eat something green.
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Though it was somewhat uncommon due to how heavy fruit is, I would almost always carry a few apples to have for breakfast with heaps of peanut butter.
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Carrots, red peppers, and other sturdy vegetables keep fairly well. Avocadoes are a great source of fat on trail but it doesn’t take long for them to become guacamole after a 20-mile day bouncing around in a backpack.
If you happen to cross paths with a chef with a handleless skillet on trail, which I had the luck of doing, freshly cooked burgers with sauteed onions, tomato, cheese and eggs (kept safe in a plastic Easter egg container from the dollar store) may be in your future.
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