Happy Thursday! This week is flying by! Anyone else notice that? Maybe it’s just me, but I measure my time in school years and it feels like this one is going by so fast. I’m a little bit okay with that since I have some really awesome trips coming up in the next few months. You guys know I just live from vacation to vacation, right? 
I think I’ve mentioned our upcoming vacation plans a few times, but I’ll give you a quick overview mainly because I love talking and thinking about traveling! Something I haven’t talked about a lot on the blog, is my love of snow skiing. Believe it or not, it’s actually a passion of mine that is neck in neck with hiking as far as being my favorite thing to do. My family has been going as long as I can remember, and I put on my first pair of skis as soon as I was eligible! I don’t talk about it as much as I would like because, obviously, being stuck in Oklahoma doesn’t provide me with as many opportunities to ski as I would like. We generally try to go once a winter, but we skipped last year in favor of using John’s vacation time in Glacier. Needless to say, I’m more than ready to hit the slopes! John and I are headed to Steamboat Springs, Colorado over spring break. I’m going to get my snow fix!
I’m the one in the middle
John is turning the big 3-0 in April, and since we almost always celebrate big occassions with travel, I asked him what city he would like to go explore on a mini-vacation for his birthday. He picked Chicago so we’ll be spending some time there over Memorial Day. Neither of us have been so it’ll be fun to discover it together. I also hope to meet a blend in real life on that trip. I’m looking at you, Miss Jorie!
Last but certainly not least, we have an epic (that’s right, I said it!) backpacking trip planned for July. We’re going back to Colorado (Yes! Twice in one year!) to hike part of the Colorado Trail. We have a 150 mike section staked out that will go from Lake City, CO and end up in one of my favorite towns, Durango, CO which is also home to my favorite restaurant ever. You better believe that’s where I’ll be having my post-hike meal!
Speaking of hiking and food, I want to talk to you guys a little bit about eating on the trail today. Are you intrigued by the title of this post? Well, it’s not an exaggeration. Backpacking burns a huge amount of calories. According to one online calculator, carrying a 25lb. pack (my normal load) for 8 hours of hiking, I would burn 4,000 calories. 4,000 calories?! That’s insane.
Many of the hiking books I read about people who do the longer thru-hikes center around food. Mostly, it’s about how they can’t seem to get enough! One of the things that is so special to me about hiking is how the concerns that seem to overwhelm us in everyday life, melt away on the trail and your priorities become very, very basic. Food, water, and setting up shelter are the important things in your world. Making sure you have enough food to sustain you during a trip while not overloading your pack is a huge part of the planning stage.
So what food do we take with us to attempt to satisfy our overwhelming hunger? We have a few staples that have been tried and true. I know you guys will be completely surprised, but I always take oatmeal for us to have for breakfast. No, I haven’t figured out how to have yogurt bowls on the trail! Oatmeal is great trail food. It’s easy to compress in your pack, and it’s filling. Oatmeal itself doesn’t have enough calories to start off the day in the back country so we always add copious amounts of peanut butter. A couple other great options are powdered eggs and powdered milk with granola. John even read an article in Backpacker recently that illustrated how to take fresh eggs on the trail. I’m skeptical of this, but we might try it!
Lunch and snacks are a variety of nuts, seeds, trail mix, raisins, and protein bars. I’m a huge fan of Cliff Bars, and our packs always have quite a few of those. This is my favorite flavor!
We’ve also had great luck with applesauce. I have no idea why, but applesauce tastes so good in the backcountry!
Dinner usually consists of some sort of freeze-dried meal. When I first started backpacking, I thought these were going to be the worst part of the process, but, trust me, they’re really good! There are several great companies to pick from including Packit Gourmet, Mountain House, and Backpacker’s Pantry. They have options that you wouldn’t believe like Beef Stroganoff and Lasagna-two of my personal favorites. We usually pack tea bags or packets of hot cocoa as an after dinner treat.
Any quick Google search will show how creative people haven’t gotten with creating awesome recipes for homemade food in the backcountry. I plan on experimenting a little more with this in the coming months, and I can’t wait to share it with all of you!
There are a lot of options to meet your calorie needs in the back country. Luckily, most of them are tasty so you don’t feel to deprived! And the hard work will make that post-hike celebration meal in your favorite restaurant taste better than you can imagine!
What are your go-to foods to refuel? What fun trips do you have planned this year?
As soon as I read the title of this post, I *knew* the answer was hiking/backpacking. And since I read Cheryl Strayed’s book (still need to write a review!), I knew all about the oatmeal, granola, and protein bar obsession.
It’s crazy how many cals it burns–and what kind of food cravings you can get, like hers for Snapple.
Oh, it’s insane. I find myself craving foods that I haven’t eaten in years, and I haven’t been on the trail nearly as long as she was. Someday I’ll experience that
I am glad you are smart enough to fuel, when I was on my bike trip we would burn upwards of 5000 calories a day – aka we ate like feigns. it is all about fueling your body
Very true. It’s so important. Not being properly fueled can lead to some dangerous situations in the back country.
Skiing is hands down my favorite activity! I am so jealous of your steamboat trip! I went there yearssss ago and loved it. I need to arrange a snow fix of my own now
I am so ready! I was in Steamboat about ten years ago, and it was a great resort! I can’t wait to take John. He’s never been to there!
Skiing and hiking are so much fun! That’s my favorite Clif, too
It’s so good! They are hands down my two favorite activities on the planet
You’ll have a blast at Steamboat. I’ve never been but I have friends living over there and their photos are proof of just how much snow they have gotten! A LOT more than the front range!
I was there about ten years ago, and I remember the amount of snow blowing me away. It’s a lot different than some of the other mountains.
Obviously I never considered the actual food aspect of hiking … duh, Chels, of course they have to eat!!! But if you’re planning a massive 6 month hike, you couldn’t possibly take enough food with you … right? So do you make scheduled stops? I’ve also wondered about showering on those … obviously not every day, but eventually … Guess I’d better get reading one of those books you recommended to get all my answers,eh??
Yes you should!
Yeah, you definitely can’t take enough food. The long trails pass through or near enough towns all along the way where people can resupply. Most people send themselves boxes to the towns they will be in so they make sure they have what they need. That’s when they take the opportunity to shower too! But usually it’s only once every few weeks 
When my husband and I hike in CO each summer (we just do day hikes though), we always pack nutrition bars, apples, trail mix and tons of water! This looks so exciting–wow!! We were in steamboat (will you be there?) last summer–it’s one of our favorites. Go to the Boathouse for dinner one night, I have a whole post about it on my blog, along with some other posts about our hikes.
I’ll definitely go back and look at those. We’ll be in Steamboat in March for skiing, and I’m so looking forward to it! Our hike this summer will be in the southern part of the state. Are you guys going back this summer?
I love that hiking gets you thinking only about the basics. That is such a good thing to do every once in a while. People that don’t hike need to find a way to do that as well. Very good for your mind!
You are so right. It’s the most theraputic thing I’ve ever done!
Such great information packed into this post! I love the tips for what food to bring, and what works for you guys on a long backpacking trip.
Thanks, Meghan! Food is a major concern on any hiking trip, and something we spend a lot of time thinking about!
Never been backpacking but it sounds awesome- and quite magical in the sense that you can escape the hustle & bustle of regular life! And those mini PB containers are too cute…PB is a great (and delicious) way to amp up a meal’s calories- and gotta love the healthy fats eh
!
Can’t go wrong with peanut butter! I love to backpack. It’s so theraputic. The worst thing is it makes it very difficult to come back to the real world!
Yaaayyyy, Natalie! I’m SO excited to meet up with you and John in the city at some point over Memorial Day weekend! I will also gladly point out any recs and whatnot. You’ll be my first blend to meet in real life too!
I am so jealous of your downhill skiing ways. Skiing is something I want to be good at but I never get the opportunity living in flat old Illinois! I am trying to plan more and more trips to tiny mountains in Michigan and Wisconsin so I can get better. Alas. You’re a jack of all trades outdoorsy woman, Natalie!
What a great post! My fiancee and I talked about doing part of the Appalachian trail this year. He wants to do the entire thing at some point – I’m not sure I can last for that long! Your food suggestions will definitely be helpful!
Oh, I hope you go for it! My husband and I dream of doing either the PCT or the Continental Divide Trail. One of these days!
I had no idea it was going to be hiking, but I guess that makes sense! I’m more of a day hiker myself so we usually stop at Subway.
No worries…that works too
I just ran into a fueling issue while hiking in the Canary Islands last week. (One of my travel spots this year). We were told to leave our lunches on the bus. The less seasoned hikers did that. I had extra protein bars and decided to take my lunch just in case. Smart because we did 10 miles and about 2,000 feet of elevation gain. I ended up parceling out my lunch to three other people and subsisting on one protein bar and some gummy bears (my excuse to eat them is exercising outside). Definitely poor planning.
I have a few treats like that that I’ll let myself eat on a hike! I can’t believe you guys were told to leave your lunch on that kind of hike! Were there no other snacks provided? Definitely poor planning!