Introduction to Hunger Alleviation: Food Preparation for TAs

Why is backpack food unappetizing?

Knowing several hikers from my time, the diet sometimes seems like something out of a horror story. I have seen packages of tuna, skittles, peanut butter and mayonnaise combined in an unholy concoction that only satisfies the tastes of those wracked by hunger. Barely a vegetable is mentioned and carbohydrates reign supreme.

(Example: my girlfriend’s favorite trail lunch)

This mindset around food is not that different from the wildfire world I worked in for several years. Likewise, calories and speed are the priority and fiber and nutrients are an afterthought. From personal experience, I know that eating this way is fine for a couple of days in a row working on the front lines with heavy backpacks. However, after about a week, your body begins to realize that its needs are not being met. Recovery from injury slows, energy decreases, muscle mass is lost, and the body stops functioning like a well-oiled machine. However, not all hope is lost and with a little forethought and planning, we can overcome this nutrient deficit. We shouldn’t accept the status quo and instead treat our bodies well during hikes. Join me as I explore some alternatives.

Possible solutions:

These days, most backpackers and hikers find themselves choosing between several options. Popular ones include purchasing prepared meals from brands like Mountain House, preparing high-carbohydrate items from the grocery store, or bringing fresh foods. Prepared meals cover your macro nutritional bases but are prohibitively expensive for long trips. Mashed potatoes and ramen leave some food groups deficient and your intestines in a state of disarray. Fresh foods are quite heavy and often unsustainable for several days between replenishments. So what’s a hiker to do?

If you have the resources and time, you can make many of your own healthier alternatives for a fraction of the cost of comparable foods at REI. There are some initial costs, but in the end you can save some money and avoid eating poorly for several months. The two main tools at your disposal are the dehydrator (pictured on the right) and the freeze dryer (pictured on the left).

Dehydrators are much cheaper and dry food over the course of several hours. Food changes flavor, shrinks, and retains about 70 percent of nutrients when dehydrated, in exchange for a longer shelf life. Some foods reconstitute decently with dehydration and meals are usually prepared by combining already dehydrated ingredients and then rehydrating them. A freeze dryer works by lowering the temperature to -40 degrees and then creating a vacuum chamber. While heating the food, the vacuum chamber causes the ice to sublimate and turn directly into gas. These machines are quite expensive and create foods that retain the exact shape, flavor and more than 90 percent of the nutrients. A big plus is that you can freeze-dry entire meals to rehydrate them later on the trail. This results in Mountain House-like meals that you can make with healthy ingredients and homemade recipes!

My experience so far

As my girlfriend Adriana and I prepare to hike the AT, we plan to send each other packages of prepared-ahead meals using both food preparation methods. Buying food in bulk, measuring calories, proteins, nutrients and portions has been a logistical challenge until now. We will also be taking a break from work to do this full time before heading to Springer Mountain in February.

I think the time has proven necessary so far. Cooking 16 meals for each freeze dryer batch is a lot of work! We’re still sorting through our methods, figuring things out, and wrangling a lot with spreadsheets. This is certainly a heavier logistical burden than most people take on before climbing the AT. The freeze dryer has a particularly high initial cost and takes a long time to prepare meals. Although I think it will be worth the effort. We will be able to eat our homemade food on the go and ultimately save money. Stay tuned as we refine our cooking techniques, prepare lots of dirty dishes, and hopefully post some recipes here!

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