{"id":254,"date":"2023-07-16T19:15:53","date_gmt":"2023-07-16T19:15:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hikelike.me\/blog\/?p=254"},"modified":"2023-07-24T14:43:42","modified_gmt":"2023-07-24T14:43:42","slug":"a-shortened-guide-for-food-management-on-treks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hikelike.me\/blog\/a-shortened-guide-for-food-management-on-treks\/","title":{"rendered":"A (shortened) guide to food management on long treks"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re planning on doing a relatively long trek in Europe, and you don\u2019t feel like carrying all of your food and consumables from the trailhead to the end of the trek (and then, of course discover that you\u2019ve been carrying tons of food for nothing) – read this short guide and discover how you can easily lighten your load. <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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What you want to do is what pro-hikers call \u201cdrops\u201d – this basically means sending bits of your gear (mainly consumables) ahead of your arrival to spots along your trail. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A lot of ultralight hikers prefer eating only one hot meal a day. Usually it\u2019s dinner that\u2019s eaten after shelter was set and shoes were taken off at camp. The kind of meal that suits most is pre-packed freeze-dried (lyophilised) food portions. These have several advantages: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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  1. They\u2019re very lightweight (the \u201cstandard\u201d being around 150g \/ 5.3oz) <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  2. They preserve most nutritious values and flavours (about 97%) compared to non freeze-dried foods and especially compared to \u201ctraditionally dried\u201d foods. <\/li>\n\n\n\n
  3. They\u2019re quite nutritious and satiating. A standard portion is about 700Kcal<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  4. They\u2019re quite compact and do not take too much room in their packed state. A vacuum sealed portion would be the size of a male adult fist in terms of volume. <\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    If you adopt the ultralight style of hiking you\u2019ll be eating one hearty dinner and you\u2019ll be snacking along the way on things like beef-jerky, trail-mix energy-snacks etc on stops along the way or sometimes while still on the move. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    My rule of thumb is to make a \u201cdrop\u201d of food and consumables every 4 days of hiking. My aim is not to carry on me more than 4 days worth of calculated<\/strong> food and consumables. I\u2019ve emphasised the word \u201ccalculated\u201d because it is quite important to plan ahead your meals for a trek. You might be eating dinner in a refuge at some night or you might be passing trough a town around lunch-time which means you could maybe eat in a restaurant or just buy yourself something in the local supermarket. These moments and days should be accounted for. It is very common for people to carry extra pounds of things they\u2019ll never consume. Sometimes over hundreds of kilometres \/ Miles\u2026 <\/strong>Don\u2019t be that person. Your back and knees will thank you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    After quite a few years of trekking, I\u2019ve come to the realisation that my typical \u201cday worth of food\u201d as it is carried in my backpack is about 350-400g \/ 12-14oz It consists usually of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n