The Right Way for Backpacking Food

Have you ever seen the commercial for the taco chain that has people rescuing some hikers in the mountains and then offering them food bought from the taco fast food restaurant? Ok, that is the wrong way for backpacking food. Backpacking food can be the most important thing you do to prepare for your hiking trip so you may want to learn a few tips on the correct way to carry and pack backpacking food so that it remains edible for you for as long as possible.

The first thing you have to do when you are considering backpacking food is where you will be hiking. Hiking in the summer time in the wilderness may mean that you have to leave the ice cream bars at home. But food keeps differently in the summer time than it does in the winter time so you need to make sure that you are backpacking food that will be able to withstand the conditions. If you anticipate a change in the conditions during your hike then you will want to account for that as well. Keep in mind the duration of your hike because backpacking food for more than a couple of weeks is not going to be very appetizing.

What To Take Where And When

If you know you will be hiking in the summer then keep in mind that most of the prepackaged food will spoil in the heat. Things like beef jerky and dried fruit will probably keep the longest along with, believe it or not, granola bars as long as we are not talking 100 degrees or more. For liquids your best bet will be water and that is probably true on any hiking trip but especially in the heat. Try and keep your water shielded from the direct sun and insulated from the heat. It won’t be nice and cool when you go to drink it but at least you can try to keep it from getting to warm. With all of the pollutants in the air today it may be best just to bring your own water or at least have a water testing kit if you plan on drinking from streams.

In the winter time your food options are a little better because food can keep better in the cold. Fruits, vegetables, and possibly even breads can keep for almost a week out in the cold and longer if it is really cold. You will need to bring something to warm some of your food before you eat it and there are alternatives for hikers that need warmth to heat up food. Try not to carry a propane tank on your back as that could be bad. For liquids water kept in an insulated pack should be fine and some hikers even carry some sort of alcohol with them because alcohol requires extremely low temperatures to freeze and it will usually stay a liquid in the mountains.