Have a favorite trail recipe or technique you'd like to share? Please do! We also like reviews of various trail food products out there. The Backcountry Food Topix forum is the place to discuss all things related to food and nourishment while in the Sierra wilderness (as well as favorite trail head eateries).
Harlen wrote: ↑Mon Aug 05, 2019 10:09 pm
I seem to be in the minority here. On mountain trips I have long been baffled by my lack of appetite for anything other than dinner, which for over 30 years has consisted of ramen noodles or couscous, with a bit of salami or cheese mixed in. Breakfast and lunch I mainly eat to lighten my pack, and under the old assumption that I am burning a lot of calories. I must be, because I always come out lighter. I've learned to take less and less food over the years.
Interestingly, I eat too well at home, but consume little alcohol. This is reversed in the mountains- especially on ski trips, when I really enjoy a few ounces of spirits mixed with snow.
I'm with you. Don't really want to eat anything at all, nothing really tastes good. The only thing I'm interested in is sour candy, dried fruit, and Crystal Light (which I care nothing about except when backpacking).
Loss of apatite while backpacking is common. Some of it has to do with altitude. Loss of apatite is one of the symptoms of acute mountain sickness, along with headache and poor sleep. All this is supposed to improve as you acclimatize. Personally, my apatite is back to full speed ahead after about a week. I'm sure the physiology is a bit different for every backpacker.
Yeah, this kind of falls in line with a “favorite color” survey. Everyone is different, but I echo Greg’s point that acclimation is a key driver. I typically acclimate quite well to altitude (even at age 62) and my appetite rarely flags, unless I do excessive miles for my current fitness level.
I find that my appetite is slightly suppressed the first day or so, so over the years I have adjusted my food amounts accordingly. For years I have been tracking the amounts I take and how much I have left at the end, working towards having only crumbs in the food bag when I get back to the car. I have not reached that goal yet, but getting closer. In fact I now leave out any lunch on the last day even if I don't expect to get to the car until sometime in the afternoon - no harm in being a bit hungrier when I get to the first meal off the trail.
I don't think my appetite is generally different at home, but my eating habits are different, so that at home I think there is more habit eating on top of the actual hunger eating. Certainly as I get older (62 now) I have to eat less to avoid weight gain, and I have had to adjust backpacking food amounts to suit that as well. I lose a little bit of weight on a typical trip, but it's not a goal; I just aim to have enough food to satisfy my appetite without having any extra. I am happy eating the same things all the time, so basic items every day works for me. I don't cook any more on summer trips.
If I do it right, I have zero acclimatization issues. If I pace myself moderately on the first uphills, then I'll be OK. If I'm wise, I will take major snack breaks (like 250 calories or more), but I keep going based on consumption of Cytomax (or Gatorade in a pinch). When I arrive in my first camp, sometimes I am too tired to eat, and that is a serious situation. So, I always have some food items that I can eat under any circumstances. It doesn't have to be a lot of calories, but it has to be something every easily digestible. A cup of hot tea works nicely at that stage. Then I should have some appetite for a minimal backpacker meal within a couple of hours.
I eat a little less (after a trip or two, I can only eat 1.5 meals a day instead of a usual 2 and some snacking or light lunch). The following keeps me at a solid place for a long trip:
Lunch: probar + smaller bar for lunch (or equivalent trail mix / etc... salami & cheese sandwiches for the first few days are fun but not really weight effective). GOBM used to have rx bars on incredible deals, can still find great deals on lara bars (16 for $6 etc). I usually break lunch into two parts.
Dinner: DIY meals + tea for two (one celestial seasonings tea + one mint tea + some trader joes dried mandarins). Where most of my calories come from, they're the most satisfying at least.
Well the Spanish rice dish looks nice enough, but how and Why do you include all of the red centipedes? Is this an ethnic dish Dave... Where are you from?!
Well the Spanish rice dish looks nice enough, but how and Why do you include all of the red centipedes? Is this an ethnic dish Dave... Where are you from?!
You explained:
First step before donating red centipedes to the big black wood ants, then adding rice:
Aha, Lizzie said that they were fish bones, I was certain you ate red centipedes... I was wrong Dave.
