My 6 Days of Food for the Foothills Trail

[@zarlydoug]

Great video! I always love to see what other people do for food on their hikes because I am always second guessing whether I have too much or not enough.

[@DollaBill313]

Your channel is extremely underrated. Great vid as always👍🏽

[@GearTestTV]

I appreciate that!

[@gregmortonoutdoors]

I end up craving vegetables when I get off trail. I now dehydrate a bag of frozen veggie mix and take that to add to meals. It weights very little but hits the nutrients my body needs.

[@haroldjennings5771]

Where you from Paul? 4 hours from Burrell’s Ford… I’m in Spartanburg SC

[@GearTestTV]

Good ole Middle Georgia. I lived in North Georgia for a time, which was a dream, being closer to the Appalachian trail.

[@bucketofbarnacles]

I just watched the first two insulation videos which were excellent. About olive oil packets, why not put olive oil into a small Nalgene bottle? Less waste than the packets, too.

[@GearTestTV]

Thanks! Still more to come on that series as I get back into the swing of videos. As for the packets, I went with that because I've had a small bottle leak olive oil on a trip in the past, but to be fair, it was a cheapo travel bottle, so a name brand like Nalgene would probably work much better.

[@architennis]

@@GearTestTV I take a 4 oz Nalgene with small top and it never leaks oil. Though I put it in a ziplock for safety! It does weigh more than the oil packets though, which slightly bothers my internal gram weenie. But less trash.

[@shermer75]

Re: decanting your freeze dried meals, do you put the hot water straight in to the freezer bag? I'm guessing the freezer bag doesn't melt? Thanks for all the great tips on cutting down on the food bulk!!

[@jonsanford2515]

Good call not repackaging the beef sticks. They usually need to be refrigerated once opened.

[@robs4516]

I just found the tex mex trail mix at walmart the other day and I love it. I didn't think of adding "pee cans" to it but I'll have to try that. Thanks.

[@Columbia.Hiking.Club.29212]

Agree. Corn chips do go well with many other food items, like chili.

[@pgreenx]

Nice to see a new video! Try BoBo bars when you get a chance. 340 calories per bar and pretty low in sugar vs competition.

[@GearTestTV]

Thanks for the tip!

[@bertman4]

Peak Refuel meals are great. I did not like the beef stroganoff because the beef cubes never fully hydrated and remained crunchy. All others have been delicious! But having them for breakfast and dinner every day? Way too pricey for me. I mix it up with some freezer bag cooking recipes. Recently for breakfast, I've been trying out a cold soak recipe that has chia seeds, hemp hearts, flax flour, dried fruits, nuts, sugar and some spices. It's more nutritious than my usual which is 2 packets of instant oatmeal plus fruit and dry milk (~300 calories). I usually need a bar (~200-220 calories) by mid morning but this chia coal soak recipe has me going until lunch.

[@mgjohnson.violin]

Welcome back!

[@BenMcmillen]

Sweet! I'll share this over on the Hilltop Packs FB page. Thanks!

[@GearTestTV]

Thanks for sharing!

[@journeyofbear6423]

I'm going to check out that repack. Cutting down on bulk is a real plus.

[@architennis]

Nice video and gear. Cheaper (same weight or lighter) dinner bag cozies can be found at Big Sky International.

[@stuartb9194]

How about adding boiling water to a freezer bag, any thoughts on chemical leaching? I've been doing that with minute rice and curry sauce and was wondering if safe?

[@GearTestTV]

I did a little research on that before using this system and I couldn't find much info outside of other backpacker asking the same question. The only thing I could really find was that freezer bags hold up to boiling water and typical sandwich bags do not, but that doesn't really mean anything as far as chemical leaching goes. Might be something to investigate for myself down the road...

[@stuartb9194]

@@GearTestTV thanks for the honest and thorough response. My guess is less exposure to plastic is always good, but given how infrequently I do this it's probably ok. Sure tastes good for an easy meal, but if I have a water source vailable for washing up I should probably make it in the pot and avoid the issue

[@mgjohnson.violin]

That Tex mex trail mix is the BEST.

[@kenhenley7599]

Your food looks very interesting. Pity we can't get hold of it in the UK ! Great video.

[@GearTestTV]

This makes me wonder what all is available in the UK that we can't get here in the US...

[@kenhenley7599]

@@GearTestTV Not tried jellied eels or winkles yet? LOL😀

[@GearTestTV]

@@kenhenley7599 haha! I did try blood pudding when I visited Ireland, but can’t say that I’ve tried jellied eels or winkles yet.

[@critterstrails2755]

Good job, I appreciate watching things like your video's. Where and what State is the Foothills Trail?? Also have you ever used the TETON explorer 4000 Backpack ??Thank you, critter lee

[@GearTestTV]

Thanks! The FHT is in the corner of South Carolina where GA, SC, and NC meet. As for the Explorer, I haven't used one myself, but a buddy of mine used to have one. Slightly heavy, but an otherwise great backpack for the price.

[@haroldjennings5771]

Peak refuel meals are pricey on Amazon. Where else can you get?

[@GearTestTV]

They are a bit pricey. If you can swing it, you can save a little by buying in bulk from Peak's website. Or, if you shop at REI frequently, you can save some through their membership over time...

[@ASTHECROWFLIESHIKING]

Great selections. Good backpacking food. Crow

[@kylecolmar964]

Thank you

[@BryanHolmes9]

Where did you get the Texas Pete packs?

[@GearTestTV]

You can find them in bulk on Amazon, or you can snag a packet or two with breakfast at Chick Fil A if you have one nearby.

[@alexandersnider734]

The most Southerner food bag ever xD

[@GearTestTV]

Haha, I'll take that as a compliment

[@frostriver4547]

They might be peekin halves 🙂

[@misunderstoodcomedian947]

so no like real food? like i expected chips and like hot dogs. this video completely changed how ithought u were suppose to pack and what your suppose to eat. i keep forgetting about weight and space

[@architennis]

Hot dogs need refrigeration (assuming you were being serious!). Don't do it! You could take jerky or something like Slim Jims.

[@bsideadventures2180]

I'll just tell them what happened. If anyone wants to know just shoot me a message