I've Changed My Mind About Backpacking Food

[@charlieparker3270]

Really enjoyed this. I agree: 1. Bring what you like. 2. Don't bring more than you are going to eat. It turns out, I am very happy to eat the same thing every day: Oatmeal, gorp, sausage, cheese, and a freeze dried dinner. And as an older adult, I find that 1500 cals a day will power me through 10-14 miles per day for several days.

[@clayp520]

Great topic Tayson. I do a lot of 40-50 mile hikes. I ALWAYS lose my appetite. I don't want to eat what I have. Finally decided to focus on what I can eat instead of what I should et.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Couldn't agree more! Out of curiosity, are you hiking at elevation? - Tayson

[@hyoh-wu]

Mountain House Biscuit and Gravy, also Peak Chiken Alfredo with a couple of squirts of Sriracha. Then, of course, for snacks, Old Trapper beef jerkey and Dots Pretzels.

[@derekhand7904]

I know it’s not cool or UL to bring an extra meal, but I would suggest maybe and extra ramen or dehydrated meal just in case something happens and you’re forced to stay an extra night

[@TaysonWhittaker]

It doesn't hurt to be prepared!

[@bihlygoat]

Great advice Tayson! I would add one more tip: try to make your diet on the trail as similar to your diet at home as possible (especially in terms of the ratio of macro-nutrients) to help avoid stomach upset or unease. As much as I would love to become “fat-adapted” and carry more calorie-dense food, and burn my own fat stores, I haven’t had the willpower to do it yet. So I totally agree that it doesn’t do any good to bring food you can’t stomach. For winter trips, I think the food I’ve been most jealous of is a cheap frozen pizza that my avy instructor had cooked and folded into fourths. If you like cold pizza and are going on a trip cool enough to keep it from spoiling, that’s a great option for day 1 lunch or dinner! Folds nice and flat 😁.

[@GMiller75]

I never worry about calorie content. My problem is that the hotter it is the less appetite I have. Will drink plenty so not dehydrated just not hungry. As such many of the snacks go to waste on the trail and end up being eaten at home afterwards. I tend not to go for the freeze dried packs either. Can get pouches of chilli, curry, rice etc which just need heated up at a fraction of the cost and weigh similar. Or buy fresh and make from scratch for main meal. Helpful if passing villages or towns where you can buy on the go rather than lug food around.

[@journeyinthewilderness6276]

I have learned that if I'm on the trail for more than about 5 days that my taste buds change! Things that I loved at the beginning are literally gross later. It's weird. (Maybe if I was on trail for even longer - say a month or more - they would change again. I dunno) I also learned that there's certain things I have to eat before lunch time (nut butters) or else they will never get touched! I completely agree about variety. However, I've also learned that there are certain things that I actually WANT to eat every. Single. Day. So I pack those, even if they are not the most calorie dense (lookin' at you Dried Mangoes!). 😆 Basically your advice is figure out what works for YOU. I love it! I also love the way you talk to your audience and all the little flubs that you choose to leave in the video, not edit out. Makes it more personable and real. Keep up the good work!

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Glad you enjoyed! Thanks for sharing!

[@FrontierPreppers]

Snickers bars and jerky do the trick for us. We always bring Mountain house, too, but we need to try the one you showcased.

[@onmyway7363]

Paydays r not messy on the trail. I keep them in glove box for low bloodsugar also

[@carrdoug99]

Mountain House and Peak Ones are my go to, but the Peaks win hands down on the calorie density score. My new favorite.👍

[@jumper553]

Good to see you've learned what many of us have figured out years ago. Especially in the guide business where when in my case I am guiding people at elevations of over 14K feet for multiple days, what looks good and appetizing will change unpredictably. The only 2 things I would highlight is eliminating refined sugar and excess natural sugars and the 2nd thing... I would keep that count recorded so that you develop a baseline for what works. Then when I (or you) throw together your variety of foods, you can at least have something with which to compare. It's important to remember that what works for some people does NOT work for others. And as always, be PROACTIVE with regards to nutrition, not REACTIVE (starving, getting sick, bonking). There are SO many options these days as compared to when I began running ultras, packing ultralight, or guiding 30 years ago. And I was fortunate to have a biochem nutritionist professor in medical school who was a nephrologist. His hobby was figuring out the ultimate backpacking food and how to determine what works for individuals. Have never forgotten his lessons and I still don't see much adherence to true nutritional efficiency and lightweight-ness. But I think you are starting to chip away at that gap! (And you haven't even mentioned pre-prepared foods yet!).

[@chrisnolin7103]

How do you know if someone you meet is an outdoor guide? They'll be sure to tell you.

[@jumper553]

@@chrisnolin7103 Sirt of like how you know if someone has a third grade education and is basically illiterate. They will show you with their eloquent writing.

[@chrisnolin7103]

@@jumper553 Well, I didn't go to medical school (love how you slipped that in there, too). But I can spot an insecure narcissist when I see one. Pro tip: Let your words speak for you instead of cramming your resumé down our throats. Also, learn that less is more. Concision over eloquence (you actually believe you're eloquent?) wins every time.

[@howardjackman3242]

Such a great topic to cover, I've had way too many backpacking trips that were less than enjoyable due to losing my appetite after a long day of hiking (Uinta's - so 9000+ ft) finally figured out that it was due to dehydration/lack of electrolytes, not snacking often enough and not having an appealing to me meal to look forward to at the end of the day. Peak Refuel's definitely sit better with me than MH or others and big variety of snacks in smaller portions take care of the rest! In other words-I totally agree with you

[@coloradomtnrunner]

Great topic, thanks! Although sad to see all the packaging. It would be great to do something that uses reusable packaging/homemade stuff.

[@NealBenson]

Really appreciate the info. I like variety too. I take oatmeal for the morning since that is what I typically eat at home. Then I like to pack some fruit for on the trail whenever possible. I know bananas are tough to bring but apples are easy to pack.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Variety really makes a big difference!

[@leabethcampbell381]

Love the cheese whhhhiiisps!! So good! Actually hold up pretty well!

[@thetaysonwhittaker]

Totally :)

[@Silkstep]

Great tips, and I agree that you have to want to want to eat your food. Peak One, Outdoor Pantry, Packit Gourmet, Stowaway Gourmet, and select Mt House (like B&Gs) always have me looking forward to my FD dinner. Kate's bars, Greenbelly Meal2Go, jerky, and Jolly Ranchers fill the between times. Sometimes I bring a Snickers as a morale booster, heh.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Sounds like a great variety of options!

[@brettbuller4685]

Greenbelly Meal2Go for the win. So good and filling. They might weigh a lot, but man they fill me up and i look forward to eating them

[@Silkstep]

@@brettbuller4685 They are really good tasting and filling, and have some serious calories packed in them. A fine meal replacement, I usually eat mine over the course of a few miles. The Apricot and the Mango are my two faves. :)

[@markfletcher8084]

Another great video packed with good information presented in a fun way.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@joycelawson2249]

Newbi wannabe 🤭 can you please provide links to your Greens & Multivitamin travel pacs? Awesomeness, I’m enjoying your wisdom. Thank you for sharing ✌🏽

[@mary.peacefulhikesn.j.3350]

Yes, I would love to know which Greens you use also! Tks

[@theblindhiker6960]

Same here!

[@Megan-fq6pz]

Target's freeze dried salted edamame is really good on trail, I highly recommend it.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Thanks for the tip!

[@keypenhikeralan4233]

Thank you for the different perspective on food for the trail

[@WALKITOFFDavidSmith]

I'm loving this content. Thanks!!

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Glad you enjoy it!

[@ironpig701]

Great tips. Really like the idea of variety.

[@journeyman7189]

Great topic Tayson. I used to worry about calories per ounce but I've let that go for the most part. I've found that if you become fat adapted you can dramatically reduce the weight of food bag. Still working on it but its the journey not the destination that matters Nate

[@thetaysonwhittaker]

Yeah that's definitely an awesome goal to shoot for as well. If you can stomach that much fat-based diet!

[@christopherhaak9824]

If you are going on a much longer hike (thru hike type of thing) and want to become much more fat adapted, it helps to not eat after dinner and then eat breakfast, or your first meal after you have done some miles in the morning so you actually have a 12+ hour fasting period where you force your body into fat burning mode. Also, there are plenty of food out there that are natural and taste great that have much less simple carbs so you don't end up flooding yourself with simple sugars every time you eat.

[@sylvanbonin49]

This is the same mental journey I've taken! I used to be in the store with a calculator making sure I got the most calories per oz. When my kiddo was 9 I started bringing him on multi-day trips. He's such a foodie! I learned that the best way to keep him happy was to spend more money on tastier food. Good2Go is our favorite, but I haven't tried Peak Refuel yet. Now I mostly dehydrate my dinners, mix my own breakfasts, and pack a similar variety of snacks to what you have. A tip and a question: Make sure to get enough fiber! A lot of high-calorie food is low in fiber. By day 2 I'll be regretting that deeply as my bowels refuse to move! My go-to now is a scoop of carob powder and a bit of dried fruit in a ziplock bag. I make one for each day. Add cold water when I get to camp, eat it before bed. Makes your morning go smooooothly. The question for you is what on earth is that packet of greens? Yum! I end up craving veggies something fierce. What brand is that? I want to get some.

[@trustthetrail5343]

Good advice! Hitting a climb right away from a trail head often suppresses an appetite. It's not always about the amount of calories but the right kind of calories. Eat healthy fats, get your whole-grain carbohydrates, and drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Fat provides energy and helps your body absorb vitamins. Some vitamins (like A, D, E and K) actually need fat to properly benefit your body. Be sure to pick unsaturated fats. Good sources are avocado, olive and canola oils, flaxseed and nuts. Lot's of good info on this topic. Could probably do a few vids on diet on the trail.

[@brettbuller4685]

Love the video. I'm a bigger dude and I always pack more food per day than I eat. Never want to go hungry. Over time I came to the same conclusion you did: the greens via drinking and multi-vitamins that I mix into my water to help out with nutrition. Best thing I ever did was start planning out things I would look forward to. Love the work here.

[@jameshurd4815]

While elk hunting I put on the miles and find myself craving salty stuff and chocolate!!

[@gailjohnson6670]

Thank you for the video. Blessings to you.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Same to you!

[@ThienNguyen-ec8yc]

Really like your videos and I am happy you decided to do these videos. Love your products, love seeing the people behind the product, and love seeing you guys use your gear!!! Thanks for being thoughtful with your product design and videos.

[@butchbinion1560]

Great content thanks. ✌️👊

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Appreciate it!

[@oroyplataman]

Get Snake Juice packets for electrolytes. Also, try the snake juice diet prior to heading out so you can be accustomed to being hungry and fasting.

[@gigihenderson8567]

As. Scoutmaster I often have Scouts who have dietary restrictions. This is why I am investing in a Harvest Right freeze drier as well, so that they can prepare food that they CAN eat, and I can freeze dry it for them and make it light for the trip. Obviously this is for the prepared meals, BUT, I can also do it with veggies and fruit as well.

[@TheDonn444]

Awesome! I'm taking variety on the AT now. I've heard alot of ppl saying they eat the same exact thing every day on trail. And yeah, I get tired of the same old pretty quick.. thank you brother!!! I've been checking your gear out alot here lately.. hey I'm getting on the AT for my thru hike in March and would love to test anything as long as it is ultralight..lol! I would love to write reviews and market your gear while on trail.. hit me up!

[@uptopplumbing]

I'm new to camping and you have been very helpful with your tips. I tried my first Peak "skillet" breakfast, 2 serving. I must admit it was pretty good, but not a substitute for a home cooked meal. I'm doing my homework on cooking appliances, jetboil/msr/firebox.... if you have any suggestions that would be great. Motorcycle Camping

[@thetaysonwhittaker]

Glad I could be helpful to you! I personally like the Crux lite stove. I don't love the noise of the pocket Rocket and I don't get the value for the weight in the jet boil. I use a toaks titanium pot and crux lite single stove

[@uptopplumbing]

@@thetaysonwhittaker thanks for your input. I will definitely check out what you are using.

[@uptopplumbing]

Tayson do you know if I can place a frying pan on top of it? 8 inch pan

[@thinkingclown]

Fantastic advice. Thanks. What is the Propel packet? ... for those outside the USA?

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Propel packets are little drink mix packets similar to Gatorade that you can mix with a standard 16oz bottle of water.

[@Truth-Seeker75]

Your food choices are almost exactly like mine even down the the vegetables and salt. Peak is my first choice for dinner too. The problem is it takes up too much space. Food will quickly take up half my pack depending on the number of days. Also, those options aren’t always available in trail towns, which is why I learned thru hikers don’t pack that stuff. I honestly don’t know how they do it.

[@ryanleaming2103]

Bonking sucks and figuring out my food was so helpful in allowing me to do bigger efforts. This really applies more for long hard days (fast packing, ultra running, fast and light mountaineering, etc..) but I've found the types of calories I eat matter a lot more than how much. Fats and proteins have a really high calorie per ounce but are very slow to break down and seem to clog everything up. They are very important to front load get at the end of the day which is why I also love peak refuel (especially the cheesy chicken and broccoli). For many long 13-20 hr pushes I really just focus on sugar and salt with a very small amount of fats and proteins and I thought it seemed ridiculous to try to something like a 20 hr 36 mile 11 ft push with gummy worms, Snickers, cliff bars, and nuun and ditching the jerky and cheese at home but I've never felt better!

[@davidson_oldbull_sectionhiker]

Thanks Tayson, a challenge for me has been not eating everything I have placed in my food bag. I am slowly working on that issue and I hope to incorporate some of you techniques. Take Care

[@davidson_oldbull_sectionhiker]

Thanks again

[@LostAgainwithJim]

This is great. I ALWAYS end up taking food home. I like this set up. Variety!!! I always carry a greens, or superfoods supplement, and electrolytes.

[@kristymoore7052]

Wow, I do exactly what you do. Ok I’m on the right track.

[@mohapi22]

Welcome to paradise (kidding) but there are some of us who love the whole cooking experience in the outdoor Thanks love the Chanel

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Thanks for your support!

[@carrdoug99]

Didn't know where you were headed at the beginning of this. Great advice 👍 Variety, and know what works for you. Snickers bar, and I'm bonking five steps after I ate it. Too many days with trail mix (nuts), and I'm spending a lot of time in the bushes. Sugary energy/electrolyte drinks, forget it. Electrolyte tablets and electrolyte foods without the sugar work a lot better for me. Although I do like the electrolyte jellybeans right before that pass you're talking about.

[@ThereSaSpiderNMySoup]

when I saw that beard with the elastic all I kept thinking is man I want to braid that, it'd be so pretty 🤣

[@stanleybercovitz5136]

Another issue with which I have to regularly focus on is to make sure that I am designing meals for my clients and specifically where and what they will be doing and NOT for what they regularly eat in their normal lives. Well... unless their regular "at home" lives mimic what they are doing out in the woods - or whatever activity it is. The biggest mistake I have seen is people bringing their regular "at-home" meal plans into their activity.

[@leeshawver]

I've really been trying to reduce packaging with my meals. Tough to do, but I see many people leaving LNT out of their considerations with trail diet.

[@donnydread7631]

🙏🏻 🙏🏻 🙏🏻

[@shawnr6117]

What makes up the calories in your food is also important, too much sugar isn't healthy

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Very true!

[@techguy9023]

You need more light on your set. A background light, main, fill would help.

[@jurgschupbach3059]

Some fresh fruits would help a lot

[@jurgschupbach3059]

and maybe less than 30% refined sugars in your food

[@danielgolite]

I take at least one fresh apple. There is value in eating fresh fruit and vegetables.

[@geauxherd762]

Got my Ventus Active hoodie in the mail today and ordered another one cause the wife will probably steal it! Added some Peak meals to the order as well. Keep on going OV! I’ll order the Nova vest when they are out of prototype 😁

[@thetaysonwhittaker]

Sweet! Glad you loved that ventus so much! You'll for sure love those meals!

[@RonGoote]

I would focus on protein first . Hiking is a zone 2 heart rate activity, but impactful on joints and muscles. Very little in the need of added carbs or fat is needed to fuel. Protein is the macro of repair and recovery . Try adding a couple single serve whey protein powders. Protein bars instead of regular Cliff bars.

[@bukketkid2567]

Smoked salmon jerky 🤤 expensive AF but oh sooo good

[@ericschwartz9982]

Personally, I think "backpacking" meals sold at retailers and on-line are too expensive and generally tasteless. But I'm happy to try something new once. But spending $20 - $25 a day for packaged meals and going on a 7 day adventure is nuts.

[@chrisnolin7103]

Just found you. Love the format. The beard is badass, but the robot clothing model is creepy. 😊

[@jbutzi]

Good topic and comments. I find I don't need the snacks at all by being more fat-adapted. The sugar (carbs) is not healthy and burns off fast and needs to be replaced. The fat lasts longer and teaches your body to use its fat for energy when needed.

[@cherokeemapcrew]

I don’t want to ever see another Snickers.

[@redwestonbushcraft5807]

Great vid. I just wish I liked peanut butter 😔

[@TaysonWhittaker]

Bummer

[@lucyalderman422]

A real big mouse there man

[@JoeSmith-gp5dm]

I love eating and I love back packing, pack good delicious food, is an extra 2 pounds really going to kill you? No.. EAT GOOD FOOD!

[@chotsky]

How much does your beard weigh?

[@motomuto3313]

Better than MRE.

[@hardtailfails]

My motto is if it gets too heavy just eat it and you drop weight lol

[@markschollenberger6451]

A lot of packaging = garbage. Why not get a good food dehydrator and dehydrate your home cooked meals? Cuts down on packaging (put it in a ziplock) and weight.

[@TaysonWhittaker]

We just got one for the company.

[@markschollenberger6451]

@@TaysonWhittaker fantastic! You can dehydrate any home cooked meal that has a sauce…spaghetti, stews soups… etc. You’ll need a liner tray for your dehydrator.

[@sherk360]

Lol. Sir it is not food. It is chemical factory. Just look at the ingredients. For someone who looks wholesome, the food intellects is very low.

[@mttcwll]

Your body fat is enough to sustain you for days

[@hindsfeetonhighplaces]

Gotta carry enough calories to power that BEARD!!! :-p :-D

[@TaysonWhittaker]

YES! 😂