5-day Menu

As promised, here is my menu for my 5-day West Coast Trail hike. As we don't have permits reserved, we're not entirely sure of what time or day we'll be starting. I'll have a few extra meals in the car in case we have to camp at the trailhead while waiting for our permit. This plan assumes we arrive at the trailhead at noon, get our permit at 1:00, enjoy the hour-long mandatory slideshow, then hit the trail around 2:00pm. I have alternate itineraries planned as well.

Wed, Aug 15: hike 17km to Tsocowis (km17)
snacks: Home Made Energy Bar (HMEB), 2 tortillas + Peanut Butter & Jam (PB&J)
dinner: corn pasta with asiago tomato sauce, mini chocolate bar, decaf tea

Thu, Aug 16: hike 25km to Cribs (km42)
breakfast: meusli, fruit bar, coffee, juice
lunch: greek tortilla
snacks: HMEB, 4 cookies
dinner: Ez Ed's burritos, mini chocolate bar, decaf tea

Fri, Aug 17: hike 14km to Logan Creek (km56)
breakfast: oatmeal, fruit bar, coffee, juice
lunch: hummus and crackers
snacks: HMEB, 2 tortillas + pb&j
dinner: smoked salmon corn pasta, mini chocolate bar, decaf tea

Sat, Aug 18: hike 14km to Thrasher (km70)
breakfast: meusli, fruit bar, coffee, juice
lunch: mashed potatoes & gravy
snacks: HMEB, crackers & cheese
dinner: curried vegetables & rice, , mini chocolate bar, decaf tea

Sun, Aug 19: hike 6km OUT (km75)
breakfast: oatmeal
lunch: stuffing
snacks: granola bar, cheese coins

Food weight is around 2 pounds per day. Although I weigh and keep track of everything, I don't stress about the weight of good-quality, nutritious food. Within reason, the positive energy gained from this food negates the extra pack weight. Often the heavier meals will also be the quickest to spoil, so I will eat those first.

Preparing Food

A friend of mine is heading up to hike the Cape Scott Trail this month, and she recently called me to get some ideas for meals. Good timing, as I'm up to my eyeballs in preparing food for next week's West Coast Trail hike.

I have a few goals in mind when I start preparing a meal list: weight, nutritional value, taste, and shelf life. I like to make a lot of my meals from scratch, using recipes from Lipsmackin' Backpackin, the Web, or my imagination. I know when I make the meals myself that they will be healthy, satisfying, and chemical-free. Unfortunately, sometimes that's just not what I crave on the trail, so I will augment my menu with a few commercial freeze dried meals, energy bars, and snacks. Currently about 75% of my food is homemade.

So, the first step is to calculate how many days and nights you plan to be on the trail, and from there figure out how many of each meal you will need. For this upcoming trip, I have determined that I will need 5 breakfasts, 5 snacks, 6 lunches, 6 bags of trailmix (gorp), and 5 dinners. We're planning to spend 4 nights on the trail, but weather and timing means 5 nights is just as likely. Normally I would bring an extra emergency meal, but instead I will take a bit of cash and perhaps enjoy a meal at Chez Monique's (photo), or some fresh crab or salmon at the Nitnat ferry.

Once quantities are calculated, I will grab a pad of paper and make a chart with the headings of breakfast, snacks, lunch, gorp, and dinner. Under each heading I will create a numbered line up to the quantity of each meal needed (ie, 5 lines for breakfast). I will then proceed to populate the chart with meals as I prepare or buy them.

The next step for me is to go through all the meals and make a shopping list for ingredients. This usually requires visiting a health food store, grocery store, and outfitter. Then, I will prepare all of the ingredients that require dehydrating, and load up my dehydrator. This often takes a couple of days so I try to start a few weeks in advance. While dehydrating, I will start preparing the meals that don't require dehydrated ingredients, but may require dehydrating once prepared. Between stages, I store all dried ingredients in the freezer to maximize shelf life and make them easier to chop in the blender.

The next few days are spent baking, mixing, and generally making a mess of the kitchen. Eventually, I will have a bunch of Ziploc bags full of tasty meals. Each bag gets a masking tape label with the meal name, preparation instructions, and another label with any ingredients I need to add before I leave, such as cheese. If a meal is in multiple bags I will label them with "1 of 3","2 of 3" etc. Once each meal is completed, I will put a checkmark beside it on my chart.

A few days before my hike, most meals should be checked off the list, and any prepackaged meals added to fill in any blanks. When buying prepackaged meals, I look for those with the least amount of chemicals, and make sure they don't require long simmering times or the addition of special ingredients. A paper pouch is also nice as it can be burned in a camp fire. For my Ziploc meals, I will bring the tempty bags home, wash them, and use them again.

Now it's time to load up the pack. Typically I've always put a day's worth of food in one large Ziploc, and label the bag "Monday" or "Day 1", for example. For next week's West Coast Trail trip, I am going to try a slightly different system. As we don't know what time or day we will be starting (we don't have a permit reserved) I am just going to load all the breakfasts in one bag, lunches in another, and so on. This way, if we start early or late I can quickly add or remove items and leave them in the car. Another potential benefit of this method is I can have some choice in meals each day and not force myself to eat something I'm not craving that particular day. It will also let me choose meals according to the weather and schedule: a hot breakfast on a cold day, or cold cereal on a morning we're racing to catch a low tide. Meals with longer preparation times can be used on days we decide to stop early.

In my next post, I will share my specific meal plan, along with weights and approximate nutritional information.

Loss of appetite

There's an ongoing discussion on backpacking.net about appetite loss when on the trail. I've found this to be true on higher altitude and/or hot, dry weather hikes. You hike all day, but when you get to camp you find, in the words of the original poster, that you "just can't choke down dinner."

I've never had to address this on sea-level hikes, or in cooler climes, but was honestly amazed that my usual insatiable appetite was gone for the first few days in the Sierras. Not only does not eating affect your energy levels, ability to stay warm, and sleeping patterns, but you have to carry that extra food for the rest of your hike!

Some of my own tips, and some suggestions from other backpacker.net forum posters:

• Pack accordingly: lighter dinners for the first few nights, progressing to more satisfying meals once you aclimatize.
• Meals that work as leftovers: I usually make burritos my first night, then if I don't eat them, they make a great cold breakfast snack.
• Pack tasty food: If you don't truely crave the meal at home while packing it, you probably won't crave it on the trail: only pack your favorite meals, especially for the first few nights.
• Stay hydrated: bring juice crystals, koolaid, iced tea, whatever will encourage you to drink more water.
• Get to camp early: Spend some time relaxing in the shade, swimming, slowly drinking, and your appetite may return. Nibble on some trail mix or other easy to eat snacks.

Some other tips from the forum include packing a favorite treat (pudding!), having a heavier lunch and lighter dinner, or having a cold meal instead of cooked, rehydrated food.

Menu Planning

The upcoming May Long Weekend we will be doing our third annual hike of the Juan de Fuca Marine Trail. As we're going to leave Friday right after work, I decided to get my meal planning and preparation out of the way today.

We're spending three nights on the trail, so we'll need 3 breakfasts, 3 lunches, and 3 dinners, as well as the usual assortment of trail mix and snacks. My goal is to have each day's food weigh under 2 pounds, and cost under $20. I like to have a combination of commercially packaged and homemade meals. A second breakfast is something I'll add for shorter (less than 4 day) hikes as the extra weight isn't noticed. The mornings on the coast in May are cold and wet, so the extra food helps you stay warm. I have gotten away with around 1.5 pounds per day, but was often hungry in the afternoons.

I find it a good idea to label a large ziploc bag for each day you're on the trail, and fill it with all the snacks and meals for that day, with dinner at the bottom and pack up to breakfast at the top. This saves a lot of rooting around in your food bag, and makes carrying food to and from the bear lockers much easier. Additionally, if anything leaks, there's an additional layer to protect the rest of your gear. I'll also label each meal with the amount of water and instructions on a piece of masking tape.


Friday [0 lb 10.5 oz]

• Dinner: Forever Young Macaroni & Cheese w/Veggies (AlpineAire Foods); 6 oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Saturday [2 lbs]

• Breakfast: 2 packages of Nature's Path Organic Apple Cinnamon instant oatmeal with a handful of dehydrated blueberries & strawberries; instant coffee, Emer'gen-C instant Cranberry juice (vitamin supplement); Kettle Valley organic fruit snack
• Second Breakfast: 2 small flour tortillas with Nutella
• Lunch: AplineAire Tuna & Crackers, trail mix, granola bar
• Dinner: Ez Matt's Burritos (see recipe here)

Sunday [1 lb 10 oz]

• Breakfast: high energy cereal and powdered mil with a handful of dehydrated blueberries & strawberries; instant coffee, Emer'gen-C instant orange juice (vitamin supplement); Kettle Valley organic fruit snack
• Second Breakfast: 2 small flour tortillas with blackberry jam
• Lunch: Ramen noodles, cheese, trail mix, granola bar
• Dinner: Instant mashed potatoes with mushroom gravy (see recipe below) , stuffing, 3 squares of dark chocolate

Monday [1 lb 5 oz]

• Breakfast: 2 packages of Nature's Path Organic Flax n Oats instant oatmeal with a handful of dehydrated blueberries & strawberries; instant coffee, Emer'gen-C instant citrus juice (vitamin supplement); Kettle Valley organic fruit snack
• Second Breakfast: 2 small flour tortillas with nutella
• Lunch: Thai Kitchen Garlic & Vegetable noodle soup, crackers & cheese

Misc: [5 oz]

• Gatorade powder, sugar, powdered milk, tea bags, 1 emergency meal (soup), extra snack

Well, I spent under $60 and altogether it weighs about 6 pounds. Success! When I get back I'll post a summary of what worked well and what didn't (and why.)

RECIPE: Instant Mashed Potatoes
1 cup instant potato flakes
1 tablespoon Kraft Parmesan Cheese
1 pinch of garlic salt
1 tablespoon skim milk powder
half of a 21g package of mushroom gravy mix

At home: package the first 4 ingredients into a regular ziploc bag, and the gravy mix into a ziploc freezer bag.
On the trail: boil 1.5 cups of water, then carefully pour half a cup into the gravy bag and allow to reconstitute. Pour the potato mix into the remaining cup of water and mash with a fork. When the gravy is ready (about 5 mins) pour onto the potatoes and enjoy!