As you are probably aware, we are huge camping and hiking fans. Every camping trip we go on we tend to do at least one hike. There was one thing that always used to trip us up while we were planning meals: what on Earth can we have for a meal when we hike? We would usually end up hiking over lunch or dinner time so we either had to hurry and eat before or after, or eat during the hike itself. We preferred to eat during the hike itself, but how could we come up with something all of us would eat and how would we make it easy to take along?
Why is it So Hard To Pack a Lunch?
Sack lunches are easy right? We all grew up with the standard bag lunch for a field trip or family outing: a sandwich, an apple, some baby carrots, a juice box, and maybe a cookie if we were lucky. Now, I am not knocking this as an option for a hiking meal, but it presents its problems. You can’t really make a (good) sandwich ahead of time because they get too soggy and if you have to make something right before your hike anyway, you might as well eat before you leave. Plus my family doesn’t always love sandwiches and if we make them, we tend to end up with each person having a different type, which is also not great for camping having to bring all those ingredients along. So we flipped the original idea on its side and kept the bits we liked, and tried to come up solutions for the other parts. We tested a lot of different options for both a picnic style meals and ones we could eat while hiking.
Making A Shopping Plan
So we ended up trying a lot of different combinations and options and we had some stellar meals, and some not so good ones. We tried recipes from the internet and just wandered around stores looking for the perfect fit. In the end we came up with a sort of list of types of items we always pack, with some wiggle room for individual choices for each meal to keep things fresh:
- Protein: Hard salami, beef jerky, meat sticks, precooked and cut up pork loin or chicken, nuts
- Cheese: block cheese, pre cubed/sliced cheese
- Carbs: Wheat things, Triscuits, rolls, crackers
- Veggie: carrots, cucumbers, grape tomatoes, smoked veggies
- Fruit: apples, grapes, clementines, pre-cut melon
- Dessert: Oreos, cookies, licorice, suckers
- Drinks: Gatorade, water, soda (for special occasions)
Now, some of these are just because we like it (looking at you cheese) and some because they are helpful foods to eat while hiking. We try to limit the single use plastics we purchase, especially because whatever we hike in, we hike out. It is usually helpful to have one of your items in a bag that can double as a garbage bag. You also need to think of any items you may need to assist in the eating or prepping of your meal, think napkins and knives over plates and forks. Our camping knives are similar to this set (not sponsored) and come with covers so we can add them to our packs without worry.
How to Pack and Enjoy Your Meal
As with any camping meal, you need to consider food safety first and foremost, so make sure you have an insulated bag or two with proper cooling devices, check packaging for the manufacturer’s directions to be sure. We then split our meal between our four packs, adjusting the weight based on who’s carrying it and anything else they may have in our bags. Depending on the length of the hike, we adjust the amount of food we bring with, as in, two Gatorades for a shorter hike as seen in the picture above (our bags also have a water bladder each.) You should also consider if you will be stopping to eat or eating while hiking. If you plan to stop to each, it is super easy to just unpack all your bags and lay out your spread. If you are continuing your hike you will want to group together items in each pack so you have a “path” for the meal to take. Maybe one bag has napkins for everyone to stick in a pocket as well as the first two items you want to eat. Then the second pack would have the next few items you want to eat. And so on, until you get to the last pack with dessert and the garbage bag. This makes things super easy for whoever is facilitating the meal for your group, and yes, that is usually me on our hikes so I have quite a lot of experience.
Will You Give it a Try on Your Next Hike?
So will you give our hiking meal planning strategy a try? I can tell you it is very well tested and has paid dividends for us over the years. We have many many happy memories from the meals we have had on our hikes. It is such a great way to take a break on a long hike or to enhance the conversation and fun of a short hike when we eat on the way. It also makes planning for our camping trips just a little easier! If you give this a try, please let me know in the comments below!
