So, you are going on a long summer camping trip. A long hike means a trip lasting more than three days. Everything else is a PVD (weekend hike) and the menu for it is different.
A feature of long hiking trips is not only the lack of a refrigerator, stove, table and sometimes clean water. A very important point is the weight that the tourist carries. If in a PVD you can load a backpack to capacity, then on a long hiking trip the weight must be kept to a minimum. It is food that, as a rule, makes up 60-70% of the weight of the backpack on such trips. In addition, it is very important what time of year and in what area the hike is planned. If you go on a winter hike, then there will be no problems with water. You can always melt snow or ice.
In this regard, we will divide the products into three groups: products for hiking in the off-season, summer and winter. This article will focus on the “summer” category.
Products for summer camping trips
A characteristic feature of summer hikes is increased temperature (in other words, heat). In some areas (for example, in the summer in Crimea) it is also worth adding the intermittent availability of fresh water. Under such conditions, most products will quickly spoil (sausage, soft cheese) or (if it is soup) you will not be able to cook them due to lack of water.
So, on a summer hike you should NOT take:
Sausage (boiled and salami);
Soft cheeses;
Processed cheeses;
Cottage cheese, sour cream and any other dairy products;
Instant soups in the form of briquettes (they require a lot of water to prepare);
Cereals that require a lot of water for cooking (wheat, semolina);
Any canned food in plastic or glass containers;
Packaged juices, sweet water and other drinks. These drinks do not quench your thirst. You will drink spring water while hiking;
Perishable fruits and vegetables (bananas, avocados, pineapple, soft tomatoes, melon, watermelon and others;
Any chocolate with less than 60% cocoa content (it will simply melt);
Fresh butter (it should be melted if needed);
Legumes (peas, corn, beans). They cause bloating and take a long time to cook;
Eggs, even if they are boiled;
Prepared salads (we are talking about pre-chopped vegetables, even if they are not dressed with sauce);
Mayonnaise, ketchup and other seasoning sauces (except mustard);
Any confectionery products (except candies, biscuits and biscuits).
All of these products are included in the list as those that are not recommended to take on a long summer hike. But if you take them on the basis that you will eat them on the first day, you can make an exception.
Now let's talk about what products to take on a hot hike:
Raw smoked sausage (the harder the better);
Hard cheeses (Parmesan, Russian);
Cereals that cook quickly (buckwheat, rice, millet);
Pasta;
Hard vegetables and fruits (apples, hard tomatoes, cucumbers, oranges, lemon);
Dried fruits and nuts (dried apricots, figs, dates, raisins, all types of nuts);
Packaged portioned instant soups (if digestion allows: mivina and the like);
Mustard in a resealable tube;
Canned food (fish, meat, vegetables, pates);
Condensed milk (it’s more convenient to take it in a tube);
Cocoa, coffee, tea of all kinds;
Bread, crackers;
Cookies without cream and chocolate;
Dark chocolate with a cocoa content of more than 60% (milk chocolate is also possible for the first two days);
Sugar, salt, spices;
Sweets: cozenaki, halva, candied fruits, lollipops, Turkish delight;
Garlic, onion;
Egg powder and milk powder;
Salted lard (in limited quantities, like all fats in hot weather).
From all of the above products, you can leave a good menu and eat well throughout the entire trip. And if you manage to come across a village during your trek, you can always buy fresh meat and have a feast.
You can go a week without food, but who likes that, so we’ll figure it out now, what kind of food to take on a hike. After reading this article to the end you will eat healthy while hiking, and don’t eat just anything!
If the first question asked, then the second one is exactly: “ What will we eat?" A hiker without food is not a hiker at all! Food and water are the first things a hiker, and especially a leader or guide, should think about. You need to think carefully about food, and those who say that everything on a hike is terribly tasty, even water and bread, are wrong.
This is very important, especially if you.
In this article I will focus on a multi-day hike, 5-9 people. But this is universal for any hike.
First of all, this is an analysis of the hikers themselves. There will be all the food in one pot, or complete autonomy of all participants in the hike, or some will be separated during the hike. This is especially important when distributing food. Eating by yourself is better, but more difficult. For you yourself need to rely on your own strength, but you can eat whatever your heart desires, or rather, whatever you take on a hike. If a group eats, then it’s not a matter of taste, eat whatever you want.
Plan ahead for all the days, if you have the opportunity to go to the store on the way - this will make the task a little easier.
Classification of food by time of consumption:
- Breakfast
Tourist breakfast– as a rule, various porridges (buckwheat, oatmeal, rice, cereals, muesli). In the morning, consume as many calories and glucose as possible! The morning should be high in calories so that you have a full reserve of strength.
Food: various cereals, food left over from dinner, pasta, milk porridge, chocolate and condensed milk.
Dinner– lunch is usually prepared quickly. Canned food (fish, pate) and made sandwiches + tea or coffee are used. Lunch is more of a snack; you need to eat well so that you can walk a certain distance normally and with a reserve of strength until sunset, after which you can have dinner.
Food: sausage, sandwiches, various canned foods, chocolate and condensed milk.
Dinner- The main meal comes at dinner. They usually have dinner in an already equipped camp, so you should already have a fire and time to cook a great dinner. It should be the most delicious and rich. If you go to bed without eating, you will be cold at night, because you will not have the energy to generate heat, so you can forget about good sleep.
It is at this time that you can show off your culinary skills and prepare various soups or the same porridge with meat.
Food: various soups, canned food, stewed meat, chicken or kebab, rice, pilaf, jacket potatoes, fried sausages, lard.
P.S. It should be hot and tasty! Don't forget about tea.
No need to take
That's sorted out, now I'll say that no need to take, or not desirable.
- Perishable foods– almost all dairy products: kefir, milk, fermented baked milk, cheese curds. Boiled sausage, boiled eggs, smoked fish, fried chicken, ready-made salads and, of course, cakes (especially soft ones). P.S. You can take all this with the expectation that you will eat it on the first day.
- Heavy products– potatoes for frying (take a little for soup, 2-3 per person is enough, if you have a lot of them, make them into jacket potatoes).
- Alcohol, to be more precise, a lot of alcohol. You can leave vodka, cognac, beer and other drinks at home, you don’t need them. Getting drunk is not the purpose of the hike, if you can’t live without it, take some so that you don’t have any unpleasant moments on the hike. It is acceptable (I often take) a little red wine. You can warm it up or make mulled wine!
- Heavy packing– do not carry iron and especially glass jars, this is extra weight! Pour alcohol into plastic bottles.
The quantity and choice of products themselves depends on the needs of the end consumer - the tourists themselves. Its quantity and quality can be calculated using the following factors:
- Availability of a store on the trip– if you pass near populated areas, this will lighten your burden, because you can buy more groceries at the nearest store.
- Tastes of people– everyone has different tastes, some love stew, while others hate it. Discuss the main food in advance so that there are no troubles along the way.
- Vegetarians– you understand that they don’t eat meat, you adapt to them. But often they themselves know what they can eat, ask them.
- Number of people- no comments.
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Ask an experienced food manager what to take on a hike and you will receive in response numbers, calculations, formulas... Understanding this is not always easy, but of course it is necessary to do this if you are planning skiing, mountain or long hiking trips. A 2-4 day trip to nature allows you to handle the layout freely and adhere to general recommendations.
General principles of nutrition on a hike
The human body needs a continuous supply of substances such as lipids, fast and slow carbohydrates, proteins, essential vitamins (primarily C and E) and microelements. The difficulty of compiling a hiking diet is that all these elements must be ingested by the tourist in a certain ratio, and some at a certain time. The easiest way to start unwinding the knot is with carbohydrates:- On a hike you need both fast and slow ones, i.e. porridge and sweets (option - sweet dried fruits, like raisins, dried apricots).
- Quick ones are needed primarily in case of short-term heavy loads or severe heat loss (you get wet and can’t change clothes right away).
- What food should you take on a hike if not oatmeal? Oatmeal contains both types of carbohydrates and is a traditional tourist breakfast.
- Other cereals contain more slow carbohydrates, take longer to cook, and are digested more slowly. Therefore, they are often eaten for lunch and dinner.
- At one time a person eats 65-70 grams. porridge, if there is something else in this porridge (for example, meat). Oatmeal - depending on the amount of dried fruits added.
This does not affect the number of calories, but fast-cooking Hercules, due to preliminary heat treatment, contains fewer nutrients. It is better to take Hercules porridge of the “Extra” class, i.e. requiring cooking rather than brewing. The worst option is muesli.
The most accessible dried fruit is dried apricots.
Pasta also contains a lot of carbohydrates, but their predominance in the menu is not encouraged. Pasta contains much less nutrients compared to porridge. The normal ratio of microelements can only be found in hard, expensive paste, which cannot always be found in the store.
Protein foods should not be consumed separately: after exercise, the body will try to extract calories from proteins, which is not very beneficial, given that proteins are needed for muscle recovery. The ideal option is proteins in the lunch portion. Dinner is less suitable for this, but in the evening portion they also serve the function of slowing down the absorption of food: if you eat empty porridge for dinner, you can wake up hungry at night.
You don’t have to worry about fats on a small trip, but if your weight allows, it’s worth including butter (vegetable, butter, whatever you like) in the list at the rate of 40-50 grams per day per tourist. You can do more if there is no other source of omega-3.
Vitamins C and E are needed by the body during exercise.
Creating a layout
In any case, you should strive to maintain variety in your diet, even during short trips. By including more different foods in your diet, you will most likely meet the body’s minimum needs for vitamins and microelements. If, when thinking about what food you can take on a hike, you divide the protein part into cheese, meat, sausage, and beans, then you are on the right track. Oatmeal plus dried fruits is always better; various dried fruits (prunes, nuts, dried apricots) are better than just raisins, etc.
Those. When creating a plan for a hike, you need to start from cereals and pasta calculated according to the standard (a specific number of meals). Then you need to add a protein part to the menu, trying to include different foods (amino acids), and diversify your morning meal with something not too heavy, but healthy. Add sweets. Separately store fast carbohydrates for emergencies.
Milk affects the amount of protein and fat in porridge.
Specific Products
For some reason, bread is often taken on hikes, and even on very significant hikes. This example clearly shows that not everyone calculates the weight of their backpack before setting out on a route. Active tourism assumes that there will be no heavy (by weight) products in your backpack. Bread contains a lot of water, which makes no sense to carry. So you need to take it only in dry form: biscuits, crackers. The daily norm for homemade crackers is 100-200 g. in a day.
It is impossible to say for sure how much puffed bread you need to take, since the numbers given by manufacturers are for the most part extremely suspicious. On the other hand, bread is a product created for tourism. They contain a lot of calories, but you should focus on your feelings first of all.
Stew. If you're not too lazy to drag it - OK. But it is more correct, of course, to include it in camp food: in fact, it is cheaper, more natural and lighter than stewed meat of unknown origin. However, there are still camels in nature that are ready to carry stewed meat even in glass jars, so the product, apparently, has not yet outlived its usefulness.
Canned food is the enemy of your knees. It’s crazy to carry around cereals, canned cereals, ready-made breakfasts, etc.
Cheese can be taken on a hike, but it is also a fairly heavy food due to its water content. Because of this, it is better to focus on hard (dry) varieties, which last longer and contain more protein. You can further diversify the protein part using egg powder and milk powder.
Dried vegetables are a very useful item. You can prepare it at home, or you can buy it in the store. The variety of sublimates in modern tourist and even fishing stores is such that the question of what food to take on a hike immediately disappears. Ordinary, raw vegetables can be loaded into a backpack only if you are going to raft, and not walk (or worse, climb a pass). The worst thing you can think of is to carry cucumbers, tomatoes, etc. You can take potatoes for friendly gatherings around the fire - nothing more. If you love starch, you can replace it with potato flakes.
Nuts contain a huge amount of energy. The most affordable option is kazinak (halva) and peanuts.
Garlic and other food spices do not fall into the category of forbidden vegetables. Spices are paints for black and white paintings, which can often be seen on tourist menus. It is spices, and not mayonnaise (too heavy and harmful) or ketchup, that is what you can take on a hike without unnecessary load.
The same principle should be followed for sweets. Condensed milk is worse than chocolate due to weight. And sweets are better than chocolate, since they are already packaged (it’s harder to eat them all at once). For example, on a one-day hike, you can take the following food list:
- Rusks - 200 gr.
- Cereals (lentils, rice, buckwheat, for masochists - pearl barley or peas) - 140 gr.
- Oatmeal - 50 gr.
- Dried apricots + raisins (prunes) - 40 gr.
- Nuts - 10 gr.
- Dried vegetables for soup (concentrates) without meat - 30-40 g.
- Meat - 60-80 gr.
- Cheese - 40 gr.
- Powdered milk - 40 gr.
- Sugar - 100 gr.
- Chocolate (candy) - 50 gr.
- Salt - 40 gr.
Camping food is a sort of Spartan version of city food. The main criterion here is weight. And if you consider that on average, on a hike, one person takes 600 grams of food for each day, then in the first days of a 10-day hike, in addition to equipment, he will have to carry about 6 kg of food.
Therefore, when compiling a list, preference is given to the lightest and most compact products: cereals, nuts, energy bars, as well as dried/freeze-dried vegetables and fruits. Dried vegetables and fruits are easy to prepare at home, in a conventional oven or in an electric dryer. After drying, their weight decreases by 10-50! times and is well restored during cooking. If you don’t want to cook yourself, you can purchase ready-made freeze-dried meals and ingredients from any of a dozen companies that produce freeze-dried foods, for example, Gala-Gala.
Basic products for a hike
- whole grain cereals (buckwheat, rice, lentils, barley);
- cereals in flakes (rolled oats, corn);
- stew in vacuum bags;
- biscuits or crackers;
- salt;
- sugar.
The most complete list of products
- dry spices (hops-suneli, Provençal herbs, etc.);
- vegetable oil;
- hard cheese;
- raw smoked sausages;
- coffee/cocoa;
- powdered milk;
- egg powder;
- mayonnaise;
- condensed milk in bags;
- bitter chocolate;
- chocolate and energy bars (Snickers, Mars, Twix, etc.);
- halva and kozinaki;
- lollipops;
- sweet cookies;
- lemon;
- garlic;
- dried fruits (dates, prunes, dried bananas and apples, dried apricots, raisins);
- nuts (hazelnuts, cashews, walnuts, almonds);
- candied fruit;
- ketchup in bags;
- lard, sudzhuk, basturma;
- pasta (some take it, some don’t);
- doshirak (convenient in a small group);
- mashed potatoes;
- freeze-dried products.
“Never skip a meal, even if you are dead tired - this is an axiom on a hike.”
What food should you not take on a hike?
- You should not take heavy and low-calorie food containing a lot of liquid to the track;
- perishable foods;
- fresh vegetables and fruits (of course, there are exceptions);
- juices;
- I eat in heavy containers or in glass.
Water and hiking drinks
Be sure to bring your own plastic container with you. The ideal individual water container is a 1.5 plastic bottle. It is convenient to replenish it in rivers and springs.
In the camp, black tea is mainly prepared, which can be varied by adding young cedar cones, rose hips, etc. Coffee and cocoa are prepared less frequently, and cocoa is also a difficult drink to get drunk with.
Classic breakfast, lunch and dinner on a hike
The classic writing technique is quite modest and looks something like this for a large group.
- Breakfast. Porridge from cereals or flakes with raisins, biscuits with cheese or sausage, tea/coffee/cocoa.
- Lunch-snack. Biscuits with cheese or sausage, dried fruits and nuts, energy bars.
- Lunch at the camp. Soup + biscuits with something, tea.
- Dinner. Cereal porridge with stew, biscuits with cheese or sausage, tea.
Of course, for a small group the menu can be varied. For a large one for 15-20 people, it’s quite difficult. In a small group, to quickly prepare breakfast and dinner, it is convenient to use packaged cereals (such as Uvelka), which just need to be poured with boiling water.
What's best for a midday snack?
For a one-day hike, creating a “delicious” snack menu is not difficult. For a multi-day hike, it is quite monotonous and differs only in chocolate bars.
- biscuits with hard cheese or raw smoked sausage;
- dried fruits and nuts;
- candied fruit;
- energy bars (Mars, Snickers, Bounty, Twix, etc.).
Calculation of products per person. Tourist layout
Layout - a food set for one of the meals for the whole group. Knowing the route, the size of the group, the duration of daily marches and rest days, you can decide on a set of products in layouts for breakfast, lunch and dinner. The day and type of meal is indicated on the packaging of each layout. This ensures a balanced menu for the entire duration of the trip.
How many products to take
Depends on the difficulty of the hike. On average, from 500 to 800 grams of uncooked (dry) foods per person per day.
Layout example
Approximate weight of products for laying out.
After the daily menu has already been compiled, multiply the weight of food for each meal by the number of hikers.
Porridge is the most important food on a hike.
| Products | Weight in grams (per adult tourist, per meal) |
| Cereals | 80-100 |
| Hercules and other cereals | 60-80 |
| Mashed potatoes | 60-80 |
| Hard cheese | 30-40 |
| Salo/basturma | 20-40 |
| Smoked sausage | 30-40 |
| Stew | 50-60 |
| Dried meat | 20-25 |
| Powdered milk | 20-30 |
| Candied fruit | 20-30 |
| Nuts | 15-30 |
| Dried fruits | 40-50 |
| Chocolate bars | 50-60 |
| Biscuits/crackers | 40-50 |
| Pasta | 90-110 |
| Semolina | 50-60 |
| Garlic | 5-10 |
| Lemon | 5 |
| Products | Weight in grams (per tourist per day) |
| Salt | 5-7 |
| Sugar | 20-30 |
| Tea | 8-10 |
| Spices | 5-10 |
When drawing up the layout, take into account the possible allergic intolerance of some products by the participants of the hike and the presence of vegetarians.
What to consider in the layout for children
- take care of mandatory hot lunches;
- add additional vitamins and proteins to the menu;
- portions in the layout for preschoolers can be safely halved, except for sweets.
The video shows an example of a tourist layout. Talks about porridges and freeze-dried foods.
More than a dozen companies produce freeze-dried products in Russia.
During sublimation, most of the moisture is removed by vacuum, but all taste, color, minerals and trace elements are preserved. The weight of the products is reduced by 5-10 times. Next, everything is packaged in vacuum bags.
The range of products and ready-made dishes is quite wide, including freeze-dried pickles, sour cream, shrimp and omelettes.
What's the best way to store and pack food while camping?
Usually everything is packaged and packed in plastic bags, preferably two or three. Some people prefer to pack it in sealed plastic containers. It is better to pour liquid products from factory packaging into sparkling water bottles.
In the camp, to protect food from animals, it is better to put it in durable plastic containers at night or hang it in a backpack on a tree. Under no circumstances should you leave food near or in a tent overnight in areas where bears are found.
“Proper” food on the track. What is “fast” and “slow sugar”
While hiking, our body needs quite a lot of energy. The main help here is provided by carbohydrates, which are contained in all foods, but play different roles. As soon as we eat something, “fast” or “slow” sugar immediately begins to enter the blood. “Fast sugar” gives an immediate burst of energy, while “slow” sugar comes gradually, over several hours, and steadily maintains our energy level.
- “Fast sugars” include many sweets, foods high in starch, cookies, and sweet fruits.
- “Slow sugars” include many cereals and cereals, pasta, non-starchy vegetables, mushrooms, and unsweetened fruits.
Boiled or baked vegetables have a higher glycemic index, meaning they contain more sugar than fresh ones.
When choosing food for a hike, focus on cereals, in particular buckwheat - this is an ideal source of energy and microelements. And the monotony of porridges is perfectly brightened up by spices and fire smoke.
When preparing for his first trip, a tourist rightly asks the question: “what food to take on a hike?” Food on a hike, for obvious reasons, is one of the main points and should be given due attention. Organizing meals on a camping trip involves properly planning and preparing a food list in advance. In this way, the tourist tries to optimize his weight, that is, take only what he needs on a hike, so that he doesn’t have to roll potatoes down the mountain, throw away spoiled food, and carry half a backpack of glass containers home.
If, when you mention the phrase “food while camping,” Bear Grylls appears before your eyes, devouring alive everything that moves, then relax :) Tourist food is basically no different from what you eat at home. Just when planning your diet, it’s worth considering small features. It's simple, let's figure it out.
Meals on a hike, as at home, will consist of breakfast, lunch and dinner, plus small snacks (the body consumes a lot of calories during physical activity and we will replenish them in appropriate quantities).
Breakfast. In the morning, tourists usually prepare various porridges with canned food or muesli. The main thing is that breakfast is nutritious and high in calories. It's the most important meal of the day, and there's always a challenging road ahead. It’s not for nothing that they say: “Eat breakfast yourself, share lunch with a friend, and give dinner to your enemy.” It’s a little different during the hike, but still. Don't forget about tea or coffee with sweets (glucose). Often for breakfast they eat leftover food from yesterday's dinner.
Dinner. As a rule, lack of time forces most tourists to refuse a full lunch. I mean, cooking for lunch is too time consuming. Therefore, sandwiches, sausage, cheese, canned food and other ready-to-eat products are used.
Dinner. An evening meal is most often a feast, because you really want to relax after a hard day and unwind your soul. You can prepare various soups, cook cereals or pasta, etc.
Snacks. During short stops, eat candied fruits, nuts, seeds, dried fruits, cornbread, chocolate, etc. The goal is to refuel the body with energy.
Remember to drink plenty of fluids during your hike. This is very important for the proper functioning of joints and the entire body as a whole.
List of products for the trip
You can eat whatever you want on a hike, just like at home. But usually tourists prefer a simple and nutritious menu. You will still make a food list according to your taste, I will just give you direction.
- cereals (buckwheat, rice, oat flakes)
- pasta
- canned food (stew, fish, pates)
- sausage (raw smoked)
- lard (salted)
- potatoes (only for soup)
- onion garlic
- salt, spices
- Tea coffee
- sweets
- nuts, seeds, dried fruits, candied fruits, kozinaki, etc.
- ready-made meals from home such as cutlets, chops, etc. (only for the first day of the trip)
Pre-pack various nuts, seeds and dried fruits into bags. During short stops, you can quickly refill your body with the necessary energy.
What is not advisable to take? These are actually the little features that I talked about above. Take them into account when planning the diet of tourists. No need to take on a hike:
- perishable foods (dairy products, eggs, boiled sausage, prepared salads, raw meat and fish). All of this can be taken to eat on the first day.
- heavy products. For example, potatoes for boiling or frying. Its weight is simply unjustified; take potatoes only for soup. It is also not advisable to take food in heavy containers with you. Glass jars and bottles are best left at home.
- alcohol (in large quantities). Do not forget, .
How to plan tourist meals
Now let's talk about proper food planning for a hike. Discuss everything with group members. The layout of products will depend on factors such as the presence of settlements and, accordingly, shops along the route, vegetarians in the group, the tastes of people and, of course, the size of the group.
First you must analyze the upcoming trip. Let's say the duration is 4 days and 3 nights, there are 4 people in the group. Serious cooking on a hike is usually done only for breakfast and dinner. On the first day, the hike begins, for example, in the middle of the day (there will be no breakfast), and on the last day we go home by dinner. It turns out: 1 day - 1 preparation; Day 2 - 2; 3 day - 2; Day 4 - 1. In total, we did 6 full meal preparations, plus lunches and snacks from ready-to-eat foods. Let's prepare soup 2 times out of 6 times, pasta 1 time and porridge 3 times.
Now you just need to package the necessary products. We are all different people, and we eat different amounts of food, so you yourself must determine the amount of provisions for a hike. Do not take cereal with you in packs unless you need it. For example, we cooked half a standard 300 gram mug of buckwheat or rice for two people and added stew or something like that to it. Measure out the required amount at home. Using a similar principle, calculate ready-made food for lunches and snacks. Before the hike, distribute food among group members.
And if you are planning, then you shouldn’t have any difficulties at the preparation stage, because you approximately know the level of your gluttony and are now familiar with the basics of organizing a tourist’s meals.
P.S. Burning cans in a fire is a bad idea. Do not forget that tourists should leave only trampled grass behind in the parking lot.