BACKPACKING MEALS

FOOD IS ESSENTIAL FUEL in the mountains, and never more so than on a long-distance walk – but it can be far more than just fuel. If the meal I’m carrying for the end of the day is unpalatable or doesn’t give me the energy I need to recover for upcoming exertions, I could be facing a miserable night and poor performance the next day. Put simply, food is mission-critical.

There are a few objective constraints to backpacking that make wise food choice all the more important. Cost, weight and calories are going to be priorities for most people. It may be easy to find cheap, lightweight and highly calorific alternatives, but nutritional value and the quality of ingredients can suffer. Convenience also ranks highly and helps newcomers to backpacking develop good fuelling habits at the start and end of the day. Specialist meals are really easy and quick to prepare, and are often eaten from the bag, so whilst there may be additional packaging to carry out, there is less washing up to do at camp! This is where specialist dehydrated meals find their niche – fast,