Weekly Blog #17 - Gabbing 'bout Grub - Meals on the Trail
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posted: Saturday, August 22nd, 2026
Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner are served - HIKER-style!
Tearing through strenuous miles on a trail requires some serious fuel. That means calories, protein, fat and carbohydrates. It also means looking at your main meals carefully - especially when you must carry them on your back. For the purpose of this week's blog, ONLY breakfast, lunch and dinner will be considered. Snacks are essential too, but they will get their own blog entry in the future!
Breakfast - is it still the most important meal of the day?
There's wisdom in starting the day with a healthy dose of calories (especially if they mix in some added protein). It's not just the American Society of Nutrition or John Hopkins sharing this advice - Sponge can vouch for it firsthand. Sometimes he's skipped breakfast in a mad rush to get more trail done before the sun starts heating up, yet on the days when he's had one, he tends to feel and perform better.
There's science behind a balanced breakfast - namely that the calories and carbohydrates gives your body energy for tasks to come, while the protein allow your muscles to recover and repair themselves after the wear and tear from the previous day. Even healthy fats can play a role during that sunrise meal - they help your body more effectively absorb nutrients and allow for a better, more gradual release of caloric energy.
So what are the best pack-friendly options for breakfast? Oatmeal is a great choice - it can be cold or warm soaked. Throw in some dehydrated fruit, nuts and protein powder or powdered milk to make it even tastier and balanced. Another option is peanut butter and tortillas. This can be more weight, but the healthy fats in peanut butter also provide a lot of dense calories. Even the venerable Pop-Tart can be a quick option - Kellogg's now makes a high-protein variety that tastes identical to the original.
Finally, while Sponge is not a coffee drinker - there are hikers that can't walk a city block until they have their cup of joe. Something can be said for the effect of caffeine to get a hiker moving. Sponge uses caffeine pills and there's also some in his daily vitamin. For those that don't want to waste time boiling water for brew, these could be alternatives.
Let's talk Lunch...
The staple meal of 9-to-5 workers everywhere can often go homeless for hikers, as many prefer to continually snack instead. However, there are some really valid reasons to take a break for the middle meal.
For starters, your body may need the physical break, so you don't overexert yourself with too many miles. A 'lunch stop' will also encourage you to prepare a meal that better matches what your body needs after grinding through tedious trail miles. Too often hikers throw down 100 calorie snacks, only to realize 12 miles later that they've done far too much on 500 calories of fuel.
So what should a hiker consume for lunch? Like breakfast, aim for a balance of healthy fats, carbs and protein. One of Sponge's favorite lunches is dehydrated chicken salad. You take Mountain House dehydrated chicken (ground fine), and combine it with spices/veggies/fruits of your choosing and keep it in a quart-size freezer Ziploc. Then, all you need to do is add water and a few packets of mayo. Depending on how creative you want to be, this can be pretty delicious - curry raisin and dill varieties were Sponge's faves. Bring along some crackers to spoon it onto or even a tortilla to wrap it in and you've got a balanced lunch that doesn't require the time to mess with your stove.
Don't ditch Dinner!
All long-distance hikers have been there - Sponge included - you just finished your 15th mile and stumble into camp feeling like another 10 paces could invite death. There is enough energy to set up shelter, but maybe dinner can be a few candy bars tonight.
Dig deep for dinner, my trail friends! No meal may be more important at the end of a high-mileage day. Your body is starved for fuel - and that delightful, partially-melted Snickers can only give you a quick punch of carbs and sugar - you need protein to repair muscles and fiber to help with digestion. Even your consumption of water will be less if you don't have dinner. The snacks you scarf don't usually have a high water content (if any) and it's hard to force yourself to drink what you should when exhausted.
A good strategy is to first take a short break, then set up your tent and fetch water. Then, daylight and weather permitting, boil some water and have a meal. Save candy for desert, but take the time to have a hot meal that balances healthy fats, protein and carbs. Packaged side items like rice or instant potatoes can be the carbs and starches, while dehydrated meals with chicken, pork or beef will usually cover your needed protein. A sneaky-easy way to add fat and calories is to add some olive oil to your meal before you add water. Sponge loves these squeeze bottles - which are super resistant to leaking. Each holds 3.4 oz...which is plenty to supplement dinners (or any other meal!)
A final word on Snacks vs. Meals
If it seems like Sponge is bashing you bag of snacks in favor of sit-down cuisine, realize this couldn't be farther from the truth. Snacks are critical for successful hiking adventures. Soooooo critical, in fact, that Sponge will dedicate and entire future blog to examining them further. But like a growing teenager, it is a mistake to try surviving on them alone. Your body is being challenged in a way watching Netflix won't approach. Feed it right - at least three major times a day!