Planning Your Meals for a Section Hike

This weekend I am setting of on a hike in Pine Mountain, Georgia with the first of my two shake down hikes for my upcoming June section hike. As I prep for June I am evaluating what I would like to eat over the 10 days. This weekend will be a great way for me to test what I would like to eat.

To do this, I have been looking over countless spreadsheets, forum post, and testing out some new recipes. My goal has been to maximize the total calorie intake (3,500 calories per day), with the carrying weight of each item, and (the most important factor) what I like to eat. If I can, I want to throw in some healthy options as well. To help this I created my own spreadsheet to help track the calories, weight, and days I will be out on the hike.

For breakfast, I am a major fan of Cliff Bars. I eat them most days and will continue to do so on the trail. I can eat them while walking or before I get out of my warm GoLite Quilt. For this trip I am taking Banana Nut Bread and Spiced Pumpkin Pie.

As I am heading down the trail, I plan on snacking on my homemade granola. I have been making my own homemade granola for a few years and can do it for cheaper with a better taste that I enjoy. The contents of the granola are oats, shaved almonds, roasted and salted pumpkin seeds, dried mangos, dried bananas, and dried cherries. The caloric intake on this granola is fantastic and also provides me with some great energy.

Lunch will be testing out my latest recipe, Ultralight Joe’s Moose Goo. I am looking forward to trying this out and seeing if I can handle this goo for 3 straight days. My assumption is yes, but only testing it will show.

I am treating myself for dinner with Pack-It-Gourmet. For the first night I will be testing out their Tortilla Soup and Banana Pudding for dessert. The second night I am going to eat their All American Burger Wrap. For dessert I am going to treat myself to a Snickers.

As I said, this is part of my testing for my upcoming section hike. I will also be testing out some new items for personal use and a few gear pieces that I will share in another post.

So what do you eat while hiking for breakfast? lunch? snacks? and dinner?