"AVOIDING DANGER IS NO SAFER IN THE LONG RUN THAN OUTRIGHT EXPOSURE. LIFE IS EITHER A DARING ADVENTURE OR NOTHING”
HELEN KETLER
WHAT TO EAT WHEN MULTI-DAY HIKING
How to stay energized and hydrated throughout a long day in the Wilderness is down to more than personal taste. With a little thought you can ensure your body is firing up ready for the strains you are about to put on it.
It is tempting to start the day with just a cup tea and a cereal bar, but overnight, your body will have used up much of its glycogen store (that’s your primary energy source) so, unless you replenish it properly, you’ll run out of energy by mid-morning.
Eat a balanced breakfast of whole cereal, juice and meat that’s not too fatty. This will supply a healthy dose of carbohydrates, which your body breaks down into glucose and stores in your muscles as glycogen, providing a readily available source of energy. It also provides fibre, which delays the uptake of sugar into the blood so you’ll get a sustained energy boost rather than an instant surge. Protein sources such as nuts and eggs will supply amino acids to rebuild and repair your body during periods of hard exercise.
For normal daily walks, if you are packing lunch, make up sandwich rolls with whole-meal bread. Mashed banana and honey is an excellent filling. Take a couple of extra pieces of fruit too and make sure you have something palatable to drink. A lunch like this will deliver a second super-hit of carbohydrates to provide further sustained energy. The fibre in the bread will help to control the sugar-rush from the chocolate you’re likely to snack on later, too. In addition to carbohydrates, the fruit contains valuable liquid: so this’ll help keep you hydrated (an orange is 86 per cent water and surprisingly even the humble banana scores an impressive 71 per cent.
For a longer term wilderness plan, base your food diet on these staples, and then add a little of whatever else you fancy. All will survive a few days in your pack and offer a good energy source – although a few earn their place for their taste.
Don’t underestimate how much energy you’ll need: walking in mountainous terrain uses two and a half times the calories of walking over level ground.
Where you get that energy from is important too. Aim to get the bulk from carbohydrates: your diet should consist of 60 per cent carbs, 20 percent protein, and 20 percent fat. This high percentage of carbohydrates will keep your body fuelled with readily available energy – and by choosing starchy as oppose to sugary carbohydrates, you’ll get a steady stream of energy, rather than an instant high followed by a draining low.
Fat provides energy too, but it takes far longer to digest, and actually slows the absorption of the carbs, so keep the high-fat foods for the end of the day, rather than while you’re walking. And the protein is essential for muscle repair, to ensure you’re fit for the following day.
Good Foods
Quick cook pasta – easiest dinner to prepare and goes with anything.
Dried sliced onions – instant meal upgrade.
Tomato puree – add taste.
Salami sticks – decent 20 per cent protein.
Whole-meal pitta bread – packable, stackable staple.
Rice cakes – 80 percent carbohydrates providing a serious energy boost.
Cheese spread – purely taste purposes.
Oatcakes – provide sustained energy, good for lunch.
Muesli – Mountain breakfast of choice. Will get your day of to an energetic start.
Beef jerky – Perfect for repairing your battered body overnight.
Peanut Butter - for its protein content. Use in the evening for maximum benefit.
Dates – pack the highest energy boost of all fruits.
Raisins – for an instant pick-me-up. Use as a surge of energy when required for that last stretch to the top.
Dried fruits – sustained energy benefits.
Cereal bars – transportable tanks of energy.
Bananas – the Superman of foods.
Nuts – good for evening refueling and they also provide magnesium, which helps to guard against muscle-burn from lactic acid production.
Pocket Fuel
Flagging on the hills? The fastest way to beat fatigue, boost your blood sugar levels, and top up your muscle glycogen store is to eat carbohydrates – as soon as possible. But although you might think sugary foods will release their carbohydrates into your system faster than starchy ones, it’s not quite that simple.
In fact, the glucose from some starchy foods is absorbed more quickly than others – for instance, the starch in white bread is digested more quickly than the starch in baked beans. Also, sugars that occur naturally in fresh and dried fruits are absorbed more slowly than the highly processed starches used as thickeners in many soups and pasta sauces.
Such differences in the speed of sugar absorption are measured and rated according to the glycaemic index (GI). Foods with a high GI produce a rapid rise in blood glucose: foods with a low GI are much slower.
So, when you’re walking across the hills, it’s best to eat foods with a high GI as your body can make good use of the energy. However, if you load up on high GI foods such as chocolate, cakes, and biscuits when you’re just sitting around, your blood sugar and insulin levels will rocket, then rapidly fall. This is known as the ‘rebound effect’ which can make you feel lethargic.
The glycaemic index should only be used as a guide since the values refer to single foods. In practice we eat a mixture of foods. Other food components – fibre, fat, and protein – interact with carbohydrates and tend to slow down its digestion and absorption.
Foods that make you go zoom……
(In order of saintliness)
1) Bananas
2) Dried fruit
3) Oatcakes
4) Chocolate.
Remember, what you pack, you have to carry!
We as hikers, explorers, and adventurers have the absolute duty to respect and protect our Wildernesses. Nobody else will do it for us. Take ownership!
The End.
Safe Hiking.
References and Acknowledgements
From the book: The Ultimate Hiking Skills Manual – Trail D&C
Photos: ©Willem Pelser
Compiled by: Willem Pelser
