Stocking Stuffers for Hikers: Food Edition

The term might be used best to describe how to train a dog, but I would identify myself as Highly Motivated By Food. So, when it comes to hiking up the next big climb or making big miles to the next water, there’s no incentive to keep moving quite like a Food Treat.

This holiday season, consider giving your hiker friends some inspiring non-perishable food that carries easily in a pack and can help turn a pretty awesome day of hiking into an extraordinary day of hiking. Treat Food is the kind of stuff that can be a little heavy and pricey to base one’s complete thru-hiking diet off of, but can make a dayhike or a hard backpacking trip all the more delightful.  Disclaimer: I’ve bought all of these, and they’re delicious.

These are a few of my favorites:

3)      Probar: One of my favorites and a true trail staple, these meal replacement bars pack in almost 400 real food calories. Probars are great for getting a bunch of energy before a big climb or mornings when it’s so cold that the best way to get calories is to walk-and-eat. It’s not surprising to find whole dried strawberries and real nuts in these bars. They tend to be a bit on the pricier side, so a few of these make a great treat to throw in a stocking stuffer. (Hint: the Chocolate Coconut is AMAZING).

4)      Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans/Edamame/Marshmallows/etc. On my first thru-hike of the AT, one of my old hiking buddies, Rick, sent me a care package with a crisp $20 bill and a pound of chocolate covered espresso beans. It was one of the most tailored hiking presents I’ve ever gotten. Trader Joe’s is a great place to get anything chocolate covered. I would highly recommend the super-calorie dense Chocolate Covered Sunflower seeds.

8) FishPeople Meals: These delicious meal-in-a-packet foods are legitimately good—like they’re still really good even when you’re not on trail. Although these food packets are a little heavy to eat for every meal in the backcountry, it’s nice to have one on hand for hard stretches between resupplies. They come in mile-motivating flavors like Thai Coconut Lemograss and feature a variety of sustainable fish-based protein sources. I remember pushing hard at the end of a day on the John Muir Trail so that I could down one of these dinners. Let’s just say they really spice up instant mashed potatoes.

1)      Epic Savory Bar: I just discovered these bars, and they blow your usual trail jerky off the mountain. They come in great flavors like Bison-Bacon-Cranberry and Beef-Cherry-Habanero. One of these bad boys will motivate any meat-eater to pick up the pace.

2) Kale Chips: Let’s face it: It’s surprising that hikers don’t get scurvy that awesome. Throw your friends and loved ones a light-weight veggie alternative. They aren’t calorie dense, but sometimes, a hiker’s body doesn’t just need calories. I’ve currently addicted to the Rhythm Honey Mustard flavor, but you can make your own (just be sure to get a good vacuum pack system on DIY kale chips as they get stale quickly).

5)      Starbucks Via: Along the lines of the coffee beans, why not give your hiker friends the good stuff? The Vias make the lightest (weight-wise) and most flavorful cup of coffee you can get. Plus, Starbucks is pretty infamous for having almost twice as much caffeine as their competitors, so a Via can really be a treat in the middle of a day. You can usually find these at Costco for a great price.

6) Honey Stinger Waffle: Anytime a “waffle” can be sold as food athletes can eat, I’m in. A more calorific and less expensive option is Trader Joe’s Belgian Butter Waffle cookies.

7) Single Serving drink mixes: These can be a bit pricey to live off of during a thru-hike, but sometimes can make quite a difference. I’ve hiked with Green Superfoods,  Vega One Nutritonal Shakes and Garden of Life Raw Protein, but anything single serving will be less messy and easy to use on trail.

9)      Probolts (or similar Gu/Gel/Gummi Bear like items): Sometimes, a hiker can get so into hiking that he forgets to eat. When blood sugar levels plummet, hikers get “hangry” (hungry+angry) and all sorts of other bad side effects. Probolts, Gus, ClifShots, and other gummy or gel-y delicious things help counteract low blood sugar levels rather quickly.

10) Specialty Store Novelities: My friend Dave “Lucky” Brunstein introduced me to Cost Plus World Market as the place to go for Food Treats for hiking. I’m also a big fan of Trader Joe’s for finding reasonably priced Treat Foods, especially the chocolate-covered variety.

I hope this inspires you to spice up you, your family, or your friend’s hiker diets!

Do you have any favorite trail treat foods that would make a great gift?