Food Adventures: Healthy in the Back Country

Amber Rose

2 years ago

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The summer is here and for me, that means getting outside on adventures. As the foodie I am, I love to plan what I’m going to eat, making sure that what I bring gives me the energy that I need, tastes good and is easy to make. In this blog, I will explain what you need to know to ensure you get the nutrition you need while exploring the great outdoors. Here are 5 questions to ask yourself before heading out.

How long will you be out?

Let’s start with the basics. How long will you be away from the food you have at home or the closest grocery store? Are you going for a quick walk through a park in your neighbourhood or are you going on a multiday trek in the forest? While you might not need any food for your walk around your neighbourhood, you will need lots of food for multi-day trips. My rule is that I bring a snack (granola bar or fruit) with me on any activity over an hour. This is because after an hour of activity, especially those that have elevated our heart and breathing rates as these activities have used up a large portion of the glycogen stored in our muscles. At the hour mark it’s a good practice to have a snack or if you finish your activity around that time it’s helpful for your recovery to have a snack after. If you are going for longer trips it’s important to include three meals and two snacks for each day that you are away. If you are going on a day hike out in the wilderness it is important to bring enough food for you to survive an emergency. The wilderness comes with many dangers and it’s important to plan for things not to go perfectly as planned, this includes bringing enough food that you can make it overnight out in the woods if need be.

What foods to bring and what to leave at home?

You may think that I might suggest leaving the junk food at home and only bringing “healthy” food, and yet the high sugar “junk” food is recommended! When exploring the backcountry you can be burning a lot of calories, especially if you’re hiking with a heavy pack or sustaining steady-state movements like paddling, walking or skiing. Steady-state activity means that you have a consistent heart rate and breathing rate that can be maintained for an extended period of time. When participating in such activities you are burning a combination of sugars and fats (energy coming from 35% carbs and 65% fat). Generally, you are going to be getting most of your energy from sugars, followed by fat. This means that snacks should be higher in sugars with some fats and meals should be balanced with sources of carbs, proteins and fats. This is especially important if you are planning on doing multiple days of continuous activity. If you do not fuel yourself appropriately you can experience fatigue, lethargy, lack of focus, become hangry (this will impact group morale) and at worst experience injuries due to not fueling yourself well enough. The only thing that I would leave at home would be alcohol. Alcohol can not only increase risky decision-making when had in excess it can also increase your risk of hypothermia as it lowers your body temperature due to how your body processes alcohol even when had in moderation.

How much energy will you burn?

As mentioned earlier outdoor activities burn a large amount of calories. I’m going to focus on hiking as each type of activity will burn different amounts of calories depending on the variables (intensity, muscles used, duration, weight carried or resistance). How many calories you use while hiking is dependent on a few variables, such as how much weight you are carrying, your elevation gain, pace and duration. Below I’ve linked a calculator that includes these metrics to estimate how many calories you may burn while hiking. In general a person weighing around 150 pounds can expect to burn 300- 400 calories per hour of hiking. This is important to consider when meal planning as this is not the time to skimp on calories unless you want to feel tired and hangry.

Calorie Calculator for Hiking

What am I planning on drinking?

Although this is important year-round, during the summer it is of utmost importance to consume enough water. Dehydration and heat stroke are not things you want to risk while in the backcountry and the risk of experiencing either of them or both increases in the summer with the warmer temperatures. When out on trails it’s important to include a source of electrolytes (minerals that are found in the blood that maintain the balance of water in our cells) as well as ensuring that you are drinking enough water. If sources of water are not safe for drinking make sure to bring a filtration system, chemical water cleaning tablets and or boil your water before drinking. Good hydration with safe clean water is essential to a positive experience in the great outdoors.

How are you going to prepare the food?

How you prepare the food is an important consideration after answering the previous questions, as what you’re packing may change depending on the answers. Longer trips will need more food than shorter trips while keeping it within a reasonable weight that you can carry along with the gear you will be to make it with. As a result, longer trips may require dehydrated food which will be lighter and easier to pack but will require water, fuel and the ability to heat the water and rehydrate the food. For shorter day trips this might be less important and the focus can be on foods that won’t spoil outside of refrigeration for a few hours.

Other things to consider when looking at how you prepare your food can include:

Am I using dried food that needs to be rehydrated?
Is the water safe to consume and how much will be available for cooking and drinking?
How much does the food and cooking gear weigh and how am I carrying them?
What foods do I want to eat during meals and snacks?
How much do I expect to consume? Does this meet my caloric needs?
Am I sharing food or gear with others on the trip?

Most importantly pick or make foods that you will enjoy. Nothing beats enjoying food with a great view.