Walking and trekking is an excellent past time, you can pack a Ginsters and have a warm bitter in a worrying pub. What happens if you are going walking for a little longer? How about a real long trip, in a Ray Mears style?

A little walk to the pub is all I can handle

Food is an important part of the planning process. The type of food that you need to take along with you will depend on the type of trip that you are undertaking and your destination. If there are plenty of cheap travel lodges you may be able to depend on local food and just carry some additional snacks for a quick boost when you are walking. Most people for example, do not recommend that you take a lot of food with you if you are trekking in Nepal.

According to Chris Townsend in the Backpacker’s Handbook men will burn around 360 calories per hour and women around 240 calories per hour whilst hiking. So if you assume that you are going to hike for 7 hours per day then men would need 4500 to 5250 calories and women would need 3330 to 4320 calories. Of course these are only estimates, but they do provide a guideline. Just as at any other time you need a balanced diet and should not obtain too many calories from one source.

How many calories are in that then?

Ok, so let’s get food technical and talk about the stuff that makes food. Not chips, ketchup, burgers and chicken nuggets. We’re talking Fats, Carbohydrates and Proteins

Fats contain around 9 calories per gram (255 calories per oz) and take hours to metabolise, thus they are good for long term energy. Contary to what Grazia tells you, fats are essential for the utilisation of carbohydrates and prevent sugar crashes which can leave you feeling cold and exhausted. Nuts are the best source of fats for potential energy and they also contain vitamins, minerals and trace elements. Cheese is another good source, although for practical reasons it is best to avoid the crumbly variety. A balanced hiking diet provides more calories in the form of fat than a normal diet.

Can you smell those rashers? Plenty of fat on them!

Carbohydrates are an excellent source of energy for walking and provide around 4 calories per gram (113 calories per oz). Carbohydrates are quickly converted by the body to glucose for the muscles to burn as energy. Simple sugars such as sweets and fruits are useful if you need a quick food for sport, but they should not be relied upon for long term energy and sweets contribute little to overall nutrition. Complex carbohydrates such as bread, cereal and grains take longer to metabolise and are better for providing calories for walking. As with fats a balanced hiking diet will provide more calories in the form of carbohydrate than a normal diet.

I wonder how far you’d walk if you ate all of this?

Proteins provide around 4 calories per gram (113 calories per oz) and are slowly metabolised. They are not converted directly into sugars. Proteins are required for the repair of body tissues and so you should not skimp on your protein intake. Nuts are good sources of fats, carbohydrates and proteins.

Protein will allow you to wear such tops with confidence

Hiking and trekking can deplete minerals through sweating and an organic supplement is the best way to keep your vitamin and mineral levels up. Also remember to drink plenty of water so that you do not become dehydrated. If you are in a cool climate you should expect to get through 6 litres per day whilst in a hotter climate it should be around 10 litres. Drinking plenty of water is very important, but you can also use isotonic drinks which will restore your fluid levels and improve the rate at which water is absorbed by the body.

Foods need to be lightweight especially if you are going to be carrying them in a rucksack so choose dry foods. Freeze-dried foods are also very easy to prepare. You simply need to add water and cook them for 5 minutes. Companies such as Adventure Food or Be-Well offer a wide range of ready meals from chicken curry to chilli con carne to mince hotpot and if you are a vegetarian your choices include walnut pasta, Thai vegetables with rice and curry with fruit and rice.

Desserts include chocolate mousse, apple and apricot compote and vanilla dessert. These cost between £3 - £5 so you may decide to use them as an occasional meal rather than every day. You can also buy dehydrated foods such as TVP mince in supermarkets which are a cheaper alternative. Choose a good variety of foods so that you do not become bored. There is no need to take along herbs, but salt, pepper and garlic granules can give a meal a boost.

Mmmmm - chocolate mousse. Doubt it’ll be as nice as this one

The best foods to take along with you are freeze-dried ready meals, rice, pasta, porridge oats, flour, instant mashed potato and dried soups. Other useful items are cured ham, dried beans, dried lentils, tinned meat, cheese and tinned fish. Dried milk, coffee, sugar, tea bags, cocoa powder, syrup, condensed milk, oil and margarine should also be carried. Tinned fruit, muesli bars, dried fruit, biscuits, chocolates, nuts, crackers, jam, chocolate spread, peanut butter, salt, pepper and garlic granules are useful additions and some of these can be used for a quick energy boost. You can of course supplement your diet with the occasional local dish.

Depending on which part of the world you are in you can still sample local dishes. If you are in an area where water purity may be a problem the safest dishes will be those that you cook yourself. However, if you are careful there is no reason why you should not enjoy some of the exotic dishes on offer. Choose freshly cooked dishes which are hot, fruits and vegetables that can be peeled and packet or canned foods. Local dishes tend to be safer than Westernised foods. You should avoid salads or buffets, seafood, unwashed fruit or vegetables, unpasteurised diary products and sauces. Do not accept drinks with ice or ice-cream that may have been made from unpasteurised milk or somewhere where the water supply may be unsafe.

Sometimes it’s best to stay away from local foods

When you are out walking you should not stick to rigid meal times rather eat little and often. Always start the day with a good breakfast, usually one hour before you commence your walk.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, January 22nd, 2009 at 1:33 pm and is filed under Blog. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.