The Best Backpacking Foods

Which backpacking food is best is just an opinion, of course, but there are reasons why some foods are better than others.

Maybe your favorite backpacking food is a freeze-dried turkey dinner. There really is no "best" backpacking food. There are reasons to bring certain foods, though. Here are ten foods, and the reasons you might want to consider them.

1. Nuts. This is one of the most calorie-packed foods you can take. That means less weight to carry. With lots of protein and other nutritonal benefits, nuts are one of the best backpacking foods.

2. Olive oil. Add a little to your soups or dip bread in it. The best of the oils health-wise, you can eat it before sleeping, to stay warm, because fats generate heat when digested.

3. Trail mixes. Any mix with raisins and nuts is great for backpacking. Vitamins, minerals, protein, and the best reason - convenience.

4. Corn products. Tortilla chips or corn nuts are convenient, and they don't seem to cause the tiredness that potato chips and other simple carbohydrates can cause.

5. Ramen noodles. When you need a hot meal fast, there isn't much that's better.

6. Instant coffee. A necessity for caffeine addicts, and it's good to have a stimulant available for emergencies.

7. Wild edible berries. Learn to identify a few, and you'll have a nutricious excuse for a break along the trail.

8. Instant sports drinks. Pour a little in your water bottle and shake. Replacing electrolytes doesn't get more convenient.

9. Instant refried beans. When you want sustained energy, eat beans.

10. Your favorites. Having your favorite foods can help salvage a rainy backpacking trip spent in the tent.

Always consider the nature of the trip when you choose your backpacking food. Hot meals are much more important in cold climates, and convenience is king, if you want to make miles. A bottle of rum might even be appropriate, if it's a trip wih friends.

Ten Backpacking Trip Essentials

The next time you take a backpacking trip, make sure you have these ten essentials.

I've had backpacking trips that included rain, snow, lightning, rockslides, altitude sickness, and twenty-mile days - all in a summer weekend. Wilderness trips can be dangerous, but you can make then less so, by having the following ten essentials in your backpack.

1. Knowledge. What good is a compass if you don't know how to use it? Play with matches if your fire-making skills are shaky. Learn what to do when you see a bear. Read a little, practice a little - knowledge is more likely to save you than gadgets.

2. Map and compass. These are together, because that's the way you need to use them.

3. Matches and lighter. Bring both, or waterproof matches and a fire starter of some sort. Having two ways to start a fire is much safer.

4. First aid kit. Buy a pre-packaged one or build your own. Make sure it has pain relievers, bandages, disinfectant, and notes on basic first aid procedures.

5. Foot care. Your first aid kit needs moleskin, and maybe a pin, to treat blisters. Your feet have to be well cared for when you're hiking miles from the nearest road.

6. Water purification. A filter works, but they clog and break so often that you should have a small bottle of iodine tablets or other water purification as back up.

7. Rainwear. One of the biggest killers in the woods is hypothermia, and it often starts when you get wet. Try to stay dry.

8. Shelter. This can be a tent, tarp or bivy sack. Just be sure you know how to use it.

9. Sleeping bag. Down bags are the warmest for their weight, but be sure you know how to keep it dry, or bring a synthetic bag.

10. Specific trip items. For backpacking trips in Michigan in May, bring insect repellant. In June in Arizona, bring sunblock. Think about the specific conditions for the time and place of your trip.

Make your own list if you take regular backpacking trips. It's no fun when a friend tells us ten miles down the trail that he's allergic to bees and forgot his medicine. A little planning means less worries, and a better trip.