Hiking Nutrition: What + How Much to Eat on a Day Hike
Nutrition for hiking is something we see a lot of people make mistakes with – they’re either overcomplicating it and bringing too much food, or underestimating how much they should eat OR choosing types of food that simply aren’t as optimal for a day hike.
When you’re planning out a hike and trying to determine how much food to bring, we don’t need to be concerned about mileage or vert. We are most concerned with how long the hike is going to take you and how hard that hike will be for you.
If this is an hour-long hike, you can bring a little something to snack on if you want to, but it’s not totally necessary. This nutrition guide is geared toward those 90-minute plus hikes that require nourishment to sustain you throughout your trek.
Once you determine how long the hike is going to take you, there are some considerations to make when planning how much to eat:
Plan on eating around 200-300 calories per hour. If it’s a harder hike – meaning more vert, tougher, and/or more obstacles – aim for the 300-calorie/hour marker. Let’s say you’re going out on a 5-hour hike that’s rated difficult; you are going to want to bring around 1,500 calories with you.
If you have no idea how long a hike is going to take you, you can roughly calculate how many miles per hour you’re going to move. Usually, it’s around 15-40 minutes per hour depending on how fit you are. Obviously if you’re a slower hiker, you’re probably not doing 15–20-mile hikes. Don’t overthink it too much! This is why we don’t really want to go over that 300-calorie mark, it’s just not necessary when you can still go home and eat more!
Know that the heavier your pack is, the more it’s going to slow you down no matter how fit you are. You can move so much faster even when your pack is just one pound lighter.
When you hike, blood is moving away from your stomach, which will make you feel not super hungry. Altitude will also reduce your hunger (and thirst). “Hiker hunger” is going to set in at night, or even a day or two later depending on the difficulty of the hike. This is why you need to eat even when you’re not hungry; you’re still burning energy and need to replace it. This is where high-carbohydrate, quick-digesting snacks come into play. With that said, do NOT wait to eat until you’re hungry.
We’ve seen people go 2-3 hours without eating on a hike because they don’t feel ready for food, but they get really tired. That’s because even though they don’t feel hungry, they are running out of fuel. We suggest setting an alarm on your phone for every 60-90 minutes to remind yourself to eat 200-300 calories.
If you plan an all-day hike, lunch is something to consider. In this case, it’s not realistic to just eat snacks the entire time. But remember that a 500-600 calorie meal won’t digest as quickly as a snack will, which means you might feel slow or a little lethargic if you don’t give yourself a little time before hitting the trail again. If you’re hiking to a summit, a lake, or some sort of destination, packing a lunch is a great idea! It’s way more enjoyable to stop and eat a meal than it is to pound three snack bars.
Why we need to have extra food
Obviously, we’ve seen our fair share of shit in the backcountry now, so we feel obligated and responsible to prepare you for all situations that could arise.
Let’s just say nothing happens to you – you’re fine and your group knows what you’re doing. However, you come across someone who broke their ankle on the trail. They’re alone or with one other person, they don’t know what they’re doing, and didn’t bring food. Maybe they have to wait an hour or two for help. Having extra food (and safety gear for that matter) isn’t as much about an emergency for you as it is for helping others who aren’t as prepared or experienced. This isn’t meant to scare anyone but bring extra snacks! Whether it’s you or someone else who gets into a bind, you’ll be really happy you have them.
Maybe you’re just hoofing it one day and decide that you want to go a little further than you planned - now you have enough fuel for that! There have been times where we didn’t go as far as we would have liked because we didn’t have enough water or food.
Carbs are your hiking BFF
The last thing you want is to bonk on the trail. This is why you NEED to bring carbs. We see a lot of newer hikers bring protein bars which are fine, but truthfully those calories are best served as carbs and fat – mostly carbs. You can increase the fat if you have a longer day planned. If you’re going out for a couple hours, you don’t really need to worry about protein. Protein is not going to fuel you on the trail - eat that after you hike to help repair your muscles!
Now let’s get down to the part that everyone wants to hear - what exactly should you bring?
→ Chews or gummies of any kind are great, but you can’t only eat these. We promise you don’t want a belly full of sugar when you’re hiking. Try to stay in the 40-60 grams of carbs per snack realm. These are going to be super-fast digesting so they’re great to throw down when you’re hitting a wall:
Fruit jerky/leathers
→ Goos aren’t really our thing, but some people LOVE them. Try different ones if you want to and see what you jive with.
Honey Stinger Gel (as an alternative, we really love the Honey Stinger Waffles)
Spring Energy Gel (made with more whole ingredients, better tasting IMO)
→ Meals or bars that are heavier for more calories!
Beef jerky
Split (almond butter and jam in one!)
→ Juice! We never really were juice drinkers until we started bringing Natalie’s Juices with us after we partnered with them for a branding photoshoot on a ski tour. Now we almost always take one with us!
→ Fresh fruit: Fresh fruit carries a lot of water which is a nice bonus for hydration. We really like kiwi when hiking because they’re small and you can eat the skin (is that weird?!). Also, bananas, apples, and dried fruit are good options and easier to pack. Just be aware that they will make your pack heavier. We don’t recommend carrying it all day so eat it sooner rather than later.
*Note: You CANNOT leave your apple cores, banana or orange peels or any kind of food in the backcountry. Just because they are plants doesn’t mean they are natural in the backcountry ecosystem. Bring an extra stuff sack or Ziploc bag and pack out your food scraps.
Personally, we don’t see any point in bringing vegetables on the trail because they’re not going to provide you any calories to sustain you. If you really want to bring something like veggies and hummus with lunch, that’s definitely doable in a Tupperware container.
Packing Your Food
When planning out food, try bringing something heavier like a bar or squeezable almond butter packet, and something lighter like chews, and alternate every 60-90 minutes. You don’t have to do it this way, but that’s just what works for us! Also make sure to bring a combination of sweet and savory items because you never know what you’ll feel like having once you are on the trail.
Pack your snacks in a small dry bag so that your food is all in one place. You will know what you have, what’s left, and can visualize it and be responsible with snack eating this way. Plus, you can put your wrappers back into it and not have any loose trash floating around your pack.
And an extra tip for you: If you have the time and ability, eat a big breakfast before you head out! Just make sure you have about an hour or so before you hit the trail to digest. If you won’t have that option, you’ve probably heard about marathon runners or Ironman competitors who carb-load the night before their event - we don’t have to go THAT hard, but the same concept applies. Eat a little bit of a carb heavier meal if you plan on getting an early start!
Water on Your Day Hike
Most med kits come with electrolyte powders but bring something extra with you if you are worried about hydration. If you’re going somewhere that doesn’t provide you access to a water source, bring as much water as you can from home. We bring an entire 3-liter bladder plus a collapsible water bottle (holds 20 fluid ounces) just in case. You can also buy water bottles that have a built-in filter that you can refill along the trail.
Some hydration supplements I recommend:
Gatorade Gatorlytes
Electrolyte salt sticks
Salt stick chews
Nuun tablets (these are my go-to! I love these and we bring them with us on every hike, climb, whatever adventure)
Why is Trail Nutrition SO Important?
Bottom line, you need to be alert out on the trail so that you don’t get lost. You do not want to end up dizzy or tired to the point where you aren’t paying attention, otherwise you are more likely to get hurt and more likely to get lost compared to if you’re fueled up with lots of calories. The time to cut calories is not when you’re on a long hike.
Now that we’ve covered nutrition...if you’re ready to improve your abilities & mindset in the great outdoors, check out the Black Iron Nutrition Outside Coaching. This is 1:1 nutrition, movement, and mindset coaching for those looking to learn how to not only spend more time on the trail, in the mountains, or outside in general, but how to adequately fuel for and recover from your adventures.
Written By: Krissy Harclerode & Whitney Doiron