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i’m freshly back from three days, two nights solo hiking and camping on the central coast of NSW

i spent three days in bouddi national park and half a day in kuring-gai chase national park

i wanted a coastal hike, with swimming beaches, wildlife, and phone reception for safety the entire time (as i was solo!)

my hike didn’t quite go to plan, so i thought it would be interesting to go through the planning and execution of this trip

the plan

day one:

• bus to palm beach wharf

• ferry to wagstaffe wharf

• hike around box head and along to putty beach

• camp for the night at putty beach campground

this would be about 11km with 400m each ascent and descent

day two:

• hike out from putty beach campsite along the bouddi coastal walk to little beach campsite

• return via mount bouddi

camp for the night at tallow beach campsite

this was the big day: 24km and 950m ascent and descent

day three:

• hike out from tallow beach campground back to wagstaffe wharf

• ferry to kurring-gai chase via palm beach

• set up camp at the basin campground

• explore kurring-gai park and hike to mackerel beach and hungry beach

total for the day: 3km and 120m (to the wharf) plus 14km and 500m (in kurring-gai) makes 17km and 620m gain and loss

day four:

• slow morning at camp

• catch the first ferry back to palm beach

• bus home

essentially no mileage this day, and home for lunch!

summary

i used the pandolf equation to estimate the caloric burn from each day’s hiking to help me plan my nutrition requirements

those calories are the additional metabolic cost of walking with a pack, on top of my normal energy requirements needed to live

i knew i’d leave after breakfast on day one, and be home by lunch on day four - so i needed essentially three full days supplies plus the hiking calories above

this comes out to about 7,500 calories required

packing

i knew from previous trips that my pack is too small to fit both the tent and cooking gear so elected to go stoveless on this trip to save space and weight

the weather forecast was for blue skies, no rain, and high UV

i also knew there might be cafes along the way that i could stop in and get meals (and hot coffees!) at but i didn’t want to rely entirely on them being open when i needed!

i went for an adaption of my hardcore solo hiker’s menu with overnight protein oats for breakfast, peanut butter wraps for meals, and a mix of sweet and salty snacks through the day

this provided a total 7,900 calories (50% carbs, 16% protein, 34% fat) and weighed 1.9kg (without packaging weight) for a caloric density of 4.1 cal/g, not bad!

here’s how it looked laid out

for cooking equipment i only had to bring a jar and spoon for the overnight oats - even the peanut butter was in a squeezy tube!

the total weight of my pack was 9kg - and almost half of this was food and water!

the reality

day one

it was hot hot hot by the time i got to wagstaffe

i explored the area behind the wharf, did a little bush-bashing, then elected to cut day one short by skipping the leg out to box head on exposed fire trails and instead headed directly to the kiosk at killcare beach for a cool, crisp salad sandwich and a relax in the shade to avoid the heat of the day

i eventually summoned the strength for the 1.6km soft sand crossing to putty beach, my home for the night

i had a swim, doodled around, resisted the urge to bbq my peanut butter & pretzel wrap, and was tucked in bed by 8pm

day two

broke camp by 6:30am and was on the bouddi coastal walk headed to little beach before the heat of the day

much of the way was fire roads in full sun so i elected to cut off the side trips again and stuck to the coastal route for some breeze

i made it back to putty beach by lunch and spent the middle of the day alternately swimming and hiding in the shade

there was a final 4km of fire trail to get up and over before i could hit camp at tallow beach for the night

i parked my tent in the last sliver of shade and headed down to explore tallow beach & little tallow beach

day three

up with the birds for a phenomenal sunrise at 5am

i was feeling surprisingly perky, so completed the section out to box head that i’d skipped on day one, before heading to the wagstaffe post office / general store / cafe for a coffee and natter with the locals

a quick ferry ride later, and a banh mi stock up in palm beach, and i arrived in the basin campground in kuring-gai chase national park

i set up my tent, to the fascination of the local wallaby population, and headed out to explore a new national park

my planning failed me here - the walk out of camp was a relentlessly steep concrete road, that eventually turned into gravel fire trail, then walking along the shoulder of a fast bitumen road with no shade, no breeze, and no views

i turned around and stomped back to camp early, having only made it 10km

while i’d been away, an entire primary school had moved into the campground with their palatial coleman tents and were busy unloading trolleys of pillows, airbeds, and sausages from the ferry - not quite the serene nature experience i’d been after

i made a quick decision to bail on my final night and head home on the last ferry with no regrets

in total i did slightly less distance than planned, mostly due to the trails (especially at kuring-gai) being far more exposed to the sun that i had expected

i ate most of what i’d packed, minus the day four breakfast and snacks (due to heading home earlier than planned)

what went well

• the salty pretzels and salt & vinegar fava beans were just what i wanted on a hot day after sweating buckets

• peanut butter pretzel wraps are excellent

• bouddi national park was a delight

room for improvement

• i came home with 4 serves of peanut butter left - so i had been under-eating my pb serves while on the trail

• i craved savoury, sour, spicy flavours after a few days

• i ate more cafe food than expected, and could have carried less food around if i’d known!

• banana chips are not good in overnight oats

• i was far hungrier than my previous maths would have predicted

i’m currently working on an update to my forecasting models to account for the extra energy of setting up camp, exploring beaches. stay tuned for more soon

see you out there,
penny 🥾✨

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store-bought dehydrated meals are a staple of the hiker’s meal plan. some are brilliant (i once drove 2hr just to buy more of the real meals wilderness stew), some are awful (not naming names), but most are just..ok.

as someone with a food intolerance, i’ve found the range of storebought meals can feel limited and a little repetitive. so i bought a dehydrator and started playing around with dehydrating my own ingredients, meals, and snacks. the goal was i want to eat what i eat at home, just on the trail!

but let’s back up - why do all hikers seem to eat dehydrated food anyway?

why dehydrate?

it sounds obvious but it’s worth defining: when we dehydrate food we are removing the moisture from it, and reducing the water content.

home dehydrators do this by running hot air over racks of food for extended periods of time (8-12 hours typically).

by reducing the water content we can dramatically decrease the weight while retaining the protein, fat and carb content of the food. for example, a typical apple might be 85% water. if we slice that apple and dehydrate it at 70C for 6 hours, we can reduce the weight of the same apple by 82% or a factor of 5.7. that is, a kilo of fresh apples can be dehydrated down to 175g dried apples while retaining all the delicious carbs and nutrients. this makes it possible to bring much larger quantities of “heavy” foods like fruits and vegetables without ending up with a 60kg pack weight.

we also can extend the lifespan of foods by dehydrating them. microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, and mould need water to grow and multiply. without enough water, they can’t survive or spoil the food. that’s why dehydrated meals can have a shelf life of years, and why jerky can be stored at room temperature.

dehydrated foods are also more convenient to cook when backpacking. all you need to do at camp is boil water, pour over the meal and let site for 10-15 minutes - no simmering, stirring, or dishes required!

where to start

so you’ve bought the dehydrator - now what?

you could do what i did, which is dehydrate the entire contents of the fridge, or you could see below for some super easy wins

low effort does not mean low reward! these are still some of my favourites to this day - whether i’m taking them hiking or not.

dried fruit

how to: thinly slice your favourite fruits, and dehydrate until dry to the touch and no longer tacky

flavours: my absolute favourites are watermelon, mango, and pear. the fruit flavour gets concentrated and they become almost like candy.

uses: use in trail mix, for snacking, or rehydrate in hot herbal tea for a fruit cup-like dessert

fruit leather

how to: blend your favourite fruits into a thick puree, spread on baking paper then dehydrate until leathery and dry to the touch

flavours: my favourites have been:

• just blueberries

• mango, pineapple & ginger

• peach & raspberry

• apple & cinnamon

uses: i love tearing up the fruit leather into little pieces and mixing them into my overnight oat packs. the fruit rehydrates overnight into delicious fruity compote pockets

herbs

dehydrating fresh herbs has to be one of the best ways to inspire some real campsite envy. there’s nothing like the smell of fresh(ish) coriander, basil, or parsley on day four of a hike to liven up your meal and make you feel like a real human eating real food!

how to: wash and dry your fresh herbs, and pick off the leaves. lay flat on the dehydrator and dry at 55C for 9 hours, or until crispy but still green. the weight will reduce by 90% or by a factor of 10.

uses:

• dehydrate parsley in bulk, and mix with couscous for trail tabbouleh (recipe soon!)

• dehydrate spring onion greens to jazz up instant ramen packets

• dehydrate basil and mix with dehydrated pasta, sunflower seeds, and nutritional yeast or parmesan for pesto pasta

• dehydrate coriander for tom kha noodle soup

tinned beans

yes, you can dehydrate beans! they rehydrate like a dream and can be a great cost-effective protein source for the trail

how to: drain and rinse your tinned legumes of choice, then spread evenly on the dehydrator trays. dry at 55C for 9-12 hours until totally dry and brittle-feeling

uses:

• add extra protein to soups, pasta meals, or instant ramen

• cold-soaked bean salads

• blend, season, then dehydrate to make a bean paste and use as a filling for wraps (think indian-spiced lentil dosa, mexican-inspired burrito filling, or go italian with rosemary, white beans and lemon zest)

salad vegetables

salad vegetables (i.e. eaten raw) rehydrate really well with cold water and and bring some much needed freshness and crunch to meals

how to: slice and dice your vegetables into bite-size pieces, then dehydrate at 55C for 9-10 hours depending on their water content. you can see below the cucumber and capsicum took a little longer than carrots to dry fully.

uses:

• dehydrate cherry tomatoes, capsicum, corn, black beans and coriander for trail burrito bowls, as pictured above!

• dehydrate cucumber, tomatoes, parsley and couscous for trail tabbouleh

• dehydrate spinach, bok choy, kale or your favourite green leaves and add a handful to everything

sauces

what sauces do you eat at home? i’d encourage you to go through your pantry and fridge and take a look at what you could potentially dehydrate and bring out with you. do note anything with dairy is not safe to dehydrate.

these can be absolute flavour bombs and have saved many a sad trail meal.

i’ve had success with the following:

• sambal oolek

• gochujang

• tom yum paste (note: add citric acid afterwards to bring the vinegar tang back)

• red curry paste

• salsa

• low-fat pesto (oil doesn’t dehydrate)

• low-fat hummus

• tinned passata

how to: spread the sauce evenly over baking paper and dehydrate at 55C for 6 hours or until completely dry. optional: blend into a fine powder.

uses:

• add a fat pinch of any chilli sauce to any meals that need a little oomph

• dehydrate hummus then rehydrate on trail for fancy little charcuterie board with crackers, hard cheese, salami, olives, and dried figs (wine optional, but what else do you do with the weight savings from the hummus?)

• dehydrate tomato passata for instant pasta sauce, and mix with textured vegetable protein (TVP) for easy bolognese, chilli, or sloppy joes

dehydrating might sound a little intimidating at first, but once you start experimenting it’s incredibly satisfying - and the payoff on trail is huge!

you get a lighter pack, longer-lasting greens, and a chance to eat food that tastes like real food you cook at home!

next time i’ll dive into the medium effort ideas - a little cooking, a little preparation required, for when you have the time and energy.

if you try any of these ideas, i’d love to hear what you make!

see you out there,
penny 🥾✨

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in the last post we went through macro breakdowns, weight considerations and food selection. in this installment, i’ll be running through some of the ‘menus’ i’ve developed for different hikes over the years and sharing some of my favourite meals

key decisions

every hike is different, and your menu can, and should, change based on your plans

here are a few of the factors i consider when planning my menu:

• how long is it? i can happily eat the same meal on repeat for breakfast, lunch and dinner for a day or two but need a little variety after that. if it’s longer than a few days, i’ll start to focus more on micronutrients, getting my (dehydrated) vegetables in, and thinking about my saturated fat and sodium intake

• what’s the weather? i know i’ll want to eat different things if i’m hiking in cold, rainy weather vs hot, sunny days. i also might not want to stop and cook lunch in the rain, so will move more to handheld snacks

• am i bringing a cooker? this ties into the weather question, but i may choose to leave the stove and pots at home and cold-soak my food (more on cold-soaking in a later post!). this impacts what you can make

• am i solo hiking, hiking with my partner, or hiking with a group? can i share supplies? are we making a group dinner one night? i will eat much weirder meals alone than in a group!

• what do i feel like? if you wouldn’t eat it at home, you probably won’t eat it on the trail. make sure you genuinely like eating what you’re packing! nothing worse than being hungry and choking down foods you just really don’t like because “it’s what hikers eat”!

• how much time do i have to prepare? am i stocking up at the grocery store on the drive to the trailhead, or do i have the energy to dehydrate and assemble my own meals?

• i’ll also pack myself little treats - hot sauce, dark chocolate, a fresh apple, a squashed banana bread, whatever strikes your fancy! it’s supposed to be fun!

with all of this in mind, here’s a few of my favourite meals and menus

1. the hardcore solo hiker

this is my go-to meal plan for solo, no stove, short hikes. it’s a little silly, but don’t knock it til you try it! it’s the same meal for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and granola bars in between. the repetition makes it incredibly easy to pick up at the shops on the way out for a hike. note: i would not keep this up for more than two days!

the meal: peanut butter granola wrap

1 large white wrap

1 generous spoon of peanut butter

1 serving of granola (optionally keto granola, for extra nuts & seeds but note higher fat content and lower carb will be better suited to lower intensity hiking)

the meal plan:

breakfast: peanut butter granola wrap

morning tea: nut bar

lunch: peanut butter granola wrap

afternoon tea: nut bar

dinner: peanut butter granola wrap

2. multi-day hut hiking

this is my typical meal plan for a 3-5 day hike, typically staying in huts or campgrounds. it is often cold and rainy, and plan to cook hot dinners in the evenings, lots of hot cups of tea, and a treat on arrival at the hut. this is easily purchased on the way to the trailhead, with no ‘homework’ to prepare at home.

the meal plan:

breakfast: oats, protein powder, and trail mix (either cooked hot or eaten cold as overnight oats)

morning tea: nut bar and trail mix

lunch: couscous dressed up with a drizzle of olive oil (either cooked hot if i find a protected place to stop, or cold-soaked). note: herbs and spices not shown!

afternoon tea: another nut bar and more trail mix

dinner: instant noodles and jerky (cooked together!), and dark chocolate for dessert!

other supplies not shown: teabags, instant coffee, herbs, spices, and multivitamins!

3. the homemade hero

do i have way too much time on my hands to prepare for a hike, and feel like showing off at the campsite with my home dehydrated vegetables? this is the meal plan.

the meal plan:

breakfast: dehydrated fruit, oats, protein powder, and a dirty bounty

morning tea: big newtons

lunch: tom kha noodles with veggies

afternoon tea: more big newtons, or homemade energy bars

dinner: homemade recovery powder at camp, and then moroccan couscous

and that’s a wrap (literally, if you’re packing the peanut butter granola wrap)!

the fun part about hiking food is that it doesn’t have to be fancy, but it also doesn’t have to be boring. i’ve eaten some truly questionable concoctions on the trail, but i’ve also had meals that made me sit back on a log and say “wow, this is good.” if you’re curious, experiment. if you’re tired, keep it simple. if you’re short on time, the supermarket can provide.

in the meantime, i’d love to hear: what’s been your best (or worst) trail meal?

see you out there,
penny 🥾✨

not interested in this series? you can unsubscribe from just dehydration stations by following the steps here. and don’t worry! the baking updates continue as normal on penny’s kitchen

in the last post we went through how to build up your total energy requirements. now we turn ourselves to the question of what those calories should actually consist of

there are a few factors to consider here: there’s the macronutrient composition (being the balance of fat, carbs (including fibre), and protein), the micronutrients (essential vitamins and minerals), the weight of your foodbag, how you plan to cook it, how you like to eat (sit-down meals vs grazing), how much time you’d like to put into food preparation before the hike, how much you want to spend, where you’re shopping, just to name a few!

we’ll start with the essential macronutrient composition of your food. there are three major classes of macronutrients: protein, fat, and carbohydrates

we break our target daily caloric goal down into a target balance of these macronutrients, starting with protein

protein

it seems like protein is everywhere these days, and for good reason! protein is essential for muscle repair, recovery, and satiety. this becomes particularly important on longer hikes when trying to maintain your lean body mass (aka muscle)

when eating in a caloric deficit (common on longer hikes), your body will turn to your muscles to provide the energy required. dietary protein intake will help ‘preserve’ the muscle we work so hard to build in the gym and reduce injury risk

the australian government recommends a minimum of 0.75g / kg bodyweight (note: for a female my age, your number may vary), while the american college of sports medicine recommend 1.2-2 g / kg bodyweight for endurance athletes (which includes hikers!). i like to lean on the higher end of this range and will target 1.8-2g / kg bodyweight daily for a target of 103 - 114g.

protein has an energy density of 4 cal/g, so i will target 412 - 456 calories, or about 20% of my daily calories.

note i keep my protein target fixed, irrespective of the daily caloric need. that is, if i was doing a longer, harder day with a higher caloric requirement i would still target that 114g of protein, but it would take up a proportionally smaller percentage of my intake.

so protein is sorted - let’s look to fats and carbohydrates

fat-carbohydrate balance

carbohydrates have the same caloric density at protein - 4 cal/g but fat is more than double this at 9 cal/g. this matters when trying to minimise the weight of your food supplies, because the same calories in fats will weigh less than half than that weight in pure carbohydrates.

we showed in part one that the food weight doesn’t make a big difference to total daily burn, but in my experience it makes a huge difference in comfort level and pack size. one kilogram can be the difference between a comfortable weight you can carry all day, and a weight that has you uncomfortable, risking ankle injury on uneven ground, or just having no fun

so why not carry 20% protein and the rest in fat, to keep your pack as light as possible?

carbohydrates are the body’s preferred fuel source. they’re a readily available, fast-burning source of energy. fats are also used for fuel, but they better for longer, sustained energy. think of kindling (carbs) vs coals (fat).

let’s touch on the crossover concept.

at low intensities, your body utilises mainly fats for fuel. as exercise intensity ramps up, your body switches to using more carbohydrates for fuel. we’re always burning some blend of carbohydrates and fats, but this proportion will vary when walking on the flat, up steep inclines, or scrambling up rock falls. note the crossover point can be shifted further to the right (using more fat at higher intensities) by prolonged endurance training, but that could be subject of an entire other post!

looking at the crossover concept, it seems logical that we should fuel with mainly fats when hiking at low intensity however without sufficient carbohydrate intake, hikers will struggle at higher intensity - such as on inclines, at altitude, or in the cold. you’ll also likely experience brain fog, slower recovery, and ‘bonking’ or hitting the wall. this is a familiar sensation to anyone who’s ever trained for a half- or full marathon.

we really need a suitable balance of fats and carbs for real-world hiking:

• fats for a ‘base’ load for all-day energy

• carbohydrates for mental clarity and energy for climbs

i have played around with this balance across a few hikes and have found that i do best on a 50% carbohydrate target when hiking. going too low on the carbs left me cranky, my legs feeling empty every morning, and an upset digestion.

on the flipside, a higher carb lower fat intake had my blood sugar jumping up and down and led to energy crashes. this balance gives the right trade-off of energy and pack weight.

in this example, 50% of my calories coming from carbohydrates would be 1,000 calories or 250g of carbs per day.

the rest of the day’s calories will be made up with fat

we can subtract the protein calories (456) and carbohydrate calories (1000) from our daily goal to get 544 calories, or 60g of fat as the remainder

as a sanity check, this is just above the minimum recommended 1g/kg bodyweight of fat intake.

adding it up

bringing it all together, we use the following guidelines:

• protein: 2g / kg bodyweight

• carbohydrates: 50% caloric intake

• fats: remainder

here’s how this would play out for two days - our previous example of 2,000 calories and a bigger hiking day with a 3,000 calorie requirement

we can see the protein target is steady, and the carbohydrate and fat targets flex to hit the increased needs of the bigger hike

so we now know the specific macronutrient targets we’re aiming to hit each day of the hike

what to eat?

but we don’t go to the shops to buy a pack of protein, a box of carbs and a jar of fats - we buy food. most foods are comprised of a mix of protein, fats, and carbs in varying proportions.

this is where my insane spreadsheet comes in - it’s a database compiled over many, many trips with detailed information about common foods available in supermarkets, hiking shops, and online

i’ll go in, select the foods i’d like to eat, and add them up to check how close i am to my targets

this is a sample day, and you can see we are pretty close to the target protein, carb and fat goals we calculated before

this selection is totally personal preference and depends on the trip you are planning. some factors to consider:

• are you planning on cooking, or assembling meals?

• do you like to stop for sit-down lunches, or snack all day?

• what’s your budget?

• do you prefer to shop entirely at the grocery store, or will you buy dehydrated meals? or make them yourself?

• do you have any dietary requirements?

for this trip, the weather forecast was warm and sunny and i wanted to go without my stove so all the food choices reflect this: cereal, wraps, and cold couscous

i’m also a big grazer and this meal plan reflects this - i like to eat the majority of my food before 2pm, then have a recovery shake at camp and a smaller dinner. i’m also lactose intolerant so you’ll see i’ve chosen to use protein powder in lieu of milk powder with my cereal

multi-day planning

but what about when we’re hiking over multiple days? and we might start in the afternoon, and finish before lunch on the final day?

we can tally up the quantity of each meal required pretty easily

this can then be multiplied out by each meal to calculate the total quantity of each item required (or the total packets required for items like wraps that come in a pack of 8)

finally, a handy pivot table can bring it all together to make your shopping list for the trip - it’s that easy!

optimisation options

eagle eyes will notice i also note the total weight, fibre, and cost in the daily meal plan.

in the case of this plan i think the fibre is a little low so i would go back in and swap out some choices for higher fibre options. the RDA for fibre for women is 25g/day. too little or too much fibre will lead to digestive discomfort after a few days, which no one enjoys!

i also care about the total weight of my meal plan, which we noted is a delicate balance between lightweight fats and heavier carbs. i like to target 4-5 cal/g for a meal plan to keep it in ‘ultralight’ territory so this plan is a little easy. i would also go back in and swap some items for denser items - maybe swapping the dried apple (only 2.64 cal/g) for macadamia nuts (7 cal/g) and accept the slightly lower carbohydrate intake. i might also swap the apple for a sports powder like gatorade powder, skratch powder or similar (about 3.5 cal/g), depending on how intense the hike looks to be (remember from before: more intense == more carbs burnt)

it’s not just the weight of the food - it’s also the weight of the packaging! whatever goes into the wilderness must come out, and that includes tins, cardboard wrappers, ziploc bags, wet teabags and all.

keeping an eye on the cost and food waste is also important to me. the shopping list above calls for a lot of half-packets of items which increases the upfront cost of provisioning this hike and could lead to food waste. i would go back into this meal plan and fiddle with my selections to try and use whole packets of muesli bars, wraps, etc. if budget is a consideration for you, the cost of one-off items like dehydrated meals, individual clif bars, protein bars, sports drinks etc can really add up over a multi-day hike.

wrapping up: hike smarter, eat happier

by understanding the macronutrient breakdown that works best for your body, your terrain, and your hiking style, you’re well on your way to building a food plan that’s not only lightweight and energy-efficient, but also delicious, satisfying, and sustainable.

in the next instalment, I’ll dive into some of my favourite meals and snack combinations — real foods I’ve tested on trail that hit the macros, are easy to prep, and don’t taste like backpack cardboard. whether you’re assembling meals from the supermarket or building your own DIY dehydrated menu, i’ll show you options for every style and budget.

happy hiking, and see you next time!

not interested in this series? you can unsubscribe from just dehydration stations by following the steps here. and don’t worry! the baking updates continue as normal on penny’s kitchen

over the years i have iterated ever closer to my ‘optimal’ meal plan for hiking. it’s a delicate balance of a number of interrelated factors:

• total energy needed

• macronutrients (protein, fats, and carbs)

• cost

• weight

• cooking requirements

• ease of purchase

• other nutritional considerations like fibre, and electrolytes like sodium and potassium to prevent cramping

• weather (no one wants cold dinner in the rain!)

i thought for this post i’d start way back at the beginning - how much food do i need anyway?

how many calories do i need on a hike?

i assume most readers will be familiar with the calorie, the measure of energy. the amount of food you eat and the amount of energy you burn on a hike can both be measured in calories (technically kilocalories, but no one calls them that!)

when planning a hike, you would generally want to match the two up, so you take exactly as much food as you need - this requires knowing, or approximating, how many calories you will burn on the hike

many of us now wear fitness watches on a daily basis that will tell you how many calories you burnt (past tense) on a given day, and doing a given exercise. for hiking planning, the real trick is to forecast your future caloric burn over a day, a weekend, a week, or more!

the role of the rmr

here’s how we start:

the mifflin st jeor equation predicts the total energy burn of a person at rest (what we call the RMR (resting metabolic rate)

for me, this spits out 1342 calories per day. this equation was derived in 1990 by measuring the oxygen intake and carbon dioxide exhalation of 498 healthy adults and then applying multiple linear regressions to find the best-fit predictors of RMR using the easily-measured variables of height, weight, age and sex. it’s still the gold standard approximation today.

sidebar: there are other equations you can use, such as the harris-benedict, owen, cunningham (uses body fat percentage), henry, and katch-mcardle. for me these all give very similar results so i tend to use the mifflin st jeor as my baseline.

this number is the base energy i would burn to maintain basic life functions at rest: breathing, keeping my heart beating, and so on. note this figure is always the same, irrespective of the hike you are planning, the weight of your pack, etc.

any energy burnt while moving (i.e. hiking) is added on top of the RMR to get the total energy requirements for each day (TDEE).

using the pandolf equation

the Pandolf equation is used to estimate the metabolic rate (energy cost) of walking while carrying a load, accounting for body weight, load weight, walking speed, and terrain slope.

it was developed in the 1970s as part of US Army research to assist with mission planning. i add on a layer of complexity, adding in the hike distance (km) which then gives me the hike duration (hr) and total kcal burnt for the hike.

as an example, say i am planning a day hike that’s 15km, 0 elevation gain (so 0 gradient). i know from experience i tend to walk at 4kmh, and my day pack will weigh around 5kg.

plugging these numbers into my planning excel sheet gives us a metabolic rate (M) of 212W, which equates to 182 calories/hour or 686 calories for the whole hike. at the bottom you’ll also see my total daily calorie burn for this hypothetical day of 2028 calories.

this equation is pretty good, but any hike with significantly different elevation gain and loss can get a little tricky. for any hike with a significantly different climb and drop i will split up the hike into uphill and downhill sections and add together the results.

we now have a total number of calories required for this day of hiking - which is exactly what i need to pack, right?

not so fast

the pack weight puzzle

you’ll notice pack weight is a variable in the Pandolf equation, but the weight of your pack includes the weight of the food you’ll carry, which depends on how much energy you need, which depends on the pack weight, which depends…

this isn’t a huge deal on a day hike but can quickly become overwhelming on a multi-day hike where the weight of your food can be many kilos and the pack weight has a real impact on how fast you walk. and don’t forget - each day you eat a day’s worth of food so the pack weight is also reducing each day. so what do you put?

caloric density of food

this is where i find the problem gets really interesting. the food weight also depends on what you bring - 2,000 calories of peanut butter weighs a lot less than 2,000 calories of bananas (318g vs 2,280g for anyone playing at home).

the lightest possible 2,000 calories would be pure oil at 9 cal/g for a total of 220g.

a typical hiker diet (oats, trail mix, wraps, dehydrated dinner) might clock in at 660g for 2,000 calories.

over the course of four days, the pack weight would change dramatically as shown above - but does it matter for your caloric burn planning?

i’ve done the maths here and turns out it’s not too much of a difference overall (about 8cal/day or 1 almond)

the caloric burn barely changes across each day as the pack weight goes down

so for planning purposes, i will use the same load weight for each day’s calculations and allow about 550g per day of food (knowing i tend to pack slightly more ultralight food selections that the average hiker, and this we will get into later!)

multi-day adventures

now - what about multi-day adventures?

do you calculate each day individually and take the average? or do you take the average distance and gradient of each day walking?

once again i have done the modelling for you and it doesn’t matter! at least for our total daily caloric burn purposes. so i would divide your entire hike distance and elevation by the days to model the ‘average day’ and use this to plan your requirements

the total

so let’s bring it all together with a hypothetical hike - say we are doing the falls-hotham alpine crossing in victoria, australia over 3 days

i would use 14.2km for the distance, 4% for the gradient, and 3*550g+8kg for the pack weight

so, we’ve crunched the numbers and landed on a target of roughly 2,033 calories per day. that’s our starting line — but the real magic (and challenge) lies in deciding what those 2,033 calories look like.

in the next post, i’ll open my hiking pantry and share how i build a day’s worth of trail meals that balance calories, weight, nutrition, and (of course) flavour

it’s just like a bounty bar with a little kick of coffee to get you up and out of your tent on a cold, cold morning

this recipe scales up brilliantly and i will pack at least two serves per day on the trail

makes four serves

ingredients

at home

4 tsp cocoa powder

4 tsp caster sugar

4 tsp coconut milk powder

8 tsp instant coffee powder

on the trail

100mL boiling water (per serve)

method

add everything to an airtight container and shake well to combine

on the trail

boil 100mL of water per serving (i.e. 200mL for two people)

add 2 generous spoons of the mixture to each mug and top with boiling water

stir thoroughly and let sit for a few minutes before tucking in

nutrition

per serve

calories: 65

weight: 14g dry

calories / gram: 4.6

protein: 1g

fats: 3g

carbs: 7g

see you out there!

this is a very silly recipe

credit to my husband for the original idea - the best part of xiao long bao is the soup, so why not invert it into a noodle soup?

then why not take it a step further and make it dehydrated and lightweight for hiking?

use plain bulk instant wheat noodles here, or regular 60c chicken instant noodles and save the flavour packet for something else

serves one

ingredients

at home

1 pack instant noodles (no flavour packet!)

~35g dehydrated pork meatballs

1 tbsp dehydrated mushrooms

1 tbsp dehydrated carrots

1 tsp dehydrated spring onion greens

1 tsp dehydrated diced ginger

1 tsp chicken stock powder

0.5 tsp sugar

0.25 tsp salt

0.125 white pepper powder

pinch citric acid (optional, to try and emulate that black vinegar zing)

on the trail

400mL boiling water

2 tsp sesame oil

method

add everything but the sesame oil to an airtight container (e.g. a tupperware, mylar bag, or heat-safe ziploc bag)

if you’ll be eating with a spoon or fork on the trail, crush the noodles into smaller pieces

store the sesame oil (2 tsp) in a separate plastic bottle, or a smaller ziploc within the bigger meal bag

on the trail

boil 300mL of water

add the boiling water to the bigger pouch of noodles and veggies and stir thoroughly, making sure to submerge the noodles as best you can

cover and let sit for 8 minutes (if it’s cold out, you can stuff the pouch inside your jacket to keep you and the noodles warm while you wait!)

add the sesame oil and stir through

nutrition

per serve (will vary based on the noodles you use)

calories: 476

weight: 114g dry (including oil)

calories / gram: 4.2

protein: 26g

fats: 26g

carbs: 33g

see you out there!

this is what i crave after a day of hiking - it’s spicy, sour, super creamy and full of green veggies and herbs

note i dehydrate all my veggies in advance, and mix and match them to make meals as required. the veggies listed below are easily swapped for the same weight of carrots, corn, capsicum, or any other vegetable you’ve managed to dehydrate!

i like it with chicken (a classic tom kha gai) but have a feeling this would be amazing with beef jerky too, or salami if you’re feeling super rogue

serves one

ingredients

at home

50g dry rice noodles

5g dried broccoli

2g dried mushrooms

2g dried kale

1g dried spring onion bits

big pinch dried coriander leaves

10g dried tom yum paste

big pinch of citric acid

45g coconut milk powder

on the trail

300mL boiling water

your choice of protein

method

at home

add everything but the coconut milk powder to an airtight container (e.g. a tupperware, mylar bag, or heat-safe ziploc bag)

store the coconut milk powder (45g) in a separate plastic bag, or a smaller ziploc within the bigger meal bag

on the trail

boil 300mL of water

add the boiling water to the bigger pouch of noodles and veggies and stir thoroughly, making sure to submerge the rice noodles as best you can

cover and let sit for 8 minutes (if it’s cold out, you can stuff the pouch inside your jacket to keep you and the noodles warm while you wait!)

add the coconut milk powder and stir through

nutrition

per serve (excluding your choice of protein)

calories: 584

weight: 115g dry

calories / gram: 5.0

protein: 13g

fats: 36g

carbs: 52g

see you out there!

readers may be surprised to learn that i do occasionally leave my kitchen and the world of sweet baked goods for the great outdoors

i transform into a hiker with a passion for big days, ultralight equipment, and over-optimised nutrition (see my previous post on big newtons here)

i’m a huge fan of dehydrated meals for their convenience and weight but i’m not such a huge fan of the flavours (why always spag bol?) or the price tag (adds up)

i’ve been experimenting with my dehydrator non-stop, trying to perfect my trail recipes and bring some of my favourite meals out hiking with me (mapo tofu / beef pho / pad kee mao) while also making sure they’re energy dense, balanced, and require no real cooking or washing up when on the trail

here is part one: moroccan couscous

couscous is god’s gift to hikers as it readily hydrates with hot or cold water, making it a super versatile meal

i’ve written this with your choice of protein, either dehydrated chicken (if serving hot) or cured meats like salami, bresaola, or jerky (if using cold water)

serves one hungry hiker

ingredients

at home

50g couscous, dry

15g slivered almonds

5g dried currants

1 tsp harissa powder

0.25 tsp ground cinnamon

0.25 tsp salt

1 tbsp dehydrated mushrooms

1 tbsp dehydrated carrots

~40g dehydrated chicken breast (equivalent to 100g poached chicken) or 50g cured meats like salami, bresaola, or jerky

on the trail

100mL water (hot or cold as required)

2 tsp olive oil

method

at home

add the couscous (50g), almonds (15g), currants (5g), harissa powder (1 tsp), cinnamon (0.25 tsp), salt (0.25 tsp), mushrooms (1 tbsp), carrots (1 tbsp), and your protein (chicken breast / cured meats) to an airtight container (e.g. a tupperware, mylar bag, or heat-safe ziploc bag)

note: if using cured meats it’s best to store this chilled and then eat on the first day of a hike

on the trail

add the water (100mL) to the container and stir thoroughly

cover and let sit for 30 minutes (cold water) or 10 minutes (boiling water)

uncover and add the olive oil (2 tsp) and stir through

best eaten with spork

nutrition

per serve, assuming chicken breast

calories: 516

weight: 125g dry (including olive oil)

calories / gram: 4.13

protein: 40g

fats: 21g

carbs: 40g

see you out there!

one of the biggest lessons has been how heavy food is when you’re carrying multiple days worth on your back

one of my favourite hiking snacks has always been fig newtons and their baked fruit bar cousins, but oh man do you need a lot of them to fuel a hike!

not to mention the sugar crashes from eating too many in a row

these ‘big newtons’ are my take on fig newtons, optimised for hiking nutrition and carrying capacity

the cakey outside is enriched with rye flour (for slower release carbs) and almond meal (for fats and longer release energy for hiking)

they won’t be winning any beauty contests but they will keep you well fed and happy on a walk

yields 12-14 big newtons

ingredients

rye almond pastry

70g butter, room temperature

25g brown sugar

1 egg yolk

50g almond meal

65g rye flour

1 tsp baking soda

spiced fig filling

130g dried figs

30g water, just boiled

0.25 tsp ground cinnamon

0.25 tsp ground ginger

pinch salt

method

rye almond pastry

beat together the butter (70g) and brown sugar (25g)

add the egg yolk (1) and beat to combine

add the almond meal (50g), rye flour (65g), and baking soda (1 tsp) and beat until just combined

the dough will be a little sticky

cover and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes to let it harden up and become more manageable

spiced fig filling

while the dough is chilling, add the dried figs (130g), boiling water (30g), cinnamon (0.25 tsp), ginger (0.25 tsp), and a pinch of salt to the bowl of a blender or food processor

let sit for 5-10 minutes to let the figs soften

blitz to form a thick paste

assembly

preheat the oven to 180°C

line a tray with baking paper

roll out the chilled dough to a rectangle about 5mm thick

spread the spiced fig filling over the dough, leaving a 5mm gap at the long edges

fold each of the long edges to the centreline and pinch closed the seam, enclosing the fig filling

bake for 18-20 minutes until golden brown and the outside is slightly puffy

let cool at least 10 minutes to allow the filling to solidify

cut into 12-14 slices

store in an airtight container

these are even better after a night in the fridge, so the dough has a chance to soak up some of the moisture in the fig filling and become cakier

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