hiking essentials: my favorite trail snacks

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All opinions are completely my own. 

On long hikes it is essential to make sure you have enough energy to get through the day. And today I am sharing my favorite snacks that give me the energy to literally climb mountains. This might sound like an ode to clif products, but I genuinely love them and use them all the time so all of my opinions come right from my time on the trail. 

Energy Bars

We tend to pack light on the trail and depend a lot on energy bars, energy gels, and drink mixes to help us get the calories and energy we need without having to carry a lot of weight. You can see above, most of my favorite snacks are bars. Typically I carry a mix of traditional Clif Bar Energy Bars* (Crunchy Peanut Butter is my favorite) and MOJO's to give the day a little variety. Since the Clif Mojo Snack Bar* is less calories it is also a great snack for shorter day hikes where you don't need a ton of calories to get you through but you know you'll still want a snack.

Gels, Shots, and All The Rest 

I never thought I'd become the type of person who used these energy products. I always thought that unless you are running marathons or cycling, there was not point to them. The boy is a cyclist and he encouraged me to try one on a summit recently because I had really been struggling to maintain the energy and stamina I needed on the longer hikes. I would typically hit a really low point towards the middle of our ascent and it was challenging. But the gels were exactly what I needed. I use the chocolate flavor Clif Shot Energy Gel* with caffeine and it helps me get that extra burst of energy. These products aren't for small hikes, these are really designed for when you are pushing yourself past your limits (which I have been doing a lot more of recently.) But when you need them, they are awesome. Plus they taste like pudding.

Dried Fruit

In the tradition of packing less weight on longer hikes we had to give up on fresh fruit but sometimes you get tried of food that doesn't really look like food. That's when I turn to dried fruit. I typically buy all my dried fruit from Trader Joe's but almost any food store will carry them, even REI has a pretty good selection. Now, if you are really concerned about weight dehydrated fruit and dried fruit can be slightly different. There are some fruits that are freeze dried and tend to be a lot lighter but also much more chalky in consistency. I like these but they aren't for everyone. The more common style of traditional dried fruit has a more chewy or almost gummy texture. These weigh more but tend to be a little more refreshing on the trail.

The Big Meal 

Our lunch is always a peanut butter and jelly sandwich when we are out for a big hike. It's got all the essentials you need to get through the day and is another nice break from bars, gels, and dried food. It is typically the best tasting peanut butter and jelly I have ever had but that's just part of the fun of hiking. Food takes on a whole new level of deliciousness.



I'm always looking for new things to snack on while on the trail. What are you favorite trail snacks? Share them in the comments!

xoxo,
kat