Meal planning was one of the hardest tasks for me when I thru-hiked the Appalachian Trail in 2022.  I spent a lot of time researching and learning about lightweight, calorie dense foods.  I tried to find foods that had a high number of calories per ounce, that I enjoyed eating, and that I was able to cook with the freezer-bag cooking method.  I learned a lot from the GearSkeptic videos on YouTube about ultralight backpacking foods and from Backcountry Foodie, which has recipes and tips for backpacking meals for thru-hikers.  Since I really enjoy cooking and meal planning, I decided to use a combination of grocery-bought foods and DIY dehydrated meals during my thru-hike.  

During my thru-hike, my appetite changed and so did my taste buds.  The further I got into the six month trip, the more I craved and consumed.  I could eat anything and everything, and my food bag often felt like it was a huge boulder weighing me down.  I craved sugar, fresh fruit, and chocolate milk (weird?) and gorged myself every time I got into town.  And now, every time I walk through a gas station, my eyes still get all big looking at the candy bars, chips, and those hot dog rollers.  Those glorious gas station hot dogs...  Now, I have to remind myself that I'm not a thru-hiker anymore, and I can't just eat everything in sight!  So for this next trip, I'm trying to reign myself in and pack a reasonable amount of food.

In the next week, I’ll be heading out for a 6 day, 5 night backpacking trip that passes through one of my favorite sections of the A.T., the Roan Highlands!  I’m so excited, and I've been spending a lot of time refining my gear list and working on my meal plan.  Again, I’ll be using a combination of some store bought foods and some DIY dehydrated meals from Backcountry Foodie.  I’ll be getting a late afternoon start on the first day and stopping at a hostel on the 4th night, which will help to lower my food carry.  And I decided to treat myself to my FAVORITE freeze-dried backpacking meal on the last night of the trip- Mountain House Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, yum!  

Backpacking Meal Plan

Here’s a breakdown of what I’ll be taking next week.  I’m shooting for around 2,500 - 3,000 calories per day and hiking between 10-13 miles per day.  I’ve indicated the calories for each meal and I put a BF after the meal if it’s a Backcountry Foodie recipe.  Check out her website if you want the recipes!

Day 1:  Total Calories: 1,196 calories (+ breakfast and lunch off trail)

• Breakfast:  (off trail)
• Lunch:  (off trail)
• Snacks: Peanut M&Ms (250 calories)
• Dinner:  Parmesan Pesto Ramen- BF (946 calories)

Day 2: Total Calories: 2,993 calories

• Breakfast: Cinnamon Roll Oats- BF (600 calories), 2 TastyKake Pecan Swirls (200 calories) hot tea (0 calories)
• Lunch: Cheddar cheese (¼  of block, 220 calories), pepperoni (15 slices, 140 calories), Ritz crackers (12 crackers, 192 calories)
• Snacks: Honey stinger waffle (160 calories) Clif Bar, crunchy peanut butter (260 calories), 
• Dinner: Tomato Basil Orzo- BF (651 calories), hot chocolate w/milk powder (300 calories)
• Dessert: King size Chocolatey Payday: 420 calories

Day 3: Total Calories: 2,902 calories

• Breakfast: Cinnamon Roll Oats- BF (600 calories), hot tea (0 calories), 2 TastyKake Pecan Swirls (200 calories)
• Lunch:  Cheddar cheese (¼  of block, 220 calories), pepperoni (15 slices, 140 calories), Ritz crackers (12 crackers, 192 calories)
• Snacks: Honey stinger waffle (160 calories), Clif Bar Chocolate Brownie (250 calories)
• Dinner: Idahoan 4 cheese mashed potatoes (half bag) (220 calories), Cheez-it crackers (small bag, 120 calories), bacon bits (2 Tbsp, 60 calories) = 400 calories , hot chocolate w/milk powder (300 calories)
• Dessert: King size snickers (440 calories)

Day 4: Total Calories: 1,808 calories (+ dinner at Hostel)

• Breakfast: Berry Breakfast Crumble- BF (583 calories), hot tea (0 calories), 2 TastyKake Pecan Swirls (200 calories)
• Lunch: Black Bean Dip and Fritos - BF (675 calories)
• Snacks: Honey Stinger Waffle (160 calories), Luna Bar, Blueberry Bliss (190 calories)
• Dinner: Dinner at Hostel (unknown calories- probably a lot..)

Day 5: Total Calories: 1,845 calories (+ breakfast at Hostel)

• Breakfast:  Breakfast at Hostel (unknown calories)
• Lunch: Black Bean Dip and Fritos- BF (675 calories)
• Snacks: Honey Stinger Waffle (160 calories), Luna Bar, Blueberry Bliss (190 calories)
• Dinner: Mountain House Pro-Pak Spaghetti with Meat Sauce (520 calories), hot chocolate w/milk powder (300 calories)

Day 6: Total Calories:  1,823 calories ( + dinner off trail)

• Breakfast: Banana Split Oats- BF (598 calories), hot tea (0 calories), 2 TastyKake Pecan Swirls (200 calories)
• Lunch: Black Bean Dip and Fritos- BF (675 calories)
• Snacks: Honey Stinger Waffle (160 calories), Luna Bar, Blueberry Bliss (190 calories)
• Dinner: (off trail)

Tips for Planning Your Backpacking Meals:

• Olive oil has the highest number of calories per ounce of any food, 250 calories per ounce!  That’s about 120 calories in 1 tablespoon.  Bring a small squeeze bottle of olive oil and add it to your meals, like ramen or potatoes, to add some extra calories.

• Nido is a brand of whole milk powder that you can often find in the Hispanic aisle of your grocery store (I buy mine online or at Walmart).  It has a lot more calories than nonfat milk powder, with about 160 calories in ¼ cup of powder.  I like to add milk powder to my oatmeal and hot chocolate for an extra boost in calories and fat.

• Hard cheeses, like sharp cheddar, stay fresh for a few days while backpacking if the weather is cool.  Just put it in a ziplock bag and tuck it into your pack!

• I’ll take a bag of instant mashed potatoes, which has 4 servings, but only cook half the bag.  I’ll save the other half as my “emergency potatoes.”  I always carry a couple servings of emergency potatoes on my backpacking trips just in case I need an extra meal while on trail.  They can be mixed with hot or cold water and are ready to eat instantly.

• Eat your heaviest foods first!  I’m planning on eating my cheese and pepperoni in the first couple of days and saving the lighter weight dehydrated bean dips for later in the trip.  

• You can find dehydrated refried beans online or make your own.  They rehydrate very quickly and are super tasty with a handful of Fritos!

• Fritos and Kettle Chips have some of the highest calories per ounce.  Always bring crunchies on your trip to balance out the mushy rehydrated stuff!

• I find that drinking a hot drink before bed on really cold nights gives me an extra boost of calories to stay warm throughout the night.  Just make sure to pee before crawling into your sleeping bag!  It takes a lot of calories to keep a full bladder at body temperature, so an empty bladder helps to conserve some energy.

• Bring some fun food, even if it is heavy or doesn't have a lot of nutritional value.  Food is fuel for your body, but also for your mind and spirit!  

And there ya have it!  6 days and 5 nights of backpacking meals on the Appalachian Trail.  Check out my Instragram page @wildwood_hiking_co if you want to follow along and see how it goes!