Day 549... What I eat while backpacking

This weekend, I did a new stretch of the Appalachian Trail in North Carolina. I slept on the top of a mountain above the clouds and was able to see the stars. It was a great break from reality, and I'm happy I was able to spend some time away. 

Now you might be asking what a vegan eats when they go backpacking. And the answer is lots of Clif bars. I usually pack a frozen Uncrustable for the first day to eat with a Clif Bar for lunch. I also pack Clif Energy Blocks for refueling throughout the day. For dinner, I usually bring Backpackers Pantry meals. There are a few of that brand that are vegan, and they are relatively flat which is great for packing. They also have a resealing zip spot that closes the package once you add the hot water. 

For this trip, I found a new meal option from Patagonia called Spicy Red Bean Chili that specifically says it is vegan. I found it in the same section as Backpackers Pantry at REI. It is a smaller than the Backpacker's Pantry items and that does equate to less calories. When I bought this, I assumed it would be like the Backpacker's Pantry meals where you add hot water and let sit for 20 minutes. This one was different, and I should have read the directions before purchasing. It said to add to boiling water and simmer for 10 minutes. When you're backpacking and need to use the stove for multiple meals, simmering on the stovetop is not feasible since it is hard to clean with a limited water source. I decided to make it the same way I would make the Backpacker's Pantry by adding hot water and waiting. Without the zipper, I actually spilled some of the food when the wind knocked it over. Not the best situation since I was hungry. After backpacking all day, I think a higher calorie meal would have been nicer since I was still hungry afterward. I want to preface that the taste was great. However, I probably wouldn't recommend this for backpacking, but I would recommend it for camping when you're close to a car, bathroom, and water source for cleaning a pot. 

 

The next day for breakfast, I decided to try a new brand as well. This Peak Refuel is not vegan because it contains honey. Even though it contained honey, there weren't any other options that I found that were fully vegan, so I decided to try it since I can go either way on if I am okay with honey or not. This meal was easy because the water did not need to be heated and there was no waiting time. The picture shows a ratio of more granola to fruit, but the actual meal was the opposite and was mostly fruit with a little bit of granola. It was super tasty, though I wish that they could have used agave syrup or something else to make it fully vegan. 

Overall this was a great backpacking trip and trying new vegan backpacking food was fun. In the future, I think I will stick with Backpacker's Pantry and many Clif Bars but these are definitely worthwhile to try if you haven't.