Commercial Pre-Packaged Foods

There are several types of backpacking foods you can buy that are pre-packaged. The most familiar to people will be Mountain House or Backpackers Pantry freeze dried foods which can be found at most popular outfitters and even WalMart. However, there are a variety of "cottage" makers out there many are unaware of and might want to consider. We have not listed every known maker here, but the few we know to be top notch, first rate quality.

Hawk Vittles - www.hawkvittles.com - Why do we list Hawk Vittles first? For good reason. First and foremost, Hawk is located in New York, which is close to being New England

Second reason is that Hawk was a professional chef. His food is created by him from fresh ingredients wherever possible. When you taste his meals, you will be astounded. Alot of other cottage makers out there create their meals from pre-made bulk ingredients. They buy dried bulk ingredients and then make meals from those ingredients. This is professional prepared food, dehydrated and packaged for public consumption. The portions are large and guaranteed to "feed" you. The taste is amazing and you just simply cannot go wrong. Give Hawk Vittles a try, You will not be sorry.

Enertia Trail Foods - www.trailfoods.com - Enertia was started in 1999 and was later purchased by another individual. Since that time Enertia has continued to produce quality food and they are now working with Coleman to compete in a bigger market. They have great products and are a mix between dried and freeze dried.

Mary Jane's Farm - www.maryjanesfarm.org - ORGANIC! That's the best attribute of Mary Jane's products. And they're good :)

Store Bought Items

The use of pre-packaged store bought foods are popular due to their convenience and sometimes price advantage over making your own, or even purchasing freeze dried foods from your local outfitter. Pre-packaged foods come in all kinds and varieties. Ramen noodles, Knorr/Lipton Sides, Nissin Noodle bowls, Idahoan Mashed Potatoes, Tuna Pouches, you name it.

A few years back we encountered two teen-aged girls in very early June who were attempting to thru hike the Long Trail. They were local college students with little money and mostly borrowed gear. Their entire meal plan was 20 cents a package Ramen Noodles. You can imagine that was indeed a cheap hike, but we cannot help but wonder if they really made it 280 miles on Ramen noodles. If they did, more power to them. The big issue I had with these two girls was their lack of sensitivity towards the environment. The empty packages were left floating around the shelter. They cleaned their pots out afterwards so there were loose strands of noodles next to the shelter for rodents to get.

The point is, pre-packaged foods can help play a good role in your trail meals. but please, consider the impacts of what you are taking on the trail, on your own body and the trail itself. Any packaging should always be packed out. Even if there is a fire going, don't toss your empty plastic packages into the fires. The chemicals will eventually contaminate the soil and leech into the water.

The impact to yourself needs to be well thought out. Most pre-packaged foods are processed heavily and might have a high carb content, but they will be simple carbohydrates that will only serve to make you hungrier and cause your body to burn thru the energy faster. Any trail meal should contain a quality mix of simple and complex carbohydrates, fat and protein. Accordingly, the pre-packaged food you take should almost always be supplemented by something else in combination.

Freeze dried foods should always be taken from their heavy foil packages and re-packged into plastic freezerbags. If anything for convenience. It's far easier to pack out plastic bags than the large foil bags the meals come in.

Some pre-packaged food will require real "cooking", such as pasta like tortellini. Make sure you plan ahead for this with proper cleanup tools and the proper pot. As an example, a beer can pot will work wonderfully for ramen but is a horrible idea for pasta.

Be imaginative and creative when coming up with ideas for your trail meals. Never hesitate to slowly walk the isles of the stores looking at each item. You will be surprised at just how easy it is to create quality trail meals from "normal" items available on the grocery store shelves. And remember, remove all unwanted packaging that you don't want to take back out with you!