Whenever you are hiking you should always bring some food and water. You never know if something unexpected happens and you may be out longer than you planed for, therefore it is always recommended to bring some basic provision.
What sort of food should you bring?
What foods you should bring depends on how long you are planing to be out. If you will be out for just a day or a weekend you can bring the foods you like the most. Most likely they will not get spoiled within such a short time. However if you are planing to be out for a longer period of time you probably want to be a bit more considerate of what foods you bring. The goal is to bring foods which are both low in weight and high in calories, therefore you probably do not want to bring foods with high water content, instead take foods like pasta or noodles which you can boil and prepare on a portable stove. For extra protein you can add some dried meat or perhaps a can of tuna. It is usually better to use a portable stove than using a campfire. Stoves are better for the environment and are more reliable in bad weather.
Bring lots of snacks. It is important to keep eating throughout the day so that you always have high energy levels. Snacking between the big meals helps you to keep your energy levels high. It does not have to be something big, just keeping a couple of energy bars in your pockets which you can snack on when you start to feel a bit hungry can go a long way. Other foods that are good for snacking are dried fruits, nuts and peanut butter. |
What about water?
For shorter trips you can carry enough water with you from the start that you do not need to worry about resupplying along the way. For longer hikes however that may not be plausible. You should never drink water you find along the way if it is not treated, although it looks good and clear. It could contain waterborne disease organisms. There are a few methods you can use to clean the water you find and make it drinkable. There are several types of portable water filters that you can use, however the quality of these vary a lot and you can not always trust that they remove everything. There are also various chemicals you can use to make the water drinkable. However these does not work 100% of the time ether. A lot of people use both filters and chemicals. However the best way by far to remove micro organisms is by boiling the water. That removes almost all disease causing organisms.
This article has been written with the help of information from the following sources:
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/hiking-basics/food-water
http://survivaltopics.com/that-water-is-unsafe-to-drink/
http://www.hikingdude.com/hiking-food.php
http://www.appalachiantrail.org/hiking/hiking-basics/food-water
http://survivaltopics.com/that-water-is-unsafe-to-drink/
http://www.hikingdude.com/hiking-food.php
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