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During hiking is used lot of energy, so whether going on a 10 km walk or a 1000 km
long-distance trek, you should have some food along. If for no other reason than just-
in-case. Having a good idea about how much food will be required to provide the
energy to complete the hike is part of good planning.
Many people don't realize that food needs can double on a hike, depending on
distance, temperature, and elevation. The fat in your body supplies lots of energy as it
is slowly burned, but needs to be supplemented by food. If you run out of food, your
body consumes muscle for fuel and that results in fatigue and degrading
performance. Plan your food supply so you have a cushion of extra food in case of
emergency.
On multi-days hike your nutrition needs change greatly. You now need to ensure your
body is receiving more than just calories.
A good distribution of foods from the food pyramid, possibly supplemented by a daily
vitamin will keep you hiking strong for days, weeks, and even months on end.
The calories you consume should be around 15% proteins, 50%-65% carbohydrates,
and 20%-35% fats. Carbohydrates provide faster energy, fat more long-burning, and
protein replenishes and keeps muscles healthy over time. Reducing protein too much
will be devastating on a long-distance hike.
It makes no sense to carry any more weight than necessary. Since a large portion of
total pack weight can be food, that is a good place to start lightening the load.
There are a number of ways to reduce the weight of your hiking food:
 Dehydrate - buy your own food dehydrator and dry fruits, vegetables, and
meats. Most inexpensive and healthy option but requires effort at home. A
dried apple is still an apple, just without the water.
 Buy Prepackaged - purchasing freeze-dried or dehydrated meals is the easiest.
It is also the most expensive and can introduce large amounts of sodium and
preservatives.
 Calorie Density - read the nutrition labels on foods. Find those that are dense
in calories compared to weight. Sunflower kernels are 600 cal/100g while an
apple is 96 cal/100g and a dehydrated apple is 250 cal/100g.
 Repackage food - you'll be surprised how much garbage labelling you'll throw
away. Better to just leave it at home rather than carry it mile after mile just to
throw away later.