Several factors can cause the hands to swell when hiking, but the most common causes are gravity and how the body distributes heat during exercise. As the core muscles heat up when hiking, the vascular system cools the body by releasing more fluid to our fingers, hands, and feet. When blood reaches the skin to dissipate the heat, fluids leak out of the vessels, causing swelling of the limbs. Medically known as exercise-induced peripheral edema, the problem is not serious and will disappear soon after you stop hiking. On a recent backpacking trip in the California Marble Mountains, I noticed […]
FAQs
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As the temperatures warm up and backpackers begin sorting and reorganizing gear, they often find a few expired meals or trail snacks. Consequently, this is the time of year we get asked if it is safe to consume expired backpacking food. Most likely you can! Make sure you have left the packaging intact and kept the food stored properly. Right before your trip, open up the seal and take a whiff. Does it smell or look funky? Here are a few tips to keep in mind.
Trekking season is ramping up in Australia, and a common question we get from customers is, “What vegetarian backpacking meals do you suggest for taking to the Australian outback?” To make food planning easy and quick, consider our combo meals. Outdoor Herbivore’s 5-day backpacking food combo is perfect for multi-day hikes such as the Overland Track, Three Capes Track, Western Arthurs Traverse, and other trails in the outback. The 5-day combo contains 3 meals per day or 15 meals in total. If you plan to stay out longer, we also have 7-day and 10-day bundled backpacking meal combos. Combo packs contain […]
Customers often ask us what food is best to order for a Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) thru-hike and where most hikers receive mail drops. The majority of hikers have resupply boxes mailed to towns with limited food services. The most common locations Outdoor Herbivore sends PCT orders to: Post Office – Warner Springs, CA; PCT mile 110 + 1 mile off trail Kennedy Meadows General Store – Inyokern, CA; PCT mile 703 + 1 mile off trail Post Office – Independence, CA; PCT mile 790 + 24 miles off trail Vermilion Valley Resort (VVR) – Lakeshore, CA; PCT mile 877 […]
Our boil-soak pouches are created for backpackers who need a bag to store dried meals and reconstitute them by pouring boiling water into the pouch. These high-temperature standup “cook-in-pouches” can sustain temperatures up to 230 degrees F (110 degrees C). Pouches have a shorter bowl shape and can hold up to 4 cups (.95L) of wet volume. How to use: Place food in the bag, pour boiling water over it, stir, seal shut with the zipper, and allow the food to reconstitute for several minutes. Below, we demonstrate reconstituting a dried meal mix using the boil-soak pouch with Outdoor Herbivore’s […]