Food additives are commonly used to prevent or slow spoilage during storage, preserve vitamin content, or alter food’s appearance, taste, and texture. Food coloring is a type of additive that is functionally unnecessary — its sole purpose is to make food appear more colorful. Unsurprisingly, food dye is common in mass-produced packaged foods that you might be tempted to take backpacking. Common “backpacking” foods containing food dye include packaged food containing dried fruit and vegetables, cheese mix, butter powder, and gelatin. This includes – Pasta dishes Rice dishes Soup mix Trail mix Granola bars & Pop tarts Cheese-flavored chips and […]
Each year we are asked by hikers planning a CT thru-hike if we can mail their food resupply. We sure can! The Colorado Trail (CT) is a 485-mile (781 km) trail that spans southwest of Denver to Durango in Colorado, United States. Considered by hikers to be breathtaking and challenging, much of the trail stays above the tree line, offering expansive views and vibrant displays of wildflowers. Snow will be present at higher elevations, which can make travel difficult. The Colorado Trail Foundation (CTF), which maintains the Colorado Trail, recommends hiking the CT between July and September to avoid the mud and […]
Carrying a bear canister is something that backpackers have to do in many US National Parks and most areas of the California Sierra. Here is the most current information (July 2022) on where bear-resistant containers are required, what type, and when.
Hiking trails in the United States offer an abundance of edible berries that are great for raw snacking. They add fiber, vitamin C, and antioxidants to your trail diet. Blueberries, blackberries, huckleberries, mulberries, raspberries, and strawberries are just a few examples of the delicious and nutritious berries you may encounter. If you’d like to try foraging wild berries, here’s what you need to know about identifying them, when they typically ripen, and where you’ll most likely find them. Blackberries Blackberries are easy to spot because the fruit is aggregated, meaning each berry contains a cluster of tiny round berries. Blackberries […]
No Pain, No Maine? Long-distance hiking or thru-hiking is challenging both mentally and physically. Whether hiking the Appalachian Trail or another long-distance trail, the continuous step-by-step motion from dusk to dawn, repeated day after day, requires considerable effort and determination. This routine can feel monotonous, and it may involve pain and discomfort. Thru-hikers on the Appalachian Trail (AT) understand that the 2,168-mile journey from Georgia to Maine will not be free of aches and pains. This is reflected in the common exchange among AT backpackers: “No Pain, No Maine.” However, this doesn’t mean that a thru-hike is a painful or […]